Podcasts about Avot

Avot 3:12-13 | Thursday, June 5th 2025 | 9 Sivan 5785

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Avot 3:10-11 | Wednesday, June 4th 2025 | 8 Sivan 5785

Avot 3:8-9 | Tuesday, June 3rd 2025 | 7 Sivan 5785

Avot 3:6-7 | Monday, June 2nd 2025 | 6 Sivan 5785

Avot 3:4-5 | Sunday, June 1st 2025 | 5 Sivan 5785

Avot 3:2-3 | Saturday, May 31st 2025 | 4 Sivan 5785

Avot 2:16-3:1 | Friday, May 30th 2025 | 3 Sivan 5785

Avot 2:14-15 | Thursday, May 29th 2025 | 2 Sivan 5785

Avot 2:12-13 | Wednesday, May 28th 2025 | 1 Sivan 5785

Avot 2:10-11 | Tuesday, May 27th 2025 | 29 Iyar 5785

Avot 2:8-9 | Monday, May 26th 2025 | 28 Iyar 5785

Avot 2:6-7 | Sunday, May 25th 2025 | 27 Iyar 5785

Avot 2:4-5 | Saturday, May 24th 2025 | 26 Iyar 5785

Welcome to Bitachon . We continue with another important lesson from the pesukim in Ki Tavo . Vanitzak el Hashem Elokei Avoteinu / We cried out to Hashem the God of our fathers, and He heard our voices. And we quote a pasuk in Shemot where it says Vayishma Elokim et Maakatam / God heard their groans. Vayizkor Elokim et Brito/and God remembered His covenant et Avraham et Yitzchak v'et Yaakov/With Abraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov. So we see clearly here that it was not enough for us to just pray. Our prayers aroused the zechut Avot . Interestingly, this is the second pasuk mentioned in the Zichronot section of Musaf of Rosh Hashanah , telling us that Hashem heard the cries of Bnei Yisrael b'Mitzrayim and remembered Avraham Yitzchak and Yaakov . So what is this combination? Why do we need both prayer and Zechut Avot? Why can't Zechut Avot work on its own? Why can't prayer on its own work? The answer is that the Jewish people, on their own at that time, and probably quite often for us as well, can not make it with our prayer alone. That's why every single prayer, that we pray three times a day starts with Elokeinu v'Elokei Avoteinu , our God, and the God of our fathers, Avraham Yitzchak v'Yaakov . The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim , section 3, chapter 43, says something fascinating. He says that the reason why we merited to go into Eretz Yisrael was, בחסד האלוה וביעודיו לאבותינו , בעבור שהיו אנשים שלמים בדעותם ומדותם - רצוני לומר , " אברהם , יצחק ויעקב - Because of the kindness of God, and His promise to our forefathers. Why? ba'avur shehayu anashim shleimim, They were people that were perfect, b'dei'otam, in their mindsets, their cognition, u'midotam, and their character traits, This refers to Avraham Yitzchak v'Yaakov . And he says, שזה גם כן הוא ממה שהתורה תלויה עליו - רצוני לומר , שכל טוב שהיטיב האלוה לנו וייטיב - אמנם הוא ' בזכות אבות This is a fundamental that the Torah hinges on. That any goodness that God did for us in the past, and will do for us in the future, in truth is b'Zchut avot. It's in the merit of our forefathers. This is definitely something to inspire us that we don't have to necessarily have our own zechuyot . We need zechut avot . Well, if that's the case, that I need zechut avot , why pray? Why do anything? The answer that's given is, In order to have zechut avot, God has to recognize you as one of their children. If we want to use the zechut of Avraham Avinu, you have to look a little bit like Avraham. Imagine your friend's son comes to see you, but you don't know it's his son. He asks for a favor. When you see him, you say, ' Hold on. You look like so-and-so. You remind me of so-and-so. ' He says, 'Yeah, that was my father.' 'Oh, that was your father? For sure, I'm going to take care of this for you. If you're his son, I'm going to do it. ' But if someone walks in with no resemblance to his father, it's not going to ignite that feeling. The same is true with Avraham Yitzchak V'Yaakov . We're their children. We have to look like them. We have to act like them. Matai yagiu ma'asai l'ma'asei Avraham Yitzchak v'Yaakov . And this is the beautiful point- That's why we need prayer. Because when we pray, we look like Avraham Yitzchak v'Yaakov . They cried out to God, and we're crying out to God. Rashi uses a particular lashon describing the Jewish people praying at Kriat Yam Suf . In Shemot 14:10 it says, Vayitzaku . The Jewish people cried out. They cried out at Kriat Yam Suf. Rashi quotes the Mechilta, Tafsu umnut avotam/They grabbed the trade/the craft of their forefathers. Avraham prayed. Yitzchak prayed. Yaakov prayed. Says Rav Wolbe, What does it mean that they took the trade of their forefathers? He says, an uman is a craftsman . It's something that your family does. It's naturally in your blood. If your father is a carpenter, and your grandfather is a carpenter, you're a carpenter. You just naturally fall into that. Prayer is the craft of the Jewish people. Avraham Yitzchak and Yaakov did it. Imagine someone was a great violinist, and his father was a great violinist. Now the grandson starts playing the violin, not quite like his father or grandfather, but he's holding on to his family trade. You'd say, That reminds me of his father. That reminds me of his grandfather. He was a great violinist. When we start to pray, that's the one-two punch. Because when we're pray, we are taking the trade of our forefathers, and that ignites their remembrance. So it's not just that our prayers are answered because we prayed. We're doing two things when we pray. We pray, and we're also acting like the avot , which ignites the zechut avot .

