Podcasts about b'ezrat hashem

There is a famous explanation of Vayikhu Ali Terumah/ Take for me a Terumah (type of donation). Why doesn't it say, Give me a donation? The lesson is that when you give something to God, you're really taking it for yourself, because we benefit when we give Sedaka. That is an important belief that we have to have. The Baal HaTurim in Shemot 30,12 points out that the word ונתנו VeNatnu can be read the same way backwards and forwards. W hat's the lesson? That whatever you give to Sedaka comes back to you- you will not be missing anything. In the Ramban's Sefer HaMitzvot , the 17th Mitzvah Lo Taaseh , is that we should not get upset when we give charity, and we shouldn't give it with an Ayin Ra'ah as if we just gave away money. Rather, we should look at charity like I'm putting money into high-yield bonds. God will pay us back many times. That's what it means. Give Him , and it shouldn't bother you when you give it to Him, because God will bless you in all your deeds. So we see that this concept that you're taking when you're giving is not just a mussar concept. According to the Ramban, this attitude, or the lack of such, is one of the 613 mitzvot in the Torah. There is no difference between shaving with a razor and giving charity and feeling that you're losing. It's a Lo Taaseh/ negative commandmen. In a related topic, there are many lessons that we learn from the Shulchan in the Mishkan . The Shulchan represents our own personal table; we invite guests to our table. The Rabbenu Bachye in Terumah 25,23 mentions the custom of the Hasidim of France who used the wood of their tables (that they used to serve their guests on) to create caskets for their burials. This was to show that there's nothing that you're take with you, from all your food and all your drink and all your hard work, except the the Sedaka that you did and the guests you had at your table. That is what you're taking that with you. That's why they would literally create caskets out of their tables. The sefer Sivtei Kohen Al HaTorah, written by a student of the Arizal, says that letters of the word Shulchan/ שלחן are an acronym for ש מור ל קבורה ח סד נ דבתך which means guard for your burial the kindness of your generosity- Because all that money that you gave and all the guests that you have, that's what's going with you. That's what you are actually saving for yourself. The money you give is really what you take . This is an important outlook and an attitude. The story is told about the great Kapishnitzer Rebbe. He once saw a poor man wearing a hat that was all smashed up, so he took his own new hat and gave it to this poor man. One of the Hasidim asked, “ You have many hats. Why do you have to give him a new hat? ” The Rebbe told him, “ I saved myself a new hat because what I give away is what is really is coming back to me.” There's a similar story with Rabbi Sholom Schwadron. A poor man came to before him before Pesach. Rabbi Schwadron had a shirt that he had brought back from America to save for the holiday, and he gave that shirt to the poor person. So that is our lesson of the Parasha, on the proper hashkafa of Emunah to have when you give Sedaka, B'Ezrat Hashem.

Today we will quote an interesting Pasuk from Tzephaniah ( 3,2 ). It's not a pasuk that describes someone having bitachon, but it does give us some hizzuk on the need to have bitachon. Tzephaniah, when talking about the generation of the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash, says, לֹ֤א שָֽׁמְעָה֙ בְּק֔וֹל לֹ֥א לָקְחָ֖ה מוּסָ֑ר בַּֽיהֹוָה֙ לֹ֣א בָטָ֔חָה אֶל־אֱלֹהֶ֖יהָ לֹ֥א קָרֵֽבָה׃ They did not listen to the voice. They did not take mussar, they did not rely on Hashem, they did not come close to God. Those are four different reasons for the Churban . 1- They didn't listen to the voice- The Chida says this refers to the voice of the Nevi'im. 2- They didn't take mussar, they didn't look around and see what happened to the 10 tribes. As Tzephaniah says later, they didn't see what happened to the other nations of the world. When God causes upheaval, its for us to take mussar to ourselves. 3- They did not rely on Hashem. We see from here an important lesson. They did not rely on Hashem means that part of the Churban came about because of a lack of reliance on Hashem. This is brought down by the Sefer Divreh Shalom in his 19th derasha And this is from a great rabbi of yesterday named Mahari Adribi. He says that from here we see the importance of Bitachon and that a lack of Bitachon caused the Churban. That's why Tzephaniah is complaining; If they would've relied on Hashem, these problems would not have happened. The outcome of the Bitachon would've been, 4- El Eloheha Karava/They would've come close to God. It says, ‘ You didn't rely on Hashem, so you didn't come close to God. ' If they had relied on Hashem, they would've come close to God. They would've turned around and their enemies would've left. The sefer Safa Berura, by Rabbi Moshe Vale says that the first letter of each of the words בַּֽ יהֹוָה֙ לֹ֣ א בָ טָ֔חָה / In Hashem they didn't rely spells out בלב / In the heart. He says a pasuk in a Shir Hashirim says, “I am asleep and my heart is awake.” Meaning, every Jewish person may look like he's sleeping, but his heart is awake. He just needs a bit of a jolt, and he'll be able to pay attention to his heart, which is connected to God. This was the complaint against the Jewish people, that inherently they were connected, as it says, ‘ My heart is awake. ' I'm connected. So why didn't they see what was going on in the world, or listen to the words of the prophets (in the times that we had prophets)? The Malbim adds that it means, in the time that we have teachers, listen to your teachers. Take the mussar, take heed to what's going on around you, when you see things that are going on that are negative and scary . Just like we see in our days, especially considering the situation in Eretz Yisrael after October 7 th . It's something to take mussar from, and it's definitely something that's scary. There are a lot of unknowns. So what are we supposed to do? Tzephaniah is letting us know. We can learn the mussar from the previous generations- We should do the opposite and the positive. -We should be Shomeah B'Kol/ Listen to the voice. - Lokeach Mussar/We should take the rebuke. -B'Hashem Batacha/ We should rely on God. -El Eloheha Karev/We should come close to God. And then, B'Ezrat Hashem, everything will turn around. Rav Dovid Soloveitchik, in one of his sefarim, when talking about Emunah and Bitachon, quotes this pasuk and says we see from it that the Churban came from a lack of Bitachon. He then quotes a pasuk in Michah(5,6) that says, וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ שְׁאֵרִ֣ית יַעֲקֹ֗ב בְּקֶ֙רֶב֙ עַמִּ֣ים רַבִּ֔ים כְּטַל֙ מֵאֵ֣ת יְהֹוָ֔ה כִּרְבִיבִ֖ים עֲלֵי־עֵ֑שֶׂב אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־יְקַוֶּה֙ לְאִ֔ישׁ וְלֹ֥א יְיַחֵ֖ל לִבְנֵ֥י אָדָֽם The leftovers of Yaakov amongst the many nations, like the dew from Hashem and the rain on the grass- the grass does not rely on anybody else. It knows the rain and dew are coming from God. It doesn't hope to people. This is talking about the future; this is what's going to bring Mashiach. He says it's going be the leftovers . Why the leftovers of Yaakov ? Why not Bet Yaakov ? Rav Dovid Soloveitchik z'l says that it's because not everybody is going to survive. Who will survive? The Botchim , those that rely on Hashem, will be the leftovers that survive. B'Ezrat Hashem, we will be from those people that survive these tumultuous times, due to our Bitachon and coming close to Hashem. Have a wonderful day.

When a person harbors hatred towards another individual, all that does is cause damage. It damages the one harboring the hatred, and in many instances, it damages the one who is the object of the hatred. If the person can overcome his natural inclination and get himself to forgive and release the negative feelings, it will bring blessing into his life and blessing into the other person's life. If we allow our sechel (logic)to take over our emotions, it would be obvious that we should forgive. Who wouldn't want blessing instead of damage? A woman who we'll call Esther related: She was experiencing difficulties in having children. She tried many doctors, but none were able to help. She had a child many years ago, but has since then stopped. Through immense tefila and building of her emunah, Hashem led her to the place she needed to be to get her salvation. Esther had a high school classmate named Sarah, who she met at a pidyon haben . She hadn't seen her in six years, and they began reconnecting. Sarah was a very good influence on Esther, religiously. She introduced her to her shemirat halashon group, and they learned various books together on the phone each night. One day, Sarah encouraged Esther to join a class given by a very inspirational speaker. Esther was excited to go, but when she found out the class was going to be held in the home of a different high school acquaintance of hers, who we'll call Leah, Esther immediately had flashbacks of all the times Leah bullied her in high school. She was also part of a group that laughed at her and called her names one summer in camp, and she did not want to be reintroduced to those memories. She politely told Sarah that the people at this class were not her type, and she didn't want to go. Sarah assured her that these ladies had the most beautiful middot , and she would really benefit from the class. And with that, Esther agreed to try. The class was amazing, and the ladies there truly did have beautiful middot . Leah was so warm and kind, and she was a regular at hosting Torah classes. Esther realized this was not the same Leah that used to bully her in high school. She was a completely changed woman. Esther had a great conversation with Leah, and Leah even gave her encouragement and advice regarding tefila and emunah. On the way home that night, Esther told Sarah how much she loved the class and all the ladies who attended. She then asked her about how many children Leah had, because she knew she got married around the same time as her. Sarah replied, “Unfortunately, Leah hasn't had any children yet after 8 years of marriage.” Esther was shocked and began thinking if perhaps her negative feelings towards her for all those years had something to do with it. When she got home that night, Esther began speaking to Hashem. She told Hashem she completely forgives Leah for everything she ever did to her. She released all of her negative feelings and begged Hashem to absolve her from all the things that she did to her when they were younger. From that day on, she began praying every day for Leah to have children. The next time she saw Leah was at a class four months later, and Leah had just announced that she was three months pregnant. Esther was in tears. She felt that Hashem led her to meet up with Leah again after all these years just so she could forgive her. She wished Leah mazal tov, and Leah replied to her with the most beautiful beracha , saying that she should be blessed with a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Esther answered a loud Amen . She felt so close to Hashem at that time and asked Him to please use that beracha and give her a baby. Lo and behold, two weeks later, Esther took a pregnancy test, and it came out positive. B'ezrat Hashem, both Esther and Leah should have healthy babies b'shaah tova . The zechut of forgiving and loving is enormous. The people who can get themselves to do it feel so much better about themselves, and they also bring so much blessing into their lives and the lives of the ones they forgive.

In this week's Parasha , Beshelach , the Jewish People began receiving Mann from Shamayim .They were in a desert with no crops and no way of obtaining food. Hashem showedthem their sustenance comes from Him. It came down in abundance, ready for themto enjoy. The Mann wasnot just for that generation. It was also to teach us a lesson that our parnasa comes only from Hashem. The Shulchan Aruch writes, it's good tosay Parashat HaMann every day. The Mishnah Berura explains that Shulchan Aruch does not mean just to say the words,but rather to think about their meaning and contemplate the wonders of Hashem.By doing that, a person will come to truly believe that his sustenance comes b'hashgacha Pratit, and that it does not depend on his efforts. More work does notequal more money. The Yerushalmi says, whoever says Parashat HaMann is guaranteed that he will always have ample sustenance. I read a storythat a man told about himself. Some years ago, he was fired from his job andjust a few days after that, his wife was fired from her job as well. They havea large family with a lot of expenses. At that point, they weren't going to beable to afford even the basics. One morning after shacharit , this man'sfriend came over to him and said, "I see you look very depressed. Is everythingokay?" The man nearly burst out into tears. He told his friend what happenedand how nervous he was about the future. The friend said to him, "I don't havea job for you or your wife, but I do have some good advice." He opened the Shulchan Aruch and showed him the Mishnah Berura about the Parashat HaMann . He said, "Look at these words, you have a guarantee from the Yerushalmi that if you will say this with the right kavana , you'll always haveeverything you need. What could be better than that?" At that moment, this manlooked at Parashat HaMann in a whole new light and began to sayit with great kavana . He decided that every morning after Shacharit he was going to say it with full belief that Hashem is the One who sends his parnasa .The very same morning he began saying it, someone approached him with a joboffer that was much better than his previous job. Just a few days later, hiswife found an outstanding job with a higher salary than she had been receivingbefore. Hashem sendsour sustenance and He wants us to know it. Saying Parashat HaMann with real emunah is a great segula . But it's not just about thewords, it's about the belief. Rebbe MeirHaLevi from Apta, the author of the sefer Ohr L'Shamayim wrote a beautiful tefila for requesting parnasa . The Tiferet L'Moshe said about that tefila , if it is said with kavana ,it is also a segula for parnasa . B'ezrat Hashem, this tefila is attached to the email today. May everybody be blessed with parnasa b'revach . Shabbat Shalom

It says in the Midrash that the geula from Mitzrayim was in the zechut of achdut , a special brotherly love between Moshe and Aharon which influenced Klal Yisrael . We were not saved from the decree of Haman until the people united with each other. The Shechina dwells only where there is achdut . This is one of the criteria necessary to attain the final Geula as well. Hashem, the Torah and the Jewish People are all one. The Torah is supposed to be something that unites us, not Heaven forbid cause rifts. If we will act the way the Torah wants us to act, we will automatically nullify all the hatred. I heard a beautiful story which combines the ways of Torah and achdut . Yehuda, who learns in a kollel in Bnei Brak, was driving on the highway a few months ago when he saw a family standing outside their car. He stopped to ask what was wrong. Yaakov, the head of the family, was standing with his wife and young daughter and Yaakov said they had run out of gas. Yehuda said it would be his pleasure to go to a gas station and bring back some gasoline for them. Yaakov was very appreciative, saying they had been there for nearly a half an hour without anyone stopping to help them. Yehuda went and returned fifteen minutes later with the gasoline and handed the container to Yaakov. Yaakov thanked Yehuda and asked him how much money he owed him. Yehuda said, “I just did a mitzvah and I don't take money for mitzvot. It's my zechut.” Yaakov offered money again and Yehuda made it clear he was not going to accept it under any circumstances. Yaakov was touched by the gesture. He took Yehuda to the back of his car and showed him a bumper sticker that said something to the sort of “Trample all charedi Jews.” He said, “I had this on my car for two years, and now, the first time I have an interaction with a charedi I see how beautiful you are.” He apologized to Yehuda and then ripped the sticker off his car and ripped it up. Yehuda asked Yaakov where he was from. Yaakov replied that he lived in Kibbutz Be'eri near Gaza. Yehuda was not familiar with that particular location, but he said he wanted to keep a connection with him, so he took down Yaakov's phone number. Two weeks later, Yehuda called Yaakov, reminding him of their encounter. Yaakov was so happy to hear from him. Yehuda told him a short story about Shabbat that he wanted Yaakov to relate to his young daughter. Yaakov loved the story and said he would tell her. From then on, Yehuda called Yaakov weekly every Friday to tell him a story that he could relate to his family. One Friday, Yaakov said to Yehuda, “I want to understand a little more. Aren't you guys so bored on Shabbat? What do you do all day if you are not able to use your phones or go anywhere?” Yehuda told Yaakov that Shabbat was the best day of the week. He said he wanted to invite him at a future point to come to his home and experience Shabbat with him. Initially Yaakov said Bnei Brak was off limits, but after some coaxing, he finally agreed to come. Yehuda asked his rabbi what he thought the best Shabbat would be to invite him as it was coming close to the time of the Yamim Noraim. His Rabbi said the best day would be Shabbat Simchat Torah. Besides for the Shabbat experience, he would also see the festive dancing and love between everyone. Yehuda told his rabbi, on Simchat Torah he was planning on going to his parents in Sderot. The rabbi said to him, “maybe if you would invite your parents they would want to come to you. Then Yaakov could see your kibbud Av v'Em as well.” So Yehuda asked his parents if they wanted to come and they were delighted to. When that Shabbat came around, Yaakov and his family, as well as Yehuda's parents both came to Yehuda in Bnei Brak. By the time the Shabbat ended, it became apparent that Yaakov and his family had their lives spared. Yehuda's parents, as well, lived in a place that got bombed and their lives were saved too. Besides for the amazing hashgacha peratit here, the beauty of the story is the unity which took place. B'ezrat Hashem, we will all unify and love each other like brothers, no matter what level of religion anybody is on.

The pasuk says in Kohelet, את הכל עשה יפה בעתו גם את העלם נתן בלבם , and Chazal are doresh the missing vav in the word העלם /world to mean that Hashem hid from Man something very important about the world. He makes our hearts feel that this world is the main purpose of Creation. Rabbi Menashe Reisman gave a mashal of a movie producer with great wisdom who is able to make his audience feel that what is happening on the screen is real. And during different parts of the movie, their emotions constantly change. At one point, they are very afraid. At another point, they start crying. And then they are calm and happy. Kavayachol , that is how Hashem made this world. People think that everything depends on their positions and status in the world. They think it is worth it to invest all their time in building themselves up in this world. It seems as though wealth and honor are what really matter the most. It's only through the Torah that we are able to understand that this world is just a vestibule, a path to get to the Next World. One day, Hashem is going to turn the lights on, and we will see with our own eyes what we thought was so important was really הבל הבלים . The only thing that matters is our performance of Torah and mitzvot. In this world, there are a lot of questions. It seems like bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. Why is this person financially successful and that one isn't? Why is this person married and that one is not? Why does this one have children and that one doesn't? All of these are very strong questions in the reality that the main purpose is for this world. But once someone knows there is a much bigger picture and this world is just a drop in the bucket compared to the Eternal World, then the questions aren't so strong anymore. Rabbi Avraham Genichovsky used to pray in a vatikin minyan every day in Bnei Brak. One day, out of nowhere, right in the middle of the day, one of the members of the shul passed away. He wasn't old and he wasn't sick. And at the funeral, someone asked the Rabbi a question, he said, “It says in Chazal if someone prays vatikin he will not get damaged that day. And so how did this man pass away suddenly on a day that he prayed vatikin ?” Rabbi Avraham looked at him and said, “You think leaving this world to go to the Real World is called damage?” And he gave this person a mashal . He said, “Imagine somebody paid top dollar to get a first-class ticket on a flight from, let's say, America to Israel. What if the flight would get in two and a half hours earlier than expected? Would the person complain saying it's not fair, he deserved more time in first class? He would be happy that he arrived at the real destination much quicker. Someone who did his job in this world properly does not consider it damaging to get to the Real World earlier than expected.” Those who truly know what this world is about do not have so many questions. The Shomer Emunim writes in his Ma'amar Emunah in perek 7, one of the tikkunim necessary to be made before the Mashiach comes is in the area of emunah. If a person will have simple emunah, he can bring about a tikkun for the entire generation. His emunah will stop many tragedies from taking place. Imagine if someone would have a lot of questions about the difficulties he is going through and instead of complaining, he wholeheartedly accepts the will of Hashem and continues to do his avodah happily. The tikkun he would make would be unparalleled. We are now living in the End of Days. We can all contribute to making the ultimate tikkun in emunah by purifying our hearts and trusting in Hashem. B'ezrat Hashem, that will give us the zechut to merit the great light of Mashiach bekarov .

There is a claim against Noach that he should have prayed to save his generation like Avraham prayed to save Sodom. And for that reason, the pasuk calls the Mabul מי נח . The Midrash tells us: after the Mabul, Noach asked Hashem to never bring a Mabul again and Hashem agreed. Then Noach asked Hashem how he was able to destroy His beautiful world in the first place. Hashem replied, "Now you ask me that? You should have prayed before the Mabul that it shouldn't have happened." It says regarding Avraham Avinu, he stopped praying for Sodom when he found out that there weren't even ten righteous people there. And the reason he stopped at ten is he learned from Noach, because by Noach there were only eight righteous people with him, plus Hashem. And that's why Noach didn't pray to prevent the Mabul. So, Rabbi Simcha Wasserman asked, based on this, "Why did Hashem tell Noach that he should have prayed to prevent the Mabul? After all, the rule is you don't ask to save a place on behalf of less than ten righteous people." Rabbi Wasserman answered that it didn't have to be the rule. If Noach would have prayed, he could have prevented the Mabul with only nine righteous people or even less, but because he decided ten was the number, that became the rule. We learned from here. We should never limit Hashem's capabilities and decide on our own what we think is possible to happen. We can stunt the power of Tefillah when we make too many calculations if things are possible or not. How great is our Emunah expected to be in hoping for our Hashem's salvations? Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein quoted the Ramban regarding Sarah Imenu laughing when the angel told her she would have a child the following year. The Ramban asked, "Why did Hashem have a claim against Sarah for that? After all, she didn't know that her guests were angels. She thought they were simple wayfarers. She also was almost ninety years old, way beyond the age of childbearing. What did she do wrong?" The Ramban says, She should have still believed that at her advanced age having a child was possible, because a Jew is expected to believe that nothing is hard for Hashem to do. There is no such thing as standard when it comes to Hashem. Everything exists by the will of Hashem. היפלא מה' דבר ?. At every moment, Hashem is recreating the entire world. Like it says המחדש בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית "If something appears to be out of the realm of possibility, it is our job to say, "It's not the causes that cause things to happen, it's only Hashem." An older woman can still have children. A deathly ill patient can still be cured. אפילו חרב חדה מונחת על צווארו של אדם , even if there's a sharp sword on a person's neck and death seems imminent, אל ימנע עצמו מן הרחמים , he's still supposed to hope and pray for Hashem's salvation. If we believe היפלא מה' דבר and we pray with emunah, we can have salvation that would not have come had we not believed that. It's up to the person to believe and pray. Hashem is unlimited and wants us to feel that way. And even if a person is not supposed to pray for an open miracle, he could still pray for Hashem to help him in a way that's not considered an open miracle. Hashem could do anything. It's up to us to believe it and pray with that Emunah and B'ezrat Hashem, we will see the greatest yeshuot.

We are continuing with the Bet Halevi. He now tells us that just like human beings do not control other human beings, but rather, ultimately Hashem decides, so too when it comes to man's parnasa , or man's knowledge. Man's efforts do not help at all, neither to add to, nor to subtract from what has been decreed upon him. He says we learn this from the manna . The manna was the siman for future generations. It was the sign , the omen, for how things would be in the future. It says about the manna , “ The like one that added in his efforts did not receive more, the one that limited his efforts did not receive less. ” They'd all go out and gather, and when they came back and measured, it would always measure an Omer per person in their household. Furthermore, the Midrash in Yalkut Shemoni teaches us that the amount of manna that fell every day was enough to provide sustenance for thousands of years! The obvious question is, if each person could only gather an Omer , why was there so much out there? Rav Dessler explains that Hashem wanted to teach them, and us as well, that Hashem's supply of sustenance is limitless. One should never worry that someone else is taking away from his source of livelihood. I always like to say the man that started Microsoft, Bill Gates, one of the wealthiest men in the world, could have been Bill Gross or Bill Grazi. It could have been someone in the Jewish community that made it. Hashem's ability to sustain us is endless. Even today, we see there's an abundance of food that sometimes is put to waste, just because of the rules of supply and demand. If there's too much food, the prices get too cheap, and the farmers don't make any money. There's an abundance of food, an abundance of water, and an abundance of oxygen. Everything that we need is there in an abundance. That's another lesson of the manna . And the proof that manna is there for generations is that Hashem commanded Moshe to take a jar of manna and place it in front of the Aron Hakodesh, to remain there for safekeeping for future generations. It says that centuries later, Yirmiyah rebuked the people for decreasing their involvement in Torah and Mitzvot because of their excessive involvement in pursuing their livelihoods, and he showed them the jar of manna and said, “ This is how your forefathers survived.” These lessons are timely lessons. Although they say, the more effort you put in, the more you'll take out, we, as believing Jews, know otherwise. Extra effort can never change what was decreed for us by Hashem. Like the Gemara says in Masechet Betza, How much food a person will have is decided on Rosh Hashanah. Another famous lesson from the manna is in the Gemara in Masechet Yoma. It says that Hashem gave the manna in daily portions. Why didn't Hashem give it in occasional, larger installments? Let it come once a week, once a month, maybe once a year. Hashem could do anything. Why did it have to come down daily? The Gemara explains that it's because Hashem wants a relationship with us. It's like a king who gives his son a year's allowance, which means that the son only has to come home once a year. The king obviously doesn't want to have a relationship with him. But when he gives his son a daily allowance, that means he wants to see his son every single day. That's true of us as well. Hashem wants to keep a connection with us. That's why we have all these twists and turns in life. The Brisker Rav brings out another interesting point. His daughter once turned to him when there was a grave shortage of food in Eretz Yisrael. She said, “ What are we going to do? The price of food keeps rising.” The Brisker Rav answered that when the Gemara talks about our income being determined from Rosh Hashanah, it doesn't say our money is determined from Rosh Hashanah. It says Mezonot /our food is determined. So regardless of how high the price goes, Hashem decides how much food you're going to get. Hashem decides the bottom line of what you'll get. And that's also interesting because sometimes people might have a lot of money but don't have a lot mezonot , and the opposite. God decides the bottom line, of what mezonot we are going to have every single year, and no one can affect what we're going to have. No efforts can change that, and that should cause us to live a much less stressful life, B'Ezrat Hashem. Have a wonderful day.

The Gemara(Avoda Zara)says, When Hashem sends yesurin/afflictions upon a person, the yesurin take an oath that they will not leave the person until their designated day to leave arrives, at the exact minute they're supposed to leave, with the exact medication that's supposed to remove them. Rabbi Menashe Reisman quoted the Chatam Sofer who said that this only applies if the person does not make Teshuva in the interim. However, if, when the yesurin come, the person cries out to Hashem and accepts to become better, the yesurin will leave earlier. And even though the Gemara says the yesurin take an oath that they can't leave early, that oath is on condition that the person does not change. Which means, even though, for a person's own good, he has to go through certain afflictions sometimes, it is always in the person's hands to end those afflictions earlier. Our greatest tools are always Tefila, Teshuva and Maasim Tovim . In general, afflictions serve to bring about kapara , but we can achieve kapara in other ways, namely teshuva . In the days of the Chatam Sofer, there was a war going on, and he said then that a person must know that in Shamayim there is an exact time that this war was to begin, and there's an exact time that the war is supposed to end. And so too, today, without a question, Hashem has an exact date when this war will end. However, we can make it happen earlier with our teshuva and good deeds. Every improvement we make goes a very long way. Every Tefila goes a very long way. The Mesilat Yesharim writes in Perek יט , that if a person thinks to himself, Who am I to pray for the Geula? Will my prayers really bring about the kibbutz galuyot and the Mashiach? The answer is, Of course they will. It is to combat this claim that Chazal tell us, Hashem created man alone to teach us that everyone should say, “The world was created on my behalf, ..Hashem will change the entire world just because of me .” Every single Jew has this awesome power, and now, more than ever, we need to take advantage of it and have more focus. When we're praying, we need to have more kavana in the beracha of Bonei Yerushalayim . We need to have more kavana in the beracha of Et Semach David . We need to have more kavana in the beracha of Teka B'Shofar, and Hasheva Shofetenu. When we say the words Umalchut Harish'ah Mehera … we can have in mind that Hashem should get rid of these horrible terrorists. When we say Rachem in the Birkat Hamazon , if we focus more, we can bring about the greatest yeshuot . We're asking Hashem to have mercy Al Yisrael Amach, v'al Yerushalayim Irach …. So much is riding on our tefilot and good deeds. If everyone will improve in their deeds and in their tefilot , the Geula will arrive. B'Ezrat Hashem, we should see it soon. Amen.

Dedicated in Honor of Jack Terzi There are hundreds of thousands of Jews in danger at this moment- Mothers who said goodbye to their children going to battle, not knowing if they will ever see them again. People being held hostage by the cruelest beings on the planet. Tens of thousands of people mourning the losses of their loved ones. Frantic parents continue to search for their children, and thousands of people are injured, many of whom are fighting for their lives. It is incumbent upon us to do whatever we can to help. Baruch Hashem, people from all over the world are sending supplies and food, and in most cases it's Pikuach Nefesh . People who are home-bound are literally out of food. Ashrechem Yisrael ! People are doing everything in their power to help those in need. Rabbi Menashe Reisman quoted from the Chatam Sofer in Parashat Baha'alotcha that the first Sedaka everyone has to perform is giving of their hearts to their fellow Jews. We have to be Noseh B'Ol Im Havero and feel the pain that our brothers are suffering. How can we enjoy ourselves with the regular pleasures of life when so many people are suffering? When it comes to things as simple as sitting in the car and listening to music, a person should say, How can I relax and enjoy myself when my brothers and sisters are worried about their very lives? Every moment of enjoyment and relaxation that we give up, to share in their pain, goes a very long way. Taking time out to go to tehilim gatherings and chizuk gatherings rather than going out for dinner, are wonderful things that show that we are sharing in their pain, aside from all of the zechuyot that they are bringing about. The Chatam Sofer writes in Bamidbar יא that although every person who experiences difficulties is supposed to accept them with love and happiness, everyone else around them is supposed to feel pain for them. And even if we see that the people suffering are accepting it with joy, we don't say, ‘ Baruch Hashem, they're accepting it, so everything is fine.' No! Everybody else's Avodah is to feel the pain that they should be experiencing. From the words of the Chatam Sofer, it sounds like the more others feel the pain, the easier it becomes on the ones going through the difficulty. If, Lo Alenu , a missile hit a certain area, a parent whose child is there will call to see if the child is okay. When the child answers the phone, the parent will breathe a sigh of relief. But the parent can't just go back to sit on the couch like before, because many others have been affected by that missile. Many whose lives will never be the same. The more our hearts feel for others, the less they will have to suffer. The pasuk says, when Hashem called to Moshe from the burning bush, He said, “ Moshe Moshe ,” andis there is no break between the first Moshe and the next one as there is when Hashem called to Avraham twice. The Midrash explains this with a mashal of a man who is carrying an extremely heavy load, and calls out to a friend walking by, to help him. When he calls him, he calls his name twice “ Yosef, Yosef, please! I need your help !” If the Midrash didn't use this mashal , we wouldn't be able to say it, but kal v'yachol, the nimshal is that Hashem was in such pain over the slavery of the Jewish people that He was calling to Moshe to help Him relieve some of the burden. When someone shares the pain, it takes away from the one experiencing it. Our family is hurting. It's up to us to remove some of their pain. This is a great form of Sedaka . B'Ezrat Hashem, if Hashem sees us uniting in such a deep way, it will arouse Him to bring the Geula . Let us all keep this upcoming Shabbat the best we ever did. And may the zechut of Shabbat stand for us and protect us. Shabbat Shalom. URGENT APPEAL From iTorah.com https://itorah.com/campaigns/ special "Kol Yisrael Arebim Zeh La'zeh" All Jews are responsible for one another. Please donate to and provide for your brothers and sisters in Israel who are suffering and need your help! Our campaign will be used to fund purchases of… • Providing 2,000 meals PER DAY to IDF Soldiers around the country • Sisiyot and Siddurim for the soldiers • Supplies for the displaced • Battle Gear for families for protection • Food & Necessities • Financial Aid to Families whose wage earners have been taken from work and deployed into battle.

URGENT APPEAL for ISRAEL from ITORAH.COM https://itorah.com/campaigns/ special We can not go about our days regularly while there's a war going on with our people. Those who do not normally attend Minyan should be attending Minyanim now. Those who do not normally learn Torah should be learning Torah now. Those who may be lax in certain areas of kashrut must be extra careful during these times. Rav Shach said to his yeshiva before an impending war that the only advice was for everyone to improve themselves, especially in the areas of Limud Torah, Kashrut and Shemirat Shabbat. Those who are learning already have to learn better . They have to use every minute of their learning time for learning and not talk about other things. Someone who has difficulty doing any particular mitzvah should say to himself, ‘ I must strengthen myself now and do that mitzvah to help the situation. I have to be strong and overcome my laziness and Yetzer Harah.' Someone once went to the Chafetz Chaim for a beracha and the Rabbi replied, “ You're better off asking Shabbat for Beracha because it is the true source of all blessing.” Rav Shach said keeping Shabbat properly will save us from war. This Shabbat, we all have the opportunity to keep it the best we ever did, and that includes utilizing the time for learning and spirituality. The pasuk in Parashat Ki Tese says, כִּי ה' אֱלוֹהֶיךָ מִתְהַלֵּךְ בְּקֶרֶב מַחֲנֶךָ לְהַצִּילְךָ וְלָתֵת אֹיְבֶיךָ לְפָנֶיךָ That Hashem will walk in the midst of our camp and save us from all of our enemies. וְהָיָ֥ה מַחֲנֶ֖יךָ קָד֑וֹשׁ וְלֹֽא־יִרְאֶ֤ה בְךָ֙ עֶרְוַ֣ת דָּבָ֔ר But first, our camp has to be holy and that comes about through dressing modestly. Anyone who has difficulty with this mitzvah can help bring about protection and salvation by accepting to do the mitzvah properly. And even if the person is not able to do it permanently, at least do it now . We have the greatest power of all- the One who created the world, the One who obliterated Mitzrayim , and the One who has defeated our enemies time and time again throughout the course of history. All we need to do is His will. The first thing we have to realize is that we have nothing other than Hashem. There is no army that can help us. There are no powerful countries that can help us. The pasuk says, אִם ה׳ לֹא־יִשְׁמׇר־עִ֝֗יר שָׁ֤וְא ׀ שָׁקַ֬ד שׁוֹמֵֽר If Hashem does not guard the city, then all the efforts of the guards will be in vain . We may have the best military personnel, the best strategies, the most sophisticated weapons and tanks, but if we don't have Hashem guarding, all of it is worthless. Chazal tell us, in the end of days, the days preceding Mashiach, we must come to the realization of אין לנו להשען אלא על אבינו שבשמים that we have nothing else to rely upon other than our Father in heaven. We could accomplish that right now, in our own minds. We need to work on ourselves not to feel confident in the powers of man, but rather to know that all of man's strengths only come from Hashem. Whatever He says goes. The armies will just be carrying out His will. If we really believe that, then we'll do our utmost to improve our deeds because that is what He wants. B'Ezrat Hashem , in that zechut , we should see the Geula Shelemah B'Karov, Amen! URGENT APPEAL From iTorah.com https://itorah.com/campaigns/ special "Kol Yisrael Arebim Zeh La'zeh" All Jews are responsible for one another. Please donate to and provide for your brothers and sisters in Israel who are suffering and need your help! Our campaign will be used to fund purchases of… • Providing 2,000 meals PER DAY to IDF Soldiers around the country • Sisiyot and Siddurim for the soldiers • Supplies for the displaced • Battle Gear for families for protection • Food & Necessities • Financial Aid to Families whose wage earners have been taken from work and deployed into battle.

We are excited to announce the release of a new book, the Living Emunah on the Parashah. B'ezrat Hashem, it's the first of its kind, and it's now available from ArtScroll and can be ordered using the link below, or can be found in any local bookstore https://www.artscroll.com/Books/9781422627402.html When a person realizes how intimately Hashem is involved inhis life, it brings such a good feeling. It brings a sense of calm andtranquility. He understands that everything that is transpiring in his life isbeing orchestrated by his loving Father who only wants his best. So even whenthings are not going the way that he hoped, he's still able to remain in acomplete state of happiness, knowing with a clarity that whatever is happeningis exactly what is meant to be happening. Hashem knows our innermost feelings.He feels what we're feeling. He knows what we're going through. That itselfshould give a person chizuk to persevere through times of challenge. When a personsees so clearly Hashem's loving care for him, it strengthens his Emunah in avery big way. A woman told me that one year ago, before Rosh Hashanah,her father received a gift from a Yeshiva that he helped support. It was abeautiful set of black leather-bound benchers. Being that he is Sephardic andthe benchers were nusach Ashkenaz , he really had no use for them. Thenext time he went to visit his daughter at her house, he brought over the setand gave them to her. She said "Dad, I also have no use for these."He told her, "Please find someone who could use them." So she leftthem on her front table for the time being. That erev Shabbat was thefirst time she could remember that she finished her Shabbat preparations early,and she decided to go sit out on her front porch to relax a little. When shewent outside, she saw a religious man walking by. She immediately thought ofthe benchers and ran in to get them. She sent her son to go give them to thatman telling him that they have no use for them and would be happy if someoneelse would use them. Initially, the man refused the extravagant gift, but afterthe woman told him from her porch that he would be doing them a favor by takingthem, he accepted them. Fast forward one year to this year during the AseretYemei Teshuva. This woman got a knock at her door from a Mrs. Goldberg whomshe did not recognize. Mrs. Goldberg said, "I'm here to thank you. I meantto come so many times this year. I just never got around to it. Last year, atthis time you gave my husband the leather-bound benchers. You have no idea whatthat meant to me. You see, last year we had the hardest year financially of ourlives. My husband told me we were not going to be able to buy anything new forthe Yom Tov of Sukkot. I totally accepted it. But there was one thingthat I really wanted— new black leather-bound benchers. I did not tell oneperson about it, not even my husband. Only Hashem knew what was in my heart.Then my husband came home that erev Shabbat and said he managed to getme a Yom Tov present, and explained how. When I saw what it was, I feltlike I got the biggest hug from Hashem. He knew exactly what I wanted, and Hedelivered it right into my hands." The hashgacha of this storyis mind blowing—for that woman to be on her porch at that time, and just thenthe one man whose wife wanted those benchers so badly happened to be walkingby. This episode gave that woman so much strength. Although she was having ahard year, she realized Hashem was in total control and taking care of everyone of her needs. And that gave her the most chizuk.

Today’s daf is sponsored by Jessica Jobanek and Harold Kingsberg in honor of the first birthday of their beloved son, Shmuel Meir. “We look forward to many more years learning with and from you, B'ezrat Hashem.”  If a master removes the eye of an already blind slave, will the slave be freed? Which types of blemishes are considered noticeable that a slave would go free if the master inflicted it? Would this include castrated testicles or cutting his tongue? Sources are brought from other areas of halacha where revealed blemishes are discussed. The Mishna discusses how larger and smaller animals are acquired. The Gemara raises a question according to a tana who requires lifting even large animals: how can an elephant be acquired?

Today’s daf is sponsored by Jessica Jobanek and Harold Kingsberg in honor of the first birthday of their beloved son, Shmuel Meir. “We look forward to many more years learning with and from you, B'ezrat Hashem.”  If a master removes the eye of an already blind slave, will the slave be freed? Which types of blemishes are considered noticeable that a slave would go free if the master inflicted it? Would this include castrated testicles or cutting his tongue? Sources are brought from other areas of halacha where revealed blemishes are discussed. The Mishna discusses how larger and smaller animals are acquired. The Gemara raises a question according to a tana who requires lifting even large animals: how can an elephant be acquired?

In the beginning of this week's Parasha, Ki Tavo, we read about the mitzvah of Bikurim where the landowners bring up a basket of their first fruits to the Bet HaMikdash. There they read a portion from the Torah thanking Hashem for all of the chasadim that He does for them. The Midrash in Bereshit says in the zechut of this mitzvah alone, Hashem created the entire world. What is so special about Bikurim? The purpose of our existence is for us to recognize Hashem in this hidden world and serve Him properly. When a landowner works his field and puts in all the necessary efforts to produce a crop, it will obviously appear that he is the one who made it happen. His mitzvah is to go to the Bet HaMikdash and declare that Hashem is the One who made everything happen and thank Him for it. That act of recognition and thanks is worth creating the entire world because it is fulfilling its purpose. The sefer Torat Chaim writes, Hashem does kindness with us every moment of the day. It's just that we don't recognize all of them. We think things are running naturally and we don't sense that with every move we make and every breath we take, we are experiencing chesed Hashem. The Rabbi continued, technically, we should be thanking Hashem at every moment, but because that's not possible, the Rabbis instituted a thank you section in the Amida which we say three times a day to include all the 'thank you's that we owe for the rest of the day. One of the areas that we are tested in this world is how we respond to challenges. Do we recognize the challenges are from Hashem for our best or do we feel like we're being picked on and complain about them? We must also realize that one of the areas we are tested in is how we respond to blessing. Do we recognize the blessings are from Hashem? Do we thank Him for them? That's a test we would much rather have, so let us do it the best possible way. The Torat Avigdor writes, one of the reasons the words "קל עליון-supreme God" are written next to the words "-גומל חסדים טובים Who grants benevolent kindnesses" in the Amida is for us to contemplate the fact that any chasadim we have are directly from Hashem and the people who seem to be the immediate cause of them are just His messengers. How can we improve in this area of thanking Hashem for everything we have? It could happen that a person was once facing adversity. For example, he had a dangerous illness. He cried and prayed to Hashem many times for salvation and, baruch Hashem, it came – the doctors declared him totally healed. Naturally, at that time, he must have felt indebted to Hashem. But after time went on, did he still feel the same thankfulness for living a regular, healthy life? That is where the test kicks in, to be appreciative of the blessing of health, without the challenge of it being threatened. If we could contemplate all the undeserved blessings that we have, we would be so humbled and we would look forward to thanking Hashem. The Gemara says in Masechet Berachot, when a king makes the first bow to Hashem in the Amida, he should remain like that for the remainder of it, never getting up until it's over. One of the reasons given for that is since Hashem blessed him with so much, he needs to be even more humbled and appreciative. The more Hashem blesses a person, the more hakarat hatov he needs to have - and we are all blessed. The Pele Yoetz writes, if that applies to physical blessings, how much more so to spiritual ones. If a person is fortunate enough to be religious, to know Hashem, to follow mitzvot, to be clear about his purpose in life... Or if someone is fortunate enough to live his daily life revolving around Hashem – praying, learning – he should be so humbled and appreciative that he is from the select group in this world that have this merit. When we become more thankful individuals, it brings more beracha. Right after Modim in the Amida, we ask Hashem for the most wonderful gifts – שלום, טובה, ברכה, חיים, חן וחסד ורחמים. How could we ask for so much? Because once we appreciate, the pipelines of blessing burst open. הודו לה' כי טוב כי לעולם חסדו-B'ezrat Hashem, we should have the praises of Hashem on our lips all the time. Shabbat Shalom.

Recording Available Via Telephone Dial: (605) 475-4799 | Access ID: 840886# | Reference #: 828 The Gemara in Chagigah (p. 5) says that Hashem cries over the fact that the we are in exile and that our pride has been taken away. However, the angels are not allowed to see Hashem cry; He does it in a private chamber. The only time Hashem ever cried openly was during the actual destruction of the two Bateh Mikdash. Then, He cried for us together with the angels. He wants to live with us, but our sins chased Him away. We didn't appreciate what it meant to have Hashem living with us. The Gemara says that Tisha B'av became a day of misfortune when the Jewish people cried in the desert after hearing the negative report of the spies. They thought that when they tried to conquer Israel their men would be killed by the sword and their women and children would be taken captive. Hashem told them that they cried for nothing; He was with them openly. He was going to destroy their enemies like nothing. They didn't appreciate Hashem being with them, and they fell into despair. Although we are still in exile, and Hashem does not live with us openly, He is still behind the scenes controlling everything. Perhaps, if we appreciate Him now, when He is so hidden, that would make a Tikun, and cause Hashem to bring the Bet Hamikdash back and live amongst us openly again. How do we appreciate Hashem? First, we have to realize that we are in the best of hands. Everything He chooses for us is good. Who knows what we need better than Hashem? Therefore, a person should never be upset with his current situation. There is no need to worry regarding the future. If we want or need something, there is no reason to ever despair of getting it, because Hashem can do anything. The job of the Boteach B'Hashem is to not only accept the life Hashem gave him in the present, but to be happy with it, and feel secure regarding the future, knowing that Hashem could help in an instant. A person who knows of Hashem's abilities and love for us will never despair or be depressed. As long as there is hope, there can be happiness. This can be explained by way of a parable. There was once a person who became very sick. His friend asked him how he was. He responded, "I'm okay. I just got an appointment with a great doctor, and I'm very hopeful he is going to help." A month later, his friend asks again, "Did you see the doctor?" He responds, "Yes, but he didn't have enough experience with my condition. He referred me to a specialist who does. I have an appointment with him in two weeks. I am very hopeful that he will help." His friend sees him a few weeks later and asks how was the appointment. The man responds, "It was good. He gave me medication, and I am waiting for it to work." A month later, when asked whether the medication worked, he responds, "No, but I'm on a different medication now. I am hopeful that this one will work." When asked about the second medication, he says, "It also didn't work, but my specialist got me an appointment with best doctor in the world in this field. I am very excited, because I know that he is going to help." He goes to that doctor, and he tells him, "I am sorry, there is nothing that can be done to heal you." Once the man hears that there is no more hope, he despairs. As long as he had hope, he felt good, but now he is going to be depressed. A person who knows that he has Hashem never feels that he is out of options. Hashem never told anyone, "Sorry, I am not able to help." Hashem might say, "Wait," or, "It's not good for you right now." But there is always hope that He could help us at the right time. Just last week in Israel, a sixty-year-old woman gave birth to her first child, a healthy strong baby girl. She said, "I just experienced the greatest happiness of my life, when the staff showed me my baby, for whom I have waited so many years." Everyone can be helped no matter how hopeless the situation seems. Hashem is with us, even if He is hiding. B'ezrat Hashem, if we appreciate Him now when He is hidden, in that merit He will come and live with us openly with the rebuilding of the Bet Hamikdash, במהרה בימנו אמן . ".

Recording Available Via Telephone Dial: (605) 475-4799 | Access ID: 840886# | Reference #: 1947 Every Erev Tisha B'Av, Rabbi Shalom Tavi would tell his family, “B'ezrat Hashem, this is going to be the last Tisha B'Av.” He would say those words with a true longing for the Geula. One year, his daughter said, “Abba, you say that every year. How long are you going to continue this practice?” The Rabbi answered, “B'ezrat Hashem, this will be the last time.” And he said it with a real anticipation of the Geula. The Samak writes, to believe in the coming of the Mashiach is a מצוות עשה מן התורה – it is an obligation from the Torah for every single Jew to believe. The Rambam says it is one of our 13 Principles of Faith that every Jew is required to believe. The Gemara tells us, one of the first questions a person will be asked after 120 is Did you anticipate the coming of the Mashiach? This is something so fundamental to our religion. The Ohr Yechezkel was astonished that it is not spoken about more on a day-to-day basis. It appears, he writes, that, chas v'shalom, people are embarrassed to speak about it, or that they have just given up on it. Rabbi Krevis from Kollel Yechiel Yehuda explains the words of the Ohr Yechezkel as follows: People may be embarrassed to say that they believe any moment open miracles will suddenly start taking place as we live in a very natural world. They might feel people will look at them like someone on an extremely high level if they talk about that. But in truth, it's a basic obligation that every Jew is to believe and it is not something to be embarrassed of. The second issue is that it has been so long and Mashiach has still not come. Why should we think that now will be any different? Imagine somebody bought a million tickets for the lottery and they found out that one of those tickets has the winning numbers to the billion-dollar prize. If they searched through the first 100,000 tickets and didn't find the winning one yet, would they lose hope of finding it? Of course not, the more tickets they count, the greater their anticipation becomes because they know it's for sure there, and now there are less tickets to go until they find it. So too it is with Mashiach. It is guaranteed to happen and the more years that have passed without his coming should only increase our anticipation – he was never closer than he is today to coming. But it's not good enough for us to believe that he will come. Our obligation is to anticipate his coming. How can we improve on this mitzvah of anticipating? Seemingly it is a natural feeling that you either have or you don't. If a father would tell his son he is taking him to an amusement park the following day, he would not need to tell his son to anticipate it. The boy would automatically anticipate it. But if the father would tell his son he's taking him somewhere that he doesn't really care to go to, then even if the father would command him to anticipate it, most probably it wouldn't help anyway. It follows that we need to learn more about what's going to take place in the Days of Mashiach in order that we should automatically anticipate it. If we are not yet on the level to anticipate Mashiach because of the great glory that will come to Hashem during those days, we could at least start by anticipating the physical benefits that we will have. When Mashiach comes, there will be no more sickness, no one in the hospital, nobody suffering from pain, everyone will be strong and healthy. There will be no more fighting, we will have world peace, no more terrorists, no shootings, no antisemitism, no fear, even the animals will be at peace with each other. Everyone will live in complete tranquility and happiness, everyone will have an abundance of everything they could possibly need. All of the secrets of Torah will become revealed, we will understand more about Hashem. And those who have passed on will once again come back to life and live in this world as they did before, reunited with their families. This is just a tiny glimpse into what will take place after Mashiach comes. We need to learn more about it on our own, but as far as now is concerned, we are not only to believe that Mashiach will come, but we are also to anticipate it as well.

*** This Halacha deals with topic of Yichud. Yichud is the concept that a man may not be secluded with a forbidden woman. Please read all the Halachot on this topic as there are conditions and exclusions that must be fully understood before accepting Lema'ase. ***[There are many direct quotes in today's Halacha. Please listen to the audio clip to hear the quotes verbatim from the various sources. The transcription below does not include the transliterations of the quotes, but rather an explanation of the quotes.]The question was recently asked about the topic of Yichud. This is the law restricting seclusion among men and women. Men are not allowed to be alone with women. The details of this concept are very complex, and today we are just going to discuss an overview and focus on the seriousness of this Halacha.The Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon {Maimonides} 1135–1204 ) writes on this subject in the laws of ‘Isure Bi'ah" in perek 22. He writes that the biggest cause of elicit relations stems from neglecting the principal of Yichud. Being alone with a woman will lead a man to promiscuity. The Rambam further writes that many great Chachamim used to tell their students to warn and alert them in the event they are secluded with their daughter in law. The Chachamim themselves went out for their way to show their students that the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) is strong and that everyone must be careful and avoid Yichud.The Meiri (Rav Menachem Meiri, born in Provence in 1249) was one of the Rishonim, and he commented on the Gemara in Kidushin which talks about Yichud, and he says that violating the laws Yichud is the key that opens the doors that leads to sin. Rabbeinu Yona, in his book Sha'arei Teshuva (a work on ethics and repentance) in the Sha'arei Shelishi, part 7, writes that a man is considered Yir'ei Shamyim (G-d fearing) if he is careful to follow the laws of Yichud and avoids being alone with a woman for he is concerned that he might commit a sin. He fences himself in, and shields himself from possibly committing transgressions, and thus he is deemed Yir'ei Shamyim. The Sefer HaChinuch, a popular work that explains the 613 Mitzvot which is believed to have been written by the Ra'ah (Rav Aharon Halevi) gives the rationale behind the Mitzvah of Yichud in Mitzvah number 188. There, Yichud, the prohibition of seclusion, is discussed at length. There's a story that is told about a Rabbi by the name of Rabbi Ya'akov Lorberbaum of Lissa (died 1832). He authored a Sefer called ‘Netivot Hamishpat,' and a book called Chavat Da'at. He had a granddaughter that was engaged, and one day his daughter and granddaughter journeyed in a wagon of a gentile to a nearby city to buy items for the upcoming wedding. The driver veered off the road knowing that they had money, and took them to his house. He, along with some co-conspirators robbed them of their money and prepared to burn them in order to suppress any evidence. But suddenly the door opened and in came German officers into the house. The gangsters escaped, and the Germans saved the ladies and returned their money. This was a miracle. That night, Rabbi Ya'akov of Lissa appeared to his daughter in a dream, and he said that he was in heaven and he saw what happened. He then went to one of the levels in heaven to plead for her salvation, but he was rejected because she had transgressed the sin of Yichud, as she was alone with the wagon driver. So the Rabbi then went to a higher level in heaven and pleaded his case in front of Bore Olam, and beseeched that in the merit of the books that he wrote that his daughter and granddaughter be saved. That worked, and thus the ladies were saved. So you see from this story, how important it is to be careful and not treat Yichud lightly. This is a very serious prohibition that must be followed. You can see from this story that that observance of this law is monitored very closely, so much so that it can jeopardize one's safety and well being. So today's Halacha is just an introduction to this topic. In the upcoming days, B'ezrat Hashem, we will talk about some practical Halachot on this topic. Today was just about an introduction to show how serous Yichud is. It's brought down by all the Rishonim, and it's actually from Gemara Kidushin on Daf 80, and B'ezrat Hashem we will elaborate in the upcoming Daily Halachot.It is requested that all the Halachot on the topic of Yichud be read in order to understand its complexities, leniencies and inter-associations. There are conditions and exclusions that apply that are addressed throughout our series of Yichud Halachot. If you read only one Halacha you might only be getting part of the story. Do not to take any of these Yichud Halachot Lema'ase (to action) until we complete the series, and until you have had the chance to review all the Halachot on this subject.

Welcome to Embrace Shabbat. The Chidah teaches that וְשַבְתָּ עַד ה׳ אֶלוֹקֶיך ָ, return to Hashem, your G-d , can also be read as וְשַבָת עַד ה׳ אֶלוֹקֶיך ָ. Shabbat is atime of Teshuva. There are many sources that highlight and explain this connection. The Mishnah Berurah writes that Shabbatclothing represents the holiness of the day. We change into special Shabbatclothing, as it is not proper to greet royalty with dirty clothing. Similarly,our neshama is our clothing and we must do teshuva so that we can greet theShabbat queen when we are "freshly laundered." Additionally, Shabbat signifies the end of theweek. Many people take time at night to contemplate their day and strive tomake changes the following day. The same is true at the end of the week, month,and year. Shabbat is the end of the week, and it is therefore a time forTeshuva on the previous week. Thirdly, the Gemara teaches that even if aperson worshipped idols, they are forgiven through Teshuva. Shabbat is a daythat brings kapparah and one shouldengage in teshuva so they can be forgiven for any type of sin. The Chidah teaches further that Shabbat hasthe power to get rid of the tuma ,which allows a person to do Teshuva. The Gemara teaches: כׇּל הַמִּתְפַּלֵּל בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת וְאוֹמֵר ״וַיְכוּלּוּ״, שְׁנֵימַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת הַמְלַוִּין לוֹ לָאָדָם מַנִּיחִין יְדֵיהֶן עַל רֹאשׁוֹוְאוֹמְרִים לוֹ ״וְסָר עֲוֹנֶךָ וְחַטָּאתְךָ תְּכֻפָּר ״, one who prays on Erev Shabbat and recitesvayechulu (the paragraph from Kiddush that speaks about creation) , the two angels who accompany the person,place their hands on his head and tell him, "your iniquity will be removed andyour purposeful sin will be atoned." This idea is based on a passuk in Yeshaya, which the Maharshateaches was said by angels to tell someone that their teshuva was accepted. What is the connection between vayechulu and Teshuva? A person needs two witnesses in order totestify in court. Because וַיְכוּלּו ּ is a testament to a person's belief that Hashem created the world insix days and rested on the seventh, they must be a kosher witness. Therefore,the angels remove a person's sin so that they can serve as that witness. A further connection is in a Midrash broughtin the Orchot Tzaddikim, Shaar HaTeshuva. The Shaar states that Teshuva isgreat because it reaches the kisei hakavod. When Moshe Rabbeinu went into theheavens, he found groups of angels with an open Sefer Torah. They were readingabout the first day of creation and they spoke about the praise of Torah. Moshewent up to the second heaven, and saw angels reading about the work on thesecond day of creation and they paused to speak about the praise of Torah andof the Jewish people. In the third heaven, he found angels reading about thethird day of creation and speaking about the praise of Yerushalayim. In thefourth one, he found angels reading about the fourth day of creation andspeaking about the praise of Mashiach. In the fifth heaven, he found angelsreading the fifth day of creation and speaking about the negativity of gehenom . In the sixth heaven, he foundangels reading about the sixth day of creation and speaking about the praise ofGan Eden. When he got to the seventh heaven, the angels were reading about theseventh day of creation, beginning with the passuk וַיְכוּלּו ּ, and speakingabout Teshuva. Teshuva reaches the kisei haKavod. The seventh heaven, which is the heaven in front ofG-d and corresponds to Shabbat, is the heaven where the angels were discussingteshuva. We see from here the special connection between Shabbat and Teshuva.When a person does Teshuva on Shabbat, they are lifted up the highest ofplaces, the kisei haKavod itself.B'ezrat Hashem, we should take advantage of this power of Teshuva which isconnected to Shabbat. Have a Shabbat Shalom.

Tonight we have a mitzvat aseh from the Torah to relate the story of Yitziat Mitzrayim to our children. The Sefer Hachinuch writes that this mitzvah is a foundation of our emunah. I once heard this point developed in a class delivered by Rabbi Asher Wade, a former Methodist pastor, who ultimately converted to Judaism with his wife and became a rabbi. He had questions about Catholicism, which led him on a journey of studying different religions, a journey that ended when Rabbi Wade came to the conclusion that Judaism is the only religion with real proof to its authenticity. Other religions are based on claims of dreams and private revelations to a single individual. Judaism, however, had Hashem reveal himself to three million people, through the miraculous plagues in Mitzrayim , the splitting of the Yam Suf and the giving of the Torah on Har Sinai. And since then, we have been commanded to retell the story and convey this information year after year to our children. The very first year after Yitziat Mitzrayim , Moshe Rabbenu himself related the story to his own children who were in Midyan the previous year and did not witness the miracles themselves. And from then on, it has been passed down from one generation to the next, from parent to child, for over 3300 years. 3300 years might seem like a long period of time, but in truth, assuming an average person gets married around the age of 23, it only takes a transmission of some 144 parents to children to create the chain from Yitziat Mitzrayim until today. We could think of it as a large banquet hall with 48 tables, each of which sits three people, except one which seats four – you, your father, your grandfather, and your great-grandfather are seated at table 1. And your great-grandfather can turn around in his swivel chair and speak to the next table, which seats his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. And that great-grandfather can then turn around to the table that seats his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, and so on. The 48 th table will have people on it who witnessed Yitziat Mitzrayim and ma'amad Har Sinai . This is concrete proof about the authenticity of our religion. It is a chain that began with eyewitnesses and was then transmitted from father to son, father to son, until today. And tonight we will be continuing this transmision, teaching our own children that Hashem is actively involved in our lives just as He was then and He governs the world with absolute precision. The Chatam Sofer writes, each and every brick that Bnei Yisrael laid during the 210 years of slavery was exactly calculated by Hashem. They did not lay one single extra brick, they did not endure one moment of extra suffering beyond that which Hashem had decreed and they left Mitzrayim בעצם היום הזה precisely on the day that it was decreed that they would leave 430 years after the prophecy to Avraham Avinu informing him of that slavery. The night of Yitziat Mitzrayim is called Leil Shimurim , the night that Hashem had anticipated from the outset. During the 210 years of suffering and oppression, Bnei Yisrael may have thought that Hashem forgot about them, but in truth He was involved every step of the way. Likewise, the punishment administered to the Mitzrim was precisely calculated according to the level of their wrongdoing. Some descended into the sea like lead, others like stone, and others like straw, depending on the extent to which they tormented Bnei Yisrael. Everyone received exactly what they deserved. This is hashgacha pratit, and this is the message we need to convey to our children. We related a story a couple of weeks ago about a woman named Robin Meyerson who saved her uncle from being cremated though an amazing string of hashgacha pratit . And she went on to dedicate her life to doing the same for others. The day that the message was sent out, this woman called me to say she was in tears listening to the story as she relived every moment of it. And then she informed me of the ongoing hashgacha that she is still experiencing from that episode. The day that they ultimately managed to bury her uncle was Rosh Chodesh Nisan, which now, years later, was the exact same day that she heard the story being told back to her on this platform. Furthermore, her son who was born on her uncle's actual yahrtzeit, she named Azriel Mordechai, and a rabbi pointed out to her that the numerical value of her son's name is met mitzvah , the mitzvah she was involved in then and the one she now dedicates her entire life to. Hashem is involved in every last detail of our lives. Tonight is the night designated for imbuing this message into ourselves and our families. B'ezrat Hashem we should be zoche to do that, as well as all of the other mitzvot of the night, in the best way possible. Chag Kasher v'Same'ach.

The month of Nisan is auspicious for salvations. Our Chazal have told us, in this month of Nisan will come our ultimate salvation, the redemption from our current exile, which we hope will take place today. One of the great Rebbes once said, just like when Adar comes we increase our joy, when Nisan comes, we increase our emunah. No matter what problem a person is experiencing, he must believe that Hashem could rescue him in an instant. We say in the haggadah , כל דיכפין ייתי וייכל – whoever is hungry should come and eat. Now is the time for a person who has been struggling with parnasa to be zocheh to an abundance of blessing. We say כל דצריך ייתי ויפסח – whoever is in a time of difficulty and needs to get out of it should pass over his problem and merit a personal redemption. People feel chained in their problems and want to experience the wonderful feeling of freedom. B'ezrat Hashem now is the time. Singles who have been waiting years to get married would love to experience the joy of marriage. Everyone loves to hear of a good segula they could do to speed up the process, and there are segulot brought down regarding shidduchim . Some of them include accepting Shabbat early, helping others get married, saying Az Yashir with kavana , but the greatest segula of all is tefila with true emunah of Who we are speaking to and His exclusive ability to help us. We must never give up on tefila , no matter how long we have been praying for something. The longer we keep our hope, the more valuable the tefilot become. Anything done with great self-sacrifice is always a good segula for yeshua . Rabbi Chizkiyahu Mishkovski told a story about a family in Ramat Shlomo who had a widowed mother living alone for years. The children were able to take turns visiting her, making sure all of her needs were taken care of, but as she got older, she became much weaker and required care 24/7. She refused to have an aide in the house and she refused to go to a nursing home, which meant that the responsibility to care for her fell completely on her children. One of her boys lived in Bnei Brak. Each time he came in, it took him nearly two hours each way, having to use multiple buses. For him to come more than one day a week was going to be extremely hard. The same was true of some of the other children. The daughter who lived in Yerushalayim discussed the matter with her husband and, heroically, they said to the other family members that their own family will make sure to have someone there around the clock six days a week and the other children could just take turns coming in one day a week. They didn't do this begrudgingly. They told the others they were happy to have the zechut of doing this precious mitzvah. This family had three girls of marriageable age, all not married. One was 28, one was 26 and one was 21. After just one month of this family's self-sacrifice with their mother, the 28-year-old girl got engaged. A month after that the 26-year-old got engaged and, amazingly, a month after that, the 21-year-old got engaged. They told the Rabbi, “When our mother got weak and needed this care, we felt the extreme difficulty and pressure of having to take care of her all the time, but little did we know, this was going to be the ticket to our salvation. All of those years of difficulty trying to get our daughters married, and now in just three months all of them got engaged.” The opportunities we get in life to put forth self-sacrifice in the performance of mitzvot is a gift to us from Hashem for our own good. May everyone experience the glorious feelings of salvation in this wonderful month. Baruch Hashem, we are happy to announce the release of Living Emunah on the Topic of Shidduchim from Artscroll. It can be attained at any local sefarim store.

Learning and delving into the topic of emunah can change a person's life for the better in so many ways. Besides for the great avodat Hashem that takes place every time a person is mitchazek in his emunah, as well as the eternal rewards that accompany it, tangible results will also be experienced in this world as well. Rabbi Tzvi Nakar told a story which began over 60 years ago in Israel. A boy, who we'll call Reuven, was sent by his parents to Yeshivat Be'er Yaakov at the age of twelve. In that yeshiva, there were pamphlets circulating each week from the sefer Shomer Emunim , a sefer all about emunah and bitachon . The words in those pamphlets ignited Reuven's neshama and he fell in love with emunah. He bought the sefer and learned it every single day. Over the course of his lifetime, Reuven learned that sefer over 700 times. He eventually got married and moved to Netanya. His Rabbi, Chacham Ben Tzion Abba Shaul used to go there once a year, and when he came Reuven would always make a point to go visit him. On one occasion, Chacham Ben Tzion told him, the time has come for you to do something for Hashem. There are thousands of Jews here who don't know anything about Judaism. Do something to bring them closer. Reuven said to the Rabbi, “I'm a young guy and I don't know that much about bringing people closer to Hashem.” The Rabbi told him, “All you need to do is teach people what you know. Give them chizuk in emunah. Tell them about Hashem and how much He is involved in their lives. You have no idea how much that could influence a person for the good.” And so, that is what Reuven did. And as time went on, many people were becoming more and more religious from him. Eventually, Reuven started a school. At first, a kindergarten, then an elementary school, then a high school and then even a kollel . Each building was more magnificent than the next. They looked like they were built by someone with unlimited funds. However, Reuven was not a man of means. He did not ask anyone for money to build those buildings, he never traveled outside of Israel on a fundraising campaign, and he ran those institutions for 32 years, never missing payroll even once. What was his secret to success? His son told, it was all due to his unwavering emunah in Hashem. In the beginning stages, when he just had the kindergarten and elementary school, he was informed by the owner of the property that the owner was going to sell it to a non-religious school, and they were going to have to vacate. Reuven had invested so much time and effort into this school, and families were growing tremendously. He knew, no matter what, everything had to continue as is. He told the owner, he should have the first rights to purchase the property, being that he was there already. The owner said he would gladly sell it to him for $1 million. So Reuven replied, knowing that if he didn't take it immediately they would sell it to someone else, “ B'ezrat Hashem, I'll take it and I'll have the money for you tomorrow.” The only issue was he had no idea where he would get that kind of money from. That evening, he locked himself in a room with the sefer Shomer Emunim and started strengthening himself in emunah. He came across a peshat from the Baal Shem Tov on the pasuk ברוך הגבר אשר יבטח בה' והיה ה' מבטחו, which gave him an enormous amount of strength. The Baal Shem Tov said, if a person has bitachon in Hashem without any potential cause in his mind of how he will get salvation, אשר יבטח בה'– he has trust only in Hashem – then והיה ה' מבטחו – Hashem will be his guarantor and give him everything that he needs. So that entire night, He kept going over that principle. The next morning, he bumped into a close friend of his who asked him if he could donate to his institutions. “Of course,” Reuven replied and gave the man the bank information which he requested. Sometime later, Reuven was informed that a wire transfer was made to the account for $1.8 million. That friend, who was not a man of means, explained to Reuven that his father-in-law in London had just passed away. He was secretly wealthy. They didn't even know it, but he left them over $200 million. And this was just part of the ma'aser . He offered to give Reuven more, but Reuven declined telling him to give somewhere else, he didn't need more than that. And this is how Reuven got all the money he needed each time a need arose, there was always some kind of donor who would approach him and offer what Reuven needed. This was not a big torah scholar, but he excelled in emunah. And with his emunah, he helped thousands of Jews come closer to Hashem. This story was posted in a b et midrash in Israel and, after a few weeks, so many people said they began delving more into emunah and saw immediate yeshuot . Real emunah in Hashem is truly wondrous.

Part of knowing God is understanding his presence and knowing that he helps those who choose to follow him in their time of need. In today's short special message, Rabbi Schneider shares the meaning of the Hebrew phrase "B'ezrat Hashem" and how it helps us to rest in knowing God never fails his people.

Today we have another thought about Ahavat Yisrael in relation to the holiday of Hanukah, which comes from the sefer Akedat Yitzhak Al HaTorah , from one of the Hasidim. He writes that Matityahu was the Sadik HaDor, and the job of the Sadik HaDor is to unite the hearts of Jewish people. That's why Matityahu's cry was, “ Mi L'Hashem Elai/ Who is to Hashem come to me.” When he gathered together the Maccabim , he was trying to gather Jewish people together. He says that the only reason they won the war was because of their Achdut/unity, which is symbolized by the pach shemen/ vessel of oil. How so? We know that oil rises above water, but only when all the oil is united. If you blend the oil and water, the oil gets mixed into everything else, and you won't see the oil rise to the top. It's only when the oil is all together that it can rise above. That's what it means that when they Jewish people are B'Achdut/united, they go above all nations and no one can impact them. Just like a bundle of sticks- one single stick can be broken, but when you put them all together, they cannot be broken. Anytime God wants to bring beracha on the Jewish people, there needs to be a vessel to hold the Beracha, and as the Mishna says, God did not find a vessel to hold the Beracha for the Jewish people, only shalom/ peace. Shalom is what brings all of the Beracha on the Jewish people. He quotes the sefer Noam Elimelech, which says on the pasuk, ‘ they graze in the marsh ,' that it can also mean ‘ the Jewish people graze in tranquility when they're in brotherhood.' Furthermore, in the same pesukim talking about the dreams of Yosef, it says that the during the time of the Plenty , the cows were fat cows. Rashi says, it's a sign of the good years, that each one looks good to the other one, that “I don't look at you in a tight way .” When there's a famine, they're all thin and each one looks at the other one like they're thin. They can't enjoy the other person's success, because they don't have anything. But when everyone's happy with each other, thar means it's a time of success. That's the simple explanation. But he brings a deeper explanation: He says, when everybody looks good at each other; when everyone has a good eye toward each other, and there's love and brotherhood in the world, that's a sign that there will be satiation in the world- not a sign that it is currently. That good trait of looking at your friend with a good eye, not competing and not being jealous, will bring the Beracha. So when you see a time that everyone's getting along, then you know there will be beracha. We read about Yosef and the brothers reuniting all during the holiday of Hanukah because that's part of the job of Hanukah- to bring that Achdut/togetherness between the brothers. And as we said, we also read about the 12 tribes of the Nesi'im during these days, all to indicate that important brotherhood. Furthermore, the Haftara talks about the uniting of Yehuda and Yosef. B'Ezrat Hashem we will have the Achdut necessary to bring the Beracha to the world.

We continue in the 13 attributes of mercy, as delineated by Rav Moshe Cordovero in his sefer Tomar Devorah . We are up to trait number four, L‘She'erit Nachlato . She'er means relative, like She'er Besaro , and Nachlato means an inheritance. God looks at us as if we are She'er Basar/ we are related t o Him, and Nachlato , we are His inheritance. And therefore, God says, What should I do to the Jewish people? They're My relatives. As God refers to the Jewish people in Shir Hashirim , They're My daughter and My sister, My mother. Tehilim 148, 14, calls the Jewish people relatives- ישראל עם קרובו Yisrael Am Kerovo Karovo can mean close to, and Karov is a relative. God says, We're related. And if I'm punishing My relative, it's hurting Me. What am I gaining? The pasuk in Yeshaya 63,9 says בכל צרתם לו צר In all of the Jewish people's pain, there's pain to God. Furthermore, it says in Shoftim , 10,16 ותקצר נפשו בעמל ישראל which Rashi explains as God , kal v'yachol, didn't have space in Hid soul in order to tolerate watching someone else suffer. He didn't have room for it, so to say. God didn't have the space, even though they were wrong, and even though they deserved it, God couldn't see their suffering and therefore He had to end it. This is an unbelievable concept. We spoke about Savlanut , which was the beginning of this discussion. We have to be Sovel when our friend insults us or hurts us. But when it comes to seeing the Jewish people in pain, in his words, לפי שאינו סובל צערם וקלונם, מפני שהם שארית נחלתו: God cannot tolerate, God cannot hold seeing Jewish pain and disgrace because we're related . Sometimes you just can't watch. Recently, I had to go to a doctor with a male relative, and as he was being checked, I couldn't stand in the room, and not because of any tznuit reasons. I just couldn't bear to see the wound that he was showing to the doctor. It hurt too much. So too, Hashem, kal v'yachol , can't see the pain, but God can't walk out of the room. So what does God have to do? God has to relieve the pain. That is the trait of God called L'She'erit Nachlato. A nd before we apply it, let's just reiterate this concept. In a pasuk in Devarim, 4,7 it says, כִּ֚י מִי־ג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל אֲשֶׁר־ל֥וֹ אֱלֹקים קְרֹבִ֣ים אֵלָ֑יו Who is great like the Jewish people, like God, Who is (not close to us, says the midrash, but) related to us . And the Yerushalmi in Masechet Rosh Hashana says, People like to recognize their wealthy, prestigious relatives, not their poor unknown relatives. But Hashem doesn't work that way. He says, Am Kerovo . I don't care where the Jewish people are holding, they're My relatives. They're my close kin . And that's the way we have to deal with all Jewish people. B'Ezrat Hashem, we will apply this to the Jewish people, and develop this concept more at length. Have a wonderful day.

This Saturday night is Hoshana Raba, which is connected to Achdut . Rav Yerucham Olshin, in his Sefer Yerach L'Moadim (page 533) explains a fascinating concept. In Parashat Ki Tetzeh (21/13) the Torah tells us about the Yefat Toar, וּבָ֥כְתָ֛ה אֶת־אָבִ֥יהָ וְאֶת־אִמָּ֖הּ She cries over her father and her mother. The Zohar tells us that this is symbolic of the Jewish people doing teshuva , crying in the month of Elul. The father refers to God and the mother refers to Knesset Yisrael, which literally means the gathering of the Jewish people . The Sefer Shelah HaKadosh explains that although the Jewish people down in this world look like they're separate, in the heavens above, in the secret of their souls, they're really united and they're one. So when there's a separation down here amongst Jews, it impacts a separation in the heavens above. As such, there are two aspects of teshuva. One is to fix the sins that impact on our relationship with God, and the other is to fix the sins that cause of the separation between the Jewish people. He says that the first 10 days are Aseret Yeme Teshuva, but there are another 10 days from after Yom Kippur to Hoshana Raba. The first 10 days are to work on our disconnect with God, and the second 10 are to work on the disconnect from man to man. This continues the theme of unity that we've been talking about until now, with the Lulav and Etrog , Aravot and Hadassim that symbolize unity, and also the Succah- as we mentioned, the whole Jewish people could fulfill their obligation with one Succah. He adds a beautiful thought: on Hoshana Raba, which is the final judgment day, we bang the Aravot because symbolize the lips. What do the Aravot have to do with lips? Mainly, we are talking about fixing the divisiveness among the Jewish people, which is all about Sinat Hinam , and the Chafetz Chaim says that the main cause of Sinat Hinam is Lashon Hara. Therefore, our job on Hoshana Raba is to fix our lips. That's the Aravot . And as we mentioned in the past, we are supposed to bang the “lips” on the ground. If someone says something that bothers you, what should you do? Put dirt in your mouth, put a cork in your mouth. Don't respond. That's the fixing of the lips. And he brings down a beautiful thought from the Gaon of Vilna. There are different areas where our speech is made- we pronounce things with our teeth, with our lips, with our palate, and our throats ( the tongue is in a separate category as it's the main part). The letters that come out of the teeth are Zayin, Samech, Shin and Resh. Then we have letters that come from the lips. Bet, Vav, Mem and Peh . Then we have the letters that come from the Palate-the Gimmel, Yud, Chaf, and Kuf . The Alef, Heh, Chet and Ayin come from the throat. (The tongue letters are Daled, Tet, Lamed, Nun and Taf ) He says that the word Succah has a letter from the four enabler units. It has a Samech from the teeth letters, It has a Vav from the lip letters. It has a Chaf from the palate letters and the Heh from the throat letters. The point is that we're trying to fix the different parts of the body that are involved in speech. Because, again, the main theme of Succot is to fix the divisiveness that's comes from speech. One last little tidbit is that on Shabbat Mincha we say Atah Echad V'Shimcha Echad, Umi K'Amcha, Goy Echad B'Aretz. You are One, Your Name is One, and who is like your people Israel, A unique nation on earth? Why do we say this on Shabbat? One explanation is that when the Jewish people are goy echad b'aretz/when we are united, then it brings about that Hashem Echad U'Shmo Echad. Since Shabbat Mincha is a time that symbolizes Mashiach's times, that is why we talk about that concept. (There are three Shabbats, that we've mentioned in the past- the Shabbat of creation, the Shabbat of Torah, and the Shabbat of Mashiach). The Shabbat of Mincha is the Shabbat of Mashiach, so we talk about the Jewish people being united. That will bring about the Oneness of God and the Oneness of His Name. So B'Ezrat Hashem, we will dedicate ourselves, this Shabbat and the following Sunday, to being cognizant and introspective of the concept of Lashon Hara and B'Ezrat Hashem that will give us a good final judgment. Have a wonderful day, Shabbat shalom and a pitka tava , which means a good note because the notes are given out on the judgment day of Hoshana Raba. All the best.

As we know, part of Teshuva is working on our bitachon, as we mentioned in the haftara of Shabbat Shuva, Hoshea chapter 14, where it says (14,4) אַשּׁ֣וּר לֹ֣א יוֹשִׁיעֵ֗נוּ עַל־סוּס֙ לֹ֣א נִרְכָּ֔ב וְלֹא־נֹ֥אמַר ע֛וֹד Assyria won't save us. We are not going to ride on horses, and we will no longer say, אֱלֹקינוּ לְמַעֲשֵׂ֣ה יָדֵ֑ינוּ ‘Elohenu/Our God, ׳ to our handiwork. Firstly, the simple explanation: Maaseh Yadenu/our handiwork means an idol (which was was made by hand). It can also mean our business, what we do with our our hands , So “ we won't say to that handi work- ‘Elohenu'” Meaning, we're not going to point at that idol and say, “You are my God.” So simply, we will no longer say the three words - “Elohenu” leMaaseh yadenu/to these handiworks. But there is a different way of reading the pasuk, which is not the simple way. V'Lo Nomar/we're not going to say Od Elohenu/ also our God leMaaseh yadenu /to our handwork. Which means we aren't going to say that ‘ God will be helping me also,' to our handiwork. What's wrong with saying ‘ God Also?' ‘God Also' means ‘ I'm basically doing it. I just need a little help.' But of course, that is not the way it happens. What really happens is God's doing it totally. And if anything, I'm just covering it up with my actions; I'm not doing anything. To say God is helping is really not a proper description. And in fact, when I was working on the sefer Bet HaLevi , in the commentary section we quoted from a source that said It's not the best thing to say, “B'Ezrat Hashem”/with Hashem's help because it sounds like Hashem is only helping . It's better to say “ Im Yirtza Hashem/God willing, ” If God wills it. But the editor of the project, my esteemed father in law, Rabbi Nosson Scherman took that line out. He said, “ The Jewish people say ‘B'Ezrat Hashem,' you can't now say it's the wrong thing to say. ” Not everything that you say, do you print. So it's not in the book, but nonetheless, we can explain what it means a bit more. And after I mentioned this, someone said, “ What do you mean? Every day in the Amida,we say “Melech Ozer U'Mashia U'Magen/ King, Helper, Deliverer and Shield.” So how can we say that God helps, if we're not supposed to say that? The Gaon of Vilna says that these three terms, Ozer, Mashia and Magen are three different levels of bitachon. Magen is the level where God shields you, referring to Magen Avraham . He jumped into the fiery furnace and God shielded him. He actively did something that was detrimental and God saved him, and there was no question in the world that God saved Avraham from Ur Kasdim . He was saved from the fiery furnace– that was not something that Avraham did. That's actually a lower level of bitachon because it's quite clear that God did it all. The next level's called Moshia , which refers to it Yitzhak Avinu, where it says in the second beracha Rav L' Hoshea- Hoshea means You saved me Yitzhak Avinu didn't put himself into trouble. At the Akeda , Avraham put the knife to Yitzhak's neck, and God saved him. This is not as clear (as the fiery furnace) that it was Hashem, but it's fairly clear that God said, “ Stop Avraham.” So again, we know God was involved. The highest level is level of Ozer, where we say Ezri M'Im Hashem/ my help is from God , which is what Yaakov Avinu said when he was working in the house of Lavan. Yaakov was doing all the work. He was cutting up the the sticks for working with the sheep, and doing all kind of tactics and all different types of Hishtadlut / effort in order to outsmart Lavan. And God helped him. That's the highest level- to actually do it with your own hands, but realize you're not doing it. As was revealed to Yaakov in the dream, the angels were coming in the middle of the night and switching the sheep. It had nothing to do with his handiwork. He was just covering up the miracle. God was doing everything . Could putting spots on sticks actually make sheep give birth to spotted sheep? That doesn't happen in a science lab. That was just a way to cover it up. Hashem did everything and Yaakov realized that. That's the highest level- to say Ozer and really understand what it means and that's what it means. So don't say ‘ B'Ezrat Hashem,' thinking Hashem's going to help - understand what it really means. Hashem is doing it all. There is another famous explanation in the Midrash about four kings: David Hamelech said, “ I'm going to chase the enemy down and catch him.” Yehoshaphat said, “ I'm not going to catch them. I can't do that. I'll just chase them.” The next king said, “ I don't need to chase them. I'm just going to sing songs of praise.” And the final king said, “ No, I'm just going to go to sleep.” Whose is the highest level? They say the highest level was David Hamelech, because he was able to chase the enemy, catch him and kill him and still realize it was God. The other kings knew that if they had put in that much effort, they would take the credit. So they did less and less and less. Of course, we're going the other way around. When we do our efforts, it's not because we're on a higher level, like David Hamelech. It's because, as it goes, we work and realize it's Bitachon, then we do less and less and less. But then we're at the point where we can't even do less, because we don't think it's going happen with less, so we do more and more…. But still, we think we're doing it. So don't think we're holding at David Hamelech's level. We have to realize, at the time that when we're doing our efforts, that God's doing it. There are all kinds of levels of what B'Ezrat Hashem really means. Does B'Ezrat Hashem mean I'm doing it and God's helping a little bit ? Or does B'Ezrat Hashem mean God's doing everything and I'm only covering it up? B'Ezrat Hashem , we will reach that highest level of understanding what it means when we say B'Ezrat Hashem. And according to one way of reading the Haftara, this is an important part of our teshuva process, to realize Hashem is doing everything , and He's not just helping us out. Have a wonderful day.

Today we're going to discuss how Bitachon is connected to Teshuva, but it's a different kind of Bitachon. Normally, when we talk about relying on Hashem, we Talk about how we want to get money, health, success with our children… We're relying on Hashem to receive physical benefits. But there's also a Bitachon when it comes to relying on Hashem for coming close to Him. There's pasuk in Kohelet (9,4) , that says. כִּי־מִי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר (יבחר) [יְחֻבַּ֔ר] אֶ֥ל כׇּל־הַחַיִּ֖ים יֵ֣שׁ בִּטָּח֑וֹן כִּֽי־לְכֶ֤לֶב חַי֙ ה֣וּא ט֔וֹב מִן־הָאַרְיֵ֖ה הַמֵּֽת׃ Anyone that's connected to life has bitachon, he has reliance. Because a live dog is better than a dead lion . What does that mean? The Yalkut Shemoni says that if a person is connected to life ( which means as long as a person is alive), he has bitachon and tikva , he has reliance and hope to do Teshuva. A person has to feel guaranteed in the concept of Teshuva. That's one thing that's a for sure. God told us that His hand is open to accept us in Teshuva, and we have to rely on Him for that to help us in Teshuva. Once a person is dead, his hope of Teshuva is lost. That's the bitachon that we have, as long as we're alive. Rabbenu Yonah, in Shaare Teshuva (second gate, 24th letter), quotes this Pasuk and says, That's what the benefit of this world is. As long as we're alive, we can do Teshuva. And that's the Bitachon that we have when we're alive. Rav Yisrael Salantar adds an important point: What does it mean that you have to be alive ? Simply, alive means you are alive; You're in this world, you're breathing. But in his 30th letter, he says that It's hard for us to do Teshuva. We're busy. We have a lot of challenges… how are we going to fix all of the things we have to work on - Especially in the area of Ben Adam L'Havero/from man to his fellow… jealousy, hatred, Lashon Hara, embarrassing people, dishonesty in business…. We have so many challenges in our character traits, how we're going to fix these things? He says, “ There's one thing to do, and it's very easy and it doesn't need to take a lot of time. And you don't have to have the greatest amount of focus. Review words of Mussar every day. Take a certain statement of Mussar and review it- but don't just read it superficially. Read it … עד אשר תתעורר התפעלות בנפשו לשעתה, Until it has aroused an emotion in your heart or your soul for the moment.” This is the main point, which Rav Yisrael Salantar says is called Hitpa'alut. You have to be moved by it. You have to be impressed by it. You have to read something and say Wow . You read about LaShon Hara or about jealousy and say, Wow. It hits you, like this is something serious. Even if you're not going to see any change in yourself, what just happened is that you became alive. You're feeling, and that's what life means. Life means to feel . And if you're connected to life, then you still have hope, and you're considered a Baal Teshuva. This is very, very important, especially during this time of the year. If you want to become a Baal Teshuva, you need to be connected to life. And the Pele Yoetz says that when we say in our prayers, Zochrenu LeChaim/remember us for life, it doesn't just mean to live- of course we want to live. But it means to be alive, to feel things that when you hear something, it talks to you, you feel it. And that happens from Mussar, that happens from listening to any daily class, whether it's bitachon or any topic you're working on. Rav Yisrael Salantar says that sometimes you can just listen to something with a half an ear. But if you sit down with a sefer, whatever the book is, don't just read it once. Review it, say the same line 10 times, until it talks to you and you feel it. You're no longer, so to say, dead to the topic. It's not like the dead skin on the bottom of the foot. It says the Ekev/heel has dead skin. And it says, we're in the generation of Ikveta D'Meshicha , the heels of the Mashiach. Simply, this means we hear the footsteps of Messiah. But others say that the Jewish people are like a body. The first generation was like the head of the body, and as time goes by, we get to the bottom of the body. We're the Ekev , the heel, we're the final generation. What's special about the heel is that it has thick skin. You don't feel things. And that's what we're at. We're at a point that we don't feel anymore. Our job is to feel again; that's how you become live skin. And once you're alive, then you have hope and you're a Baal Teshuva. B'Ezrat Hashem, we will become alive in our religion, and we have that Bitachon, that guarantee from God that we will be able to do teshuva. Have a wonderful day.

This is (perhaps) our final class before Rosh Hashana, with a message based on the Parasha, and a general lesson about Rosh Hashana. How does Bitachon fit in with Rosh Hashana? On one hand, there are signs that Rosh Hashana is not a regular holiday. We don't say Moadim L'Simcha/ Times of happiness . We don't say Hallel because the books of the living and the dead are open…so it's not your regular happy holiday. On the other hand, it says that we're not supposed to fast; We have to eat and drink like a regular Yom Tom, and there are other indicators of happiness. So are we supposed to be afraid or are we supposed to be happy? One of the approaches is that you're supposed to be afraid, but then you're supposed to rely on Hashem and be happy. So there's a struggle, so to say. It starts off with concern and ends with happiness. So, you might ask, why do we have to go through the process? Why can't we just go straight to happy? The answer is based on a story about the great Brisker Rav and Rav Shach. Rav Shach went to visit the Brisker Rav on the final Erev Rosh Hashana of his life. The Brisker Rav was quite sick, and he looked very concerned and nervous. Rav Shach asked, “ Why is the Rabbi so nervous and concerned? It says that on Rosh Hashana we are supposed to rely on Hashem to make miracles for us.” That's why we take haircuts and we make ourselves clean and get prepared, whereas normally, when a person's going for a severe judgment, they're not concerned with how they look. And it says, it's because we're relying on God that He's going to make a miracle for us. Rav Shach was telling the Rabbi to cheer up, and the Brisker Rav answered with the following important Bitachon principle: Wherever you are at this moment, you don't have Bitachon that there is not going be an earthquake, or that there isn't going to be a volcano. On the other hand, if you were sitting next to the edge of a volcano that has erupted in the past, you might be having bitachon that it won't erupt. But in Brooklyn, New York, there's no thought of ever having a volcano erupt, so therefore there's no bitachon for that. By definition, Bitachon means you're aware of the severity situation, and with all the facts on the table, you are relying on Hashem to save you. But if you have no concern at all and you're totally indifferent, that's not called bitachon. That's called ignorance is bliss. That's not relying on God. Hence the Brisker Rav's reply, “ I'm not concerned enough, and therefore, I don't have bitachon yet.” Of course, he was saying that in his humility, but this is the important point: We have to be concerned before we go into Rosh Hashana. And we read this lesson in Nisavim. Last week, we read the curses, “Let the year and the curses end.” And it says, Atem Nisavim/ You're standing tall. Why do you have to be standing tall? Rashi says that the Jewish people's faces turned green after they heard all the curses. Then Moshe Rabbenu said, “ Don't worry. You've been through a lot. And you're still standing. You'll make it, have no fear.” So what are we doing? Why are we getting scared but then saying there's nothing to worry about? Is it a tease? And the rabbis explain that after you become scared, then there's nothing to worry about, because then you can rely on God because you realize what's going on. But if you're not concerned at all, then you have a problem. That's the biggest problem. There is a saying, “ There's nothing to fear but fear itself,” but here we say, “ There's nothing to fear but the lack of fear itself.” It actually comes up again in our Perasha, where it discusses the man who hears the curses and blesses himself in his heart saying, “ I'll be fine.” What happens to that guy? The next pasuk says, “ God is not going to forgive that man ,” and we won't continue with the horrible things it says about him. But where does this man start from? I saw a beautiful thought from Rabbi Wolfson. It says, “ Lest you have in yourself, a root that's growing two bitter herbs. ” That means inside the man, there's a bad root, and from that root, improper thoughts grow. If you take the first letter of each of the words in that pasuk, and scramble them, it spells, “ Shofar .” The power of the shofar is such that when you hear the shofar and you become scared and concerned, that will uproot that bitter root. Once you're scared and concerned, then you have hope. That's our job. But to go in scared doesn't mean being petrified and shaking. Scared means you know what's going on. This is serious. Rosh Hashana is a serious day. Of course, we're going to have a meal, and we'll be happy that God is King and that we are coronating Him. But it's a day of judgment. It's a serious day. We must first be aware of the day, in order to rely on Hashem, and then, B'Ezrat Hashem, we will see miracles. Tizku L'Shanim Rabot, Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova.

Today's class is dedicated in memory of Mrs. Adele Setton ah, Adel bat Bahieh, by her family. As we approach Rosh Hashana, I'd like to discuss the general topic of Malchuyot /God is king, Zichronot / God remembers us, and Shofarot , which refers to the blowing of the shofar at Har Sinai. As we have said in the past, these are the three fundamentals of our belief. Although the Rambam has 13 principles, the Sefer Ikarim puts it under the umbrella of three: 1-God exists and created the world 2-God is watching us and He rewards and punishes, which we call Hashgacha Pratit/Schar V'Onesh 3- God connects to the Jewish people and He gave us the Torah. (which is the third part of Musaf, Shofarot, referring to the shofar of Har Sinai) These are the main themes of our long Musaf prayers, because God wants us to have the proper Hashkafa/the proper outlook, the proper mindsets on Rosh Hashana, when we're judged. Rabbenu Bachyeh, in his Sefer Kar HaKemach , on the topic of Tefilin, says that in order for the proper mindsets to be inculcated in man, it's not enough to believe it; you have to actually act on it, and do something with your hands, that will cause that mindset to be set steadfast in your heart. He goes through these three principles and discusses the three corresponding Mitzvot that we do. Number one is belief in the concept that God created the world, something from nothing; that God is the Creator, which is the Mitzvah of Shabbat. By keeping Shabbat, we're testifying that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. So we're acting out that mindset. Next is belief in God's Hashgacha Pratit/ Divine supervision over human beings, specifically the Jewish people. That comes from the Mitzvah of Mezuzah, which signifies that God protects a person and that the world is not a free-for-all. The Mezuzah is on our door, with Keriat Shema inside it, which also reminds us of the blood on the doorposts when the plague of the killing of the first born occurred, where the Egyptians died and the Jews were saved. It's clear that God was supervising and differentiating between the Jewish homes and the Egyptian homes. That is our second principle, and every time we walk in or out of our homes and kiss the Mezuza, we remind ourselves of God's Hashgacha. This is what the famous acronym, Shadai (God's name, which is on the Mezuzah), stands for: Shin/ Shomer, Protecting Daled/Daltot/ the Doors of Yud/ Yisrael , God protects the doors of the Jewish people- that's God's Hashgacha. And lastly, God's Shechina cleaves to the Jewish people, which is symbolized by the Mitzvah Tefilin. Tefilin is all about connection. Our tefilin says in it, Hashem Echad/ whereas God's Tefilin, as if to say, says, Mi El Kamocha/ who's like the Jewish people, Goy Echad. Furthermore, Rabbi Bachyeh says that Tefilin have a ש shin on them, as God told Moshe at Sinai. He says that Shin stands for Shechina , because God's Shechina dwells on the Jewish people; God connects to the Jewish people, as we said, through the Torah. That's why we read, every day, the Parasha of Tefilin, which signifies the importance of learning Torah. The importance of these three Mitzvot: Shabbat, Mezuza and Tefilin , is that they are the way that we strengthen our Emuna in these three areas. And since, as we always say, we're supposed to be doing things before Rosh Hashana to prepare ourselves, for the next few days, as we enter the last week of the year (this is the last Monday of the year) let's try to focus on these three Mitzvot and strengthen these three important beliefs, that are going to take us through Rosh Hashana. To recap: Number one is Shabbat, (and we can do this not just on Shabbat, but every day; when we say the Shir Shel Yom, we are counting down the week according to Shabbat. It's not Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, but Yom Rishon .. Yom Sheni... So every day of the week, you think about Shabbat. You're preparing, you're buying you're shopping for Shabbat. That is a way to remember this important concept, that God created the world. God is the king. God is the boss- Malchuyot . Number two: Every time we walk in and out of our houses and kiss the Mezuzot, we should be thinking about Hashem's Hashgacha. Number three- when a man puts Tefilin, he is supposed to be thinking of the Shechina that connects itself to the Jewish people. B'Ezrat Hashem, we will think of these important principles as we prepare ourselves for Rosh Hashana. Have a wonderful day.

We're going through the 13 attributes of mercy of God that are listed in the pasuk of El Rahum V'Hanun. We are now up to the middot of Noseh Avon, V'Phesha, V'Chata'ah, which are three separate Middot, the 10 th 11th and 12 th. V'Nakeh is the 13th. Avon , Phesha and Chatah are three different types of sins, so what exactly does Noseh Avon mean? (There are actually two listings of the 13 attributes. One shows up in the Torah and the other one shows up in the Navi. We say that one during Tashlich, “ Mi El Kamocha, who is like you, God, Noseh Avon, that carries sin.” Noseh Avon is the second in that listing, but the 10th in this listing.) The Tomer Devorah explains that Noseh Avon means to carry the sin. What does that mean? The Tomer Devorah explains an important principle: Everything in this world needs sustenance. Nothing in this world has its own independent existence, except God. When we sin, that creates a negative force, a prosecuting angel. (Mishna in Mesechet Avot) And angels also need sustenance. We might think that angels just fly around, but nothing survives without sustenance. It says the food of angels, a man ate. Moshe Rabbenu ate the food of angels in Shamayim . What's the food of angels? The Manna. It's a spiritual sustenance that the angels eat, and God sustains them. As we said, when a person commits a sin, he creates a negative force. Who is going feed that negative force? It needs to survive. So it comes to God like all creatures, and says, “ Feed me.” And God should say, “ I should feed you? Go to the one who created you, the sinner. Let him feed you.” But how do you feed a negative force? Well, if the sin causes the person to have suffering, for example, the sin causes that the man needs to break his leg, the angel sustenance is the broken leg. But God doesn't do that. God has patience, so we don't see the immediate reactions from our sins. That's God's mercy. We don't have Middat HaDin/ Justice. The letter of the law would say, just like when someone cuts his finger, he bleeds, or if a person with a nut allergy eats a sesame seed- there's an immediate reaction, so too, when you do a sin, there should be an immediate reaction. There's no patience, it just happens. And really, that's what should happen in the world of sin as well. There should be an immediate reaction, but it doesn't happen. What does happen is that God is Noseh Avon . He carries the sin. He feeds the sin. He sustains the sin. That is the trait of Noseh Avon . God sustains the sin. What does that mean for us? We'll continue tomorrow, B'Ezrat Hashem.

We've been talking about the Mitzva of saying Keriat Shema daily, which includes something referred to as Kabalat Ol Malchuyot Shamayim/the acceptance of the yoke of God's kingdom upon oneself. This is a responsibility every single day of the year, but an added responsibly comes on Rosh Hashana, , when we have to accept God's kingdom upon ourselves for the entire year- that is the essence of the day. As we said from Rav Wolbe a person might so to say, fool himself and accept the yoke of God's kingdom upon himself, but it might not be 100% authentic. He might be willing to jump into the fiery furnace, but he is not willing to control his petty desires or whatever else needs to be controlled. He believes in God, without question; He believes in the yoke, but he is not ready to put his neck fully under that yoke. It's like the joke they tell of a man who is being sworn into the communist party. They say, “If you have two boats, what do you do with them?” He answers,” One for myself and one for Mother Russia.” They ask, “If you have two homes, what do you do with them?” “ One for myself, one for Mother Russia.” If you have two cars, what do you do with them? “ One for myself, one for Mother Russia.” If you have two coats, what do you do? He doesn't respond. “If you have two coats, what do you do?” They ask again And again he doesn't respond. “Why aren't you answering?” They ask. He says, “ Because I have two coats.” Meaning, we're able to give up everything in theory, but not when it's real or practical. Mesirut Nefesh? “ Sure, I'll jump into the fiery furnace,” we say, and maybe we really would jump into the fiery furnace when the situation arises. But that doesn't mean that we are accepting the yoke of God's kingdom in our day to day life. Therefore, in Rav Wolbe's example t of the man that couldn't commit himself to learn for four hours straight, the man says, “ Okay, so I'll commit myself for an hour, or for a half an hour.” You have to know where you are holding. The yoke has to fit your neck. So exactly what size is your neck, so to say, to fit the yoke? Using a common example, perhaps a person that wants to control himself and speak less Lashon Hara. That's a challenge that everyone has to deal with. But to say that you're never going to speak Lashon Hara again is not practical. To say, “I'm never going to get upset again,” is not practical. All of those Nevers are impractical. Of course, the truth is, I am never allowed to speak Lashon Hara. But who am I fooling? I'm a human being and I have struggles. So where I'm holding right now, there is a spot that I have to accept the yoke of God's kingdom upon me . And it's very personal. It might sound a little strange, but Kabalat Ol Malchuyot Shamayim is personal. This is not say that Torah is changing. Of course you can never speak Lashon Hara, but right now, you have to know who and where you are. Using an exercise mashal, to just expect a person to do 100 pushups would be impossible. And if I said, “You have to do a hundred pushups.” “ Very nice, but I can't.. I can't do 100 pushups. Whether it's my fault or not, where I am right now, I can't do 100 pushups. Even if I pledge allegiance to do 100 pushups, it's never going to happen.I'm not doing it.” So we say, “Okay, what can you do?” “I can't even do one pushup. My shoulder hurts. ” Okay. Let's massage your shoulder. Let's stretch you…. And eventually we'll get you to one, and then two, and then three. The good trainer doesn't say, “Let's do 20,” he starts with just one good pushup. Or half a pushup, against the desk- not on the floor. Where are you holding? Wherever you're holding, start from there. But it has to be at a point where it's a struggle. It can't be extremely easy. As someone once told me about exercise, what does the job is that when it starts to hurt a little bit, add another two. That's the place where Mesirut Nefesh happens. It's those two more. You can't know what Mesirut Nefesh is until you know what you're up to in life and what you're able to do. It's a job, honestly, do Kabalat Ol Malchut Shamayim . You have to figure out where you are holding. It's important, not only for accepting the Yoke of God's kingdom, but also when it comes to Teshuva, when we have to determine what we are accepting as a Kabala for the future, whether not to do a certain sin or to do a specific positive mitzva. There are people that just grab something, like saying Birkat Hamazon from the siddur. But is that exactly what you need? Does that fit you? Does that match your needs? You have to know where you're holding, so that you're able to say, “ What is my neck size, what yoke fits my neck?” It takes introspection and it takes work, but B'Ezrat Hashem, we are thinking people and we'll try to figure out exactly where our point of struggle and resistance is, and that's where have to put in the effort. Have a wonderful day.

Today we will share a bitachon thought related to Parashat Ki Tese that also connects with Rosh Hashanah, as the lessons in the parshiot before Rosh Hashana are there to help us to prepare for the high holidays. In this week's parasha, we talk about Amalek. “Remember what Amalek did, Asher Karacha B'Derech/ that happened on the way.” The word Karacha can also be understood as “ cooled down . ” Rashi us that the world was a bubbling, hot bath after the Jewish people had just got out of Mitzrayim. No one would jump in and start up with the Jewish people. Then came Amalek, who jumped into bubbling, hot bath. And as a result, he cooled it off. Up until that point, no one would start up with Bnei Yisrael. It was like, you don't jump off a building. It's not even an option. But after Amalek, it wasn't so clear anymore in what we call Bechush/ our senses. For example, your senses won't let you jump off a roof, but your senses will let you eat something unkosher. It's not that clear, even though it might be clear in your head. Amalek cooled off that clarity that you don't start up with God and God's control. And the second aspect of what Amalek did comes from that same root, Kar , as in Mikreh . How does he cool things off ? It's connected. He cools things off by saying it's only a coincidence, and not to believe in God controlling the world. The way they fought against Amalek back when they left Mitzrayim is by weakening him. How? Masechet Rosh Hashana 29a says, on the pasuk when Moshe lifted his hands the Jewish people won- the Mishna asks, “ Did Moshe's hands bring success and make or break the war? Rather, when we looked up to heaven and we subjugated our hearts to our Father in heaven, we would become successful. If not, we would fall.” Rav Sadok says that any lesson that shows up in a certain Masechet/tractate is not by coincidence. Masechet Rosh Hashana talks about how we decide the new year. And only by tangent, we might say, doors it talk about Amalek. The Gemara talks about intention , paying attention , having in mind for the shofar…. and then we switch to, “Your heart with Amalek..” It seems like a tangent, but it's not, because that is what Rosh Hashana is all about. It's all about Hashem controlling the world, and Amalek comes to cool us off. Rav Yerucham Levovitz, in his Sefer M'Amorei HaMashgiach (pg 123) says, “ Rosh Hashanah itself is a bubbling bath.” That means, come Rosh Hashana we are supposed to be afraid. We know everything is decided on Rosh Hashana. So what causes us not to be afraid? It's a certain Amalek, that causes us to cool down. Amalek is all about Lo Yareh He's not afraid . But when Rosh Hashana comes, we are supposed to be concerned. So how do we escape that? Rav Yerucham says, “ Open a Mussar Sefer. ” Learn a little bit, and that will make an impact on you. We should all do that before the high holiday season. We should take out a Mussar sefer , one that talks about character perfection, fixing yourself, making yourself better. That's what we need to do to fight that Amalek force that says, “ I'm not afraid.” In upcoming parshiot , we will discuss the man that says Shalom Yiyeh Li, Everything's going to be fine; I've gone through so many Rosh Hashanas. I have nothing to worry about. No. Every year we're judged. And, B'Ezrat Hashem we will have a good judgment, but to have that good judgment, you have to feel concern, and not get sucked in by the Amalek that tries to cool down any feelings of inspiration or change we might have. Rav Yerucham further points out that regarding the fellow that says Shalom Yihyeh Li/ everything's going to be fine, and has no regard for the curses we say at he end of the year… It says in Devarim (29, 17-19) וּמָחָ֤ה ה׳ אֶת־שְׁמ֔וֹ מִתַּ֖חַת הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ Hashem will erase his name from under the heavens. Rav Yerucham points out that the same term is used for Amalek. It says, “ We're going to erase Amalek.” When somebody totally ignores what's going on around him, and ignores Rosh Hashana, that is the worst thing a person can do. The Gemara in Rosh Hashana says there are three books, and the book of the wicked that are erased comes from this pasuk . So there's a concept of erasing the wicked, but B'Ezrat Hashem, we will not be on that list. We are working on ourselves, uplifting ourselves, learning and getting ready for Rosh Hashana. The phrase that used in the pasuk quoted above is, “ Subjugate your heart to your Father in heaven, and then you are successful in your war against Amalek.” We use the words, your Father in heaven because this is what Amalek comes to deny. There's a famous Rashi that says that Amalek comes when the Jewish people say, “ Is God with us or not?” And he gives the beautiful mashal of a father carrying his son on his shoulders, and whatever the son wants, the father gives him. “ I'm always here, to give you whatever you need,” he says. Then they come across a man, whom the boy asks, “Do you know where my father is?” But he's still on his father's shoulder. So the father says, “ I'm carrying you on my shoulders and you want to where I am? I'll put you down for a second and see what's happens.” Then a dog comes, which is Amalek. We have to realize, especially at the end of the year, that our Father in heaven has been with us the entire year, taking care of everything that we need. We should never fall into the Amalek trap of saying, “ Is God with us or not?” Of course God is with us. And at the times when you don't see Him there, He's really carrying you. Have a wonderful day and a Shabbat Shalom.

We are going through the prayer of L'Olam Yehe Adam in the Korbanot section , and the next part we say is Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokenu Hashem Echad, ( we will discuss it's meaning next week ) . The next part, after Shema, is quoted by the Yalkut Shemoni (as we said, everything has a source) It refers to the time each morning, when the world wakes up ; that is the time of day that God gets angry . (Bilam knew that moment and tried to curse the Jewish people at that time ) Why does God get angry at th is early - morning part of the day ? The Gemara says that it's because th is is when the world gets up and bo ws to the sun , and doesn't recognize God . They eat, they drink , and they enjoy the new day without recognizing God . As such, God wants to destroy the world , if not for the fact that the Jewish people are saying Shema Yisrael . We cause the world not to be destroyed when we say Keriat Shema every single day. That's a powerful statement. The Midrash, in Devarim ( chapter 6 , pasuk 8 3 6) says that when Hashem looks at the world and he sees the theaters and the circuse s, and they're sitting there being entertained, being calm , complacent and serene , while God's Bet Hamikdash is destroyed , God wants to wipe the world out. Then we come to the Bet HaKeneset and Bet Midrash and say Keriat Shema , and the angels gather around God and they sa y (and this is what we say in Korbanot following Shema Yisrael), אַתָּה הוּא אֶחָד קוֹדֵם שֶׁבָּרָאתָ הָעוֹלָם, וְאַתָּה הוּא אֶחָד לְאַחַר שֶׁבָּרָאתָ הָעוֹלָם, אַתָּה הוּא אֵל בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, וְאַתָּה הוּא אֵל בָּעוֹלָם הַבָּא, וְאַתָּה־ה֑וּא וּ֝שְׁנוֹתֶ֗יךָ לֹ֣א יִתָּֽמּוּ׃ Y ou're the God b efore the world was created. You are the God after the world was created . You're God in this world and Y ou' re God in the next world. Y our years will never end. M ake Your name holy in your world , on the nation. God , use the Jewish people as a way to bring a sanctification to your name. T hat is what we say everyday after Keriat Shema . And we end with the beracha of Baruch Makadesh Shemo B'Rabim And it says then , מיד נוחה דעתו של הקב"ה ואינו מחריב עולמו Mi yad/ immediately , when God hears the angel s say that , God calms down , so to say , and doesn't destroy the world . T hat's what Atah Kadosh means. God is holy, Yoshev Teholit Yisrael- simpl y, this means He dwells in our prayers ; W hen we pray , God is here. But the Midrash says Yoshev could also mean Yishuv Hada'at, which means to calm someone down . God is holy , and He gets calmed down by the Jewish prayer s . So we have to appreciate what we do every single morning. Every morning , we are causing the world not to be destroyed. We get th e credit for keeping the world safe , because we're saying Keriat Shema . W e're recognizing God's O neness. And , if I may add , similar things happens every single year . God looks at the world on Rosh Hashanah, the day of creation. And it says th at the angels ask, “ W hat is man? What are You doing , God? Wh y are you keeping this world going? Look how bad they are! Look what they're doing. ” And every year it only gets worse. So what's the answer ? God's answer is that “ T here are Jewish people that are saying, Shema Yisrael and accepting Me as King.” This is true every day, but especially on Rosh Hashanah. We have to get read y and really prepare for this great, awesome day of Rosh Hashanah , by appreciating what happens every day , when we say these powerful worlds of Hashem Echad, realizing that God is One before the world, and God is One after the world. What does that mean? Rabbi Ades gave a great mashal . He tells the true story of a man we'll call Jack , who asked his friend Abe to take his son into his business . A be s ays, No problem , and spends the entire day with Jac k's son , showing him everything in the business… the warehouse, the production line .. the whole day. U nbelievable. Then Jack calls up Abe and says, “ I really want to thank you for spending so much time with my son. ” And Abe says, “ No , I didn't just do that with your son. I go through that process with everyone that comes to work for me, because I want to show them that I had a production line , I had a warehouse, and I had a design team before they came. The company was here before he came , and the company with continue after he leaves .” Rabbi Ades says it's the same thing with this world. We think, “ O h, God needs me. ” But God says , “ I was doing fine before you came and w ill continue fine after yo u. Y ou're her e? Roll up your sleeves and work. Don't think the world needs you. ” God is here throughout. It's like when young children look at their parents' wedding album and ask , “ W here was I? ” And the parents say, “ You weren't here. ” What do you mean? “ You just weren't here. ” That's true for all of us. Look at your parents' wedding album. You weren't t here. Where were you? God created you Yesh M'ayin/ something from nothing. That's a sobering pill. But that is what we're supposed to be thinking about as we get ready for the high holidays . We have to appreciate what God is doing for us , and B'Ezrat Hashem will continue doing for us . Have a wonderful day.

We continue discussing God's 13 Middot of Mercy, which are necessary for us to act with during the high holiday season. Middah number two on the Arizal's list is Rahum . The question is, if we start off with saying A-donai, A-donai, which is already mercy (because God's name of Yud and Heh and Vav and Heh is inherently mercy), Why do we repeat the word rahamim/mercy ? Tosafot explains that it's because there are two levels of mercy, and in his words (and it's actually a quote from the Gemara), “ Here it's before repentance, and here it's after repentance.” This means that before a person sins, there's a certain level of mercy that God has. Then the person sins. But once he does teshuva, there's a new creation of mercy for after the sin. The rabbis actually connect this to the concept of the two sets of luchot/tablets. The first set of tablets was given to us on Shavuot. They were broken after the sin of the golden calf on the 17 th of Tammuz, and Moshe Rabbenu took two sets of 40 days, until, on Yom Kippur, he brought down a second set of luchot . That means there was a set of luchot before the sin, and a set of tablets after the sin. God gave us a new Torah after the sin, for how to deal with people after sin. With the first Torah, it was assumed that there would be no sin, and no death. Moshe Rabbenu went up for an equal amount of days to create a new Torah, for dealing with the person after the sin. It's almost like saying Has v'Shalom , that someone had a child that went off to rehab because he had an addiction problem. When he comes back, they have to learn a new parenting style. How do I parent him after he comes back? With the same love and the same kindness, but with a different approach. So God has a new approach for after we do teshuva. God, so to say, create a new parenting approach, called the second set of tablets. And with that comes a second name of mercy called Rahum , for after the person sins and comes back. This may a hard one for us to emulate, because sometimes someone sin to us, whether it's a child, a friend, parent, spouse, sibling or business partner… they sin to us and it takes a while for us to get over it. When we finally get over it, we're lukewarm. We don't have that same love. But Rabbenu Yonah says that God does. After our teshuva, He rekindles the same love for us, like we had beforehand. That's difficult. We celebrate Simchat Torah only after we received the second set of luchot . Why don't we celebrate Simchat Torah when we received the Torah, on Shavuot? Because that marriage didn't last. Imagine a couple who get married, then divorced, and then get remarried. When do they celebrate their anniversary, the first wedding or the second wedding? I've never asked anyone that question, but we see from God, that we celebrate the second wedding, because the first wedding didn't really make it that well. We celebrate the second wedding. The after-the-sin wedding; that's the new beginning. And that has to be our celebration with our friends. Even though someone wronged us, there's a new mercy that comes after they repented and came back to us, and that arouses the way God acts with us. These are difficult , difficult things to work on. It's not easy. Anyone who has experienced someone who wronged them and now get along, may still harbor something. It's a life's work, but B'Ezrat Hashem, we will overcome this, because the dividends are great. The the more we do this to others, more God does it to us. Have a wonderful day.

I am currently in Hollywood, Florida on a speaking engagement, and sitting right across to me is my Floridian agent Mr. Aaron Moses, whom I thank for helping me spread Torah to other areas. Yesterday we started discussing the 13 Middot of Rachamim, Hashem's 13 attributes of mercy. As we said, these are especially apropos for the month of Elul, because as we say Selichot and prepare for our Yom Kippur prayers, we say these 13 attributes many, many times. And, as we said yesterday, from the Reshit Hochma, it's not enough to just say it, we have to act on it. But we can't act on it until we understand it. There is a Tosafot in Masechet Rosh Hashanah (in the Hagga on the side), that explains some of these middot. There's a difference of opinion in how to count them. We say A-donai, A-donai, El Rachum V' Hanun… but where does the counting start? Are the two names of Hashem part of the list or not? There are many different opinions, but for our purposes today, we will go with the Arizal's approach that the first trait of God is called El . What does El mean? Tosafot explains that El is the Middah of strength, as the pasuk says, Eleh haAretz, the strong ones , and another pasuk says, Mi Kamocha B'Elim Hashem. Even the word Elohim comes from the word strong or strength. That's why Elohim usually indicates judgment. So how did El turn into the first of the attributes of mercy? Tosafot has a beautiful hiddush: God uses the Yad Hazaka/ strong arm to prepare food for all the creations. The term Yad hazaka shows up in the open miracles of Yetziat Mitzrayim. In order for God to bring food and sustenance to creation, God needs Yad hazaka . His source that the word El is referring specifically to parnasa is a pasuk in tehilim 104, where David Hamelech says הַ֭כְּפִירִים שֹׁאֲגִ֣ים לַטָּ֑רֶף וּלְבַקֵּ֖שׁ מֵאֵ֣ל אׇכְלָֽם׃ The lions roar for sustenance and to request food from El They're asking God's trait of power to feed them. Rav Wolbe wrote a whole thesis on how the connection to our Creator is so instinctive that even animals have it. Who trained animals to call out to God for sustenance? It's an instinct that even animals have. But who do they know to ask from? They ask from El. Those that read Perek Shira know that animals connect to God. Every animal has a pasuk, and in this pasuk the lions roar and ask God for food. The term used in this pasuk, teref is sometimes used to mean torn up because lions eat things that are Teref , that they've torn up. So here teref can mean food , or it can mean a torn up carcass. And what does it have to do with us? We see from here that God works hard, so to say. He needs a Yad hazaka in order to feed creation. So if we want God to use His Yad hazaka to sustain us, with all the challenges in the economy today, then we also have to act with the Yad hazaka. This means that if you hear that your friend doesn't have a job, you don't just sit by passively. You use your Yad hazaka/strong arm tactics . How can I get this man a job? What am I going to do? I'm not going to sit by and wait . I'm going to use my Yad hazaka… and when I act with the trait of El for my fellow, that arouses the power of El for God to act with us. That is Middah number one on the hit parade of the 13 Middot Hashem. B'Ezrat Hashem, we will act with that Middah of El , and arouse God's power, His Yad hazaka, to sustain us. Have a wonderful day.

We have started Selichot , at least in the Sephardic world, and every single day for the next 40 days, we're going to say the 13 Middot many times, and on Yom Kippur as well. What is the significance of the 13 attributes of mercy? The Gemara in Masechet Rosh Hashana tells us, on the pasuk Vaya'avor Hashem el Panav Vayikra/ God passed over on His face and said , that Rav Yochanan says that if the pasuk did not say this, we couldn't say it. It's as if God Himself wrapped Himself in a Talet like a Shaliach Sibor and showed Moshe Rabbenu how to properly say the 13 Middot. And He said, “ As long as the Jewish people do this in front of Me, I forgive them .” The Reshit Hochma brings down in the name the Geonim (Rabbis before the Rishonim, a thousand plus years ago) that we see many people that say the 13 attributes of mercy and are not answered. So what does it mean that God guarantees us if we say these 13 attributes? He answers that Yaasu/ will do this doesn't just mean to say it or wrap yourself in the talet . Yaasu means to do those 13 attributes of mercy. God is called El , Rachum, V'Hanun etc. We have to not just say them, but act upon them. It's interesting that on Rosh Hashanah, when we do Tashlich , we say another 13 attributes, called Mi El Kamocha . But regardless of what the 13 attributes are, these are 13 attributes that God has, and we have to emulate God. When we emulate God with those middot, we are protected, and then we are saved. The more we act with these Middot, the more similar we are to God, and the more that God's name is called upon us. He quotes a Yalkut Shemoni, Parashat Ekev, (chapter 873) citing a pasuk in Yoel(3,5) : Anybody that has the name of God, will be protected. The Midrash asks, How can you get the name of God ? God's name is a Yud, and a Heh and and a Vav and a Heh. We can't even say His name! How could you be called the name of God? The Midrash answers that God is called Rachum V'Hanun, so we have to be called Rachum V'Hanun. God does acts of free kindness, so we have to do acts of free kindness. B'Ezrat Hashem, over the next few days, we will explain how we can emulate God in these 13 attributes. And it goes on and says, God is called Sadik, (as it says in tehilim 16,1 Ki Sadik Hashem) so you have to be a Sadik. God is called a Hasid (as it says in Yirmiyah), so you have to be pious . That's what it means that If you have the name of God, you will be protected. You're a Rachum . You're a Hanun . When you're a generous person, then all of those titles and descriptions of kindness, a person gets that name. There's a rabbi in Israel, Rabbi Binyamin Finkel, a Mashgiach of the Mir in Yerushalayim, who gives great Berachot. Reading this Midrash, I understand why. He is known (going back literally 40 years), as Binyamin Hasadik/the righteous Binyamin. That means he's called the name of God. That's a powerful title, to have Sadik after your name. That's God's name. Imagine you get called so-and-so the Rachum , or so- and-so the Hanun . That's what we want. We want to be called by the name of God, which means acting in the traits of God. These are the 13 attributes of mercy, but it's not enough just to say them. We have to act upon. The Reshit Hochma says that the underlying trait of all these 13 attributes is actually God's humility, because for God to ignore our sins, to a certain level, and forgive us, and to continue to bestow His goodness upon us is a tremendous level of humility. And we're going to see, Mi El Kamocha means that God accepts humility and disgrace and continues to benefit people. So the underlying trait of all these 13 Middot is the trait of humility. And it's interesting to note in the introduction to the Va'yaavor, humility is stressed. The introduction is called El Melech Yoshev Al Kiseh Rachamim God sits on the chair of mercy … He acts in piousness. He forgives our sins. He does acts of righteousness with everybody and He does not reciprocate according to our evil. And then it says, El , the God, (that's the first trait) Horitanu/He taught us to say these, Remember for us today, God made a deal, that If you act like that,, I'll forgive you. And who is the one that revealed this to us? It says, like you told the Humble one- We don't call him Moshe Rabbenu, we call them the humble one, because since these are traits of humility, the conduit to bring it down was the Humble One Moshe. That's the underlying theme of all these traits-to be humble. Have a wonderful day.

We are two days past Tisha B'Av , and the lesson s should still be on our minds. This year , I saw an astounding lesson in the story of Kamsa and Bar Kamsa, an important lesson in Emunah and Bitachon . Why was it necessary for this story to be brought down? While this was the catalyst for the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash , that's not why it was destroyed. There was much more Sinat Hinam behind it. But t here is one part, at the end of the story , which is important for u s: When the host th rew Bar Kamsa out of the party, the rabbis didn't say anything. Of course, we know that Bar Kamsa was not the best of people. He ended up snitching to the government and caus ed the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash with his treacherous plan. But the rabbis didn't say anything, and by doing so , they were basically agreeing that Bar Kamsa should be thrown out of the party. Why is this important? Our rabbis te ach an important lesson in Emunah and Bitachon, which is that anything that happens to us because of our deeds, we are really in agreement with . We might not be able to admit it, or see straight, but anything that happens to us, we really decided that it should happen to us. We see this from the famous story of David Hamelech and Batsheva. David Hamelech didn't really do anything wrong , as the Gemara says, W hoever says that David Hamelech sinned is mistaken . Nonetheless, he was giv en a masha l of a man who had many sheep. When a guest came to visi t, there was a poor man who owed him money. So i nstead of slaughtering one of his own sheep for the guest, he took the poor man's only sheep and slaughter ed it . The prophet then asked David Hamelech , “ W hat should be with t he wealthy man that takes the poor man's last sheep? “ And David Hamelech answered , “ He deserves a horrible punishment .“ He didn't really do anything terribly wron g. He had a right to take the sheep. He was owed the sheep. But, come on, you have more sh eep for yourself ! In essence, David Hamelech was deciding that when he took Batsheva, although it might have been legal, he had other wives and he did not need to do that. He was deciding his own court case, so to say. The rabbis tell us that in our lives, the same thing happens. You might be sitting at a table, having a discussion about somebody or some thing, and you might say, “ T hat is so horrible! How dare they they speak lashon hara like that! ” But the truth is, you speak lashon hara as well. You are actually deciding your own destiny. And so, what happens to you, believe it or not, you agreed with! You were the one that said it should happen. Of course, when it happens, you ask, H ow could God do this ? But deep down, you agreed. It was fair. That is what happen ed in th is story. When the rabbis decided that the host had a right to throw Bar Kamsa out of the party because of what he did, they were , in essence , saying that the Jewish people had a right to be thrown out of Eretz Yisrael, because of what they did. They decided that it was all right for the host to throw the unruly guest out of the party. So too, God is the H ost and we were the unruly guest. And the rabbis decided that that was what was supposed to happen. When you think about it, this is an amazing concept. Anything that happens to us, we ourselves agree that it 's just. It says that after 120 years, we will all say, “ God's judgment is just. ” Whatever God does is righteous and just. We don't always see it that way, especially not in this world. We don't have all the facts, and we don't have all the details. But we have to know that if we were asked, we would say , God is just, and God is righteous. That is one of the lessons of the Bet Hamikdash ‘s destruction: We agree d that this is exactly what should have happened. It's a heavy lesson . Sometimes we look at life and its events as unfair and unjust. But we decided that that is exactly what should happen. B'Ezrat Hashem , only good things for everybody . Have a wonderful day.

There are certain additions that are added to the Amidah throughout the day and the night of Tisha BeAv. Of course the most common addition that we add to all our Tefilot during fast days is ‘Anenu.' Our custom is to add the Anenu in all the Tefilot of Tisha BeAv beginning with Arbit, and of course the following day in Shacharit and in Mincha. Anenu is inserted in ‘Shomea Tefilah.' When the Chazan repeats the Amidah, he would insert this Anenu in between the Beracha of ‘Goel Yisrael' and ‘Rifaenu'.It should be pointed out that if one forgets Anenu, he does not have to repeat the Amidah. Missing Anenu does not invalidate the Amidah.There's another addition to the Amidah that is specifically applicable only on Tisha BeAv. We insert the Beracha of ‘Nachem' into the Amidah. ‘Nachem' is a special insert that is put into the Beracha of ‘Tishkon Bitoch Yerushalayim'. It's a special Tisha BeAv Beracha that talks about the destruction of Jerusalem, and how G-d, B'Ezrat Hashem, is going to console us with the rebuilding of Jerusalem. We end that Beracha with "Baruch Ata Hashem Menachem Tzion BiVinyan Yerushalayim."Now, there is a great Machloket as to how many times one must mention ‘Nachem'. According to Maran in Shulchan Aruch, the Beracha of ‘Nachem' is mentioned in all the Tefilot, starting with Arbit of Tisha BeAv, and continuing through Shacharit and Mincha. That's the opinion also of Rav Chida(Rav Chaim Yoseif David Azulai, 1724-1806), and that it seems was and is the Minhag of Eretz Yisrael, which again, is to say ‘Nachem' in all the Tefilot.The Ashkenazim however, follow the ruling of Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles, 1530 - 1572), who says to only say the Beracha of ‘Nachem' in Mincha of Tisha BeAv. He says this is because Mincha was the time exactly when the Romans came and lit the fire to burn the Bet HaMikdash. So it is at that point that we start to mention about the destruction of Jerusalem officially in the Amidah. Our Minhag is to follow the Ashkenazim on this, and we thus say ‘Nachem' only in Mincha of Tisha BeAv. Again, only Mincha Tisha BeAv, is where we say ‘Nachem.' Now if somebody forgot ‘Nachem', he