Avot 2:2-3 | Friday, May 23rd 2025 | 25 Iyar 5785

Avot 1:18-2:1 | Thursday, May 22nd 2025 | 24 Iyar 5785

Avot 1:16-17 | Wednesday, May 21st 2025 | 23 Iyar 5785

Avot 1:14-15 | Tuesday, May 20th 2025 | 22 Iyar 5785

Avot 1:12-13 | Monday, May 19th 2025 | 21 Iyar 5785

Avot 1:10-11 | Sunday, May 18th 2025 | 20 Iyar 5785

Avot 1:8-9 | Saturday, May 17th 2025 | 19 Iyar 5785

Avot 1:6-7 | Friday, May 16th 2025 | 18 Iyar 5785

Avot 1:4-5 | Thursday, May 15th 2025 | 17 Iyar 5785

Avot 1:2-3 | Wednesday, May 14th 2025 | 16 Iyar 5785

Avodah Zara 5:12 - Avot 1:1 | Tuesday, May 13th 2025 | 15 Iyar 5785

Welcome to Daily Bitachon. We are completing the final explanation of our first pasuk , the word ורב V'Rav /The Jewish people became many, they multiplied. The Baal Haggadah explains that they are multitudes like the grass of the fields. So the word rav means a lot. But the Sefer Shibolei HaLeket quotes Rabbenu Yeshayahu that v'rav is does not mean they became a lot. Rather, it means holech u'mitrabeh / They are constantly growing. That's why we say revavah k'tzemach hasadeh netatichech / they were multiplying like the grass of the fields. Grass of the fields just keeps on growing and growing. This pasuk actually uses three terms: gadol /great, atzum /powerful, and v'rav / many or multiply . The Maharal in his Sefer Divrei Negidim page פ tells us, these three terms correspond to the merits of our three Avot . The term gadol is in the zechut of Avraham. Like it says v'e'escha l'goy gadol / I'm going to make you into a goy gadol, a great nation. Therefore, his children became gedolim , as we explained gadol means that you're not influenced by the outside world;you are an influencer , not an influencee . Atzum , powerful, is in the merit of Yitzchak Avinu. King Avimelech told Yitzchak Lech me'imanu ki atzamta mimenu me'od / Leave us because You are much more powerful than us . That's the term atzum . Finally, the term v'rav is in the merit of Yaakov Avinu, whom Hashem told El Shaddai yevarech otcha v'yafrecha v'yarbecha , He will make you fruitful v'yarbecha/ and multiply you. So V'Rav / To multiply is ascribed to Yaakov Avinu. He had 12 children and from there everything branched out. This is a fundamental- that everything we have is zechut avot . What is this concept specifically of V'Rav ? The Sefer Maaseh Nissim asks, Is is true that we more than anybody else? The other nations are more than us. And he answers that V'Rav means they have a multiplying power but it's not that they're numerous, rather, qualitatively , they have a multiplying power. They have the potential for tremendous growth. Like a seed that grows into something else that has more seeds and continues and continues. There are trees that can become extinct. There are things that are wiped out, but grass is always there. It keeps growing and multiplying to no end. That is the potential of Jewish people- that they will be forever. We are an eternal nation. Of course, there are nations that are numerically more than us. But going back to the time of Mitzrayim , has any culture survived like us? We have that power of survival of eternity, we are the eternal nation. As we have spoken about before, in we V'Hi SheAmda , we are the eternal nation, the Jewish people. That is the blessing of V'Rav . Yaakov Avinu wrestled with the angel of Eisav Ad alot hashachar / until the morning star. The Sefer HaChinuch , in the third mitzvah, talks about the underlying reason behind gid hanasheh /the displaced sinew from the wrestling match between Yaakov and this and the angel of Esav, which is to hint to us that even though we will suffer tremendous difficulties during our exiles, in the hands of the nations, in the hands of the children of Esav, we are guaranteed betuchim shelo yovdu / that we will not become extinct. l'olam ya'amod zar'am v'shmam , forever their children will last. By constantly remembering this, they will strengthen their emunah that they will last forever. When Esav's angel fought Yaakov, he hit him on his thigh, symbolizing his seed. He was trying to eradicate the future seed. But we survived. Yaakov Avinu was limping, but the sun came out and he was healed. That is a sign for us that The sun of Mashiach will come v'yirpa'einu and heal us and redeem us. That is the seed -like aspect of revavah , that we will be there forever. The seed will never end; it is constantly replanting and restarting. Yet another lesson and Chizuk in emunah and bitachon from our Haggadah.

Pirkey Avot 

The Gemara in Sanhedrin tells us that David HaMelech asked Hashem why, in the Amidah , we say אלוקי אברהם, אלוקי יצחק, ואלוקי יעקב . Hashem responded that it is because the Avot were tested and passed their tests. We see from here that tests make a person great in this world. The Midrash in Tehillim says that Hashem does not elevate a person to a high position until He first tests him. The pasuk states that Hashem tested the Jewish people in the desert " להטיבך באחריתך " The Sforno explains that Hashem wanted to elevate Bnei Yisrael to become even greater than the angels who serve Him, and that is why He tested them. Many times, Hashem has gifts waiting for a person, and by passing a test, they become worthy of receiving them. A well-known story illustrates this concept: Rashi's father, Rabbi Yitzchak, once found a rare diamond and went to sell it to a local jeweler. The jeweler didn't have enough money to purchase such a valuable stone and suggested that the bishop buy it instead. The bishop had been searching for such a diamond to place on his cross. He offered an enormous sum of money for it. When Rabbi Yitzchak heard the purpose of the purchase, he refused to sell the diamond. However, he realized that if he didn't sell it, it would likely be taken from him by force. So, instead, he threw it into the ocean. That night, he was told in a dream that because of this great sacrifice, he would be blessed with a son whose light would outshine all the precious stones in the world, and whose Torah would illuminate generations to come. The following year, he had a son, whom he named Shlomo. He grew to become the towering sage known as Rashi. A man told me a personal story that took place more than 30 years ago: After high school, he traveled to Israel, where he became religious. He returned for a second year and planned to go back for a third. That summer, he was in his hometown making the final arrangements for his return. On the last day before his flight, on the way to the airport, he stopped at a convenience store to buy a drink and some snacks. While in the store, he remembered that he had purchased a lottery ticket and decided to check the numbers on the store's machine. As soon as he inserted the ticket, red sirens went off across the store. Startled, he asked what was happening. The store manager told him, "That means you won. You matched at least five numbers—possibly six." Shocked, he asked how much he had won. The manager replied, "It could be anywhere from $500,000 to several million dollars." He was stunned. For a moment, he paused to take it all in. But then, fear set in. If he had won millions, would he still go back to yeshiva ? Would this change his life in ways he didn't want? He made a firm decision: instead of checking the numbers immediately, he would first board his flight to Israel. Once he was settled back in yeshiva , he would check the ticket and see how much he had won. Early the next morning, he arrived in Israel and went straight to the yeshiva building. He placed his jacket in the same spot where he had always hung it for the past two years and then went to the Kotel to pray Shacharit . When he returned, his jacket was gone. His lottery ticket was in the zipper pocket. He had not told anyone about the ticket. He searched the entire yeshiva , but the jacket was never found. To this day, he has no idea how much he would have won. Instead of millions of dollars, Hashem gave him something far greater—he remained in yeshiva for several more years, married a bat talmid chacham , and raised a family of outstanding talmidei chachamim with sterling Midot. It is clear that the money was not meant for him, but the test most certainly was. Hashem had given him an extraordinary nisayon . And heroically, he chose to return to Israel, fearing that the money would steer him away from the path he had chosen. Hashem blessed him in ways far beyond anything money could buy. Life's tests can be challenging, but they are designed to lift us up and make us great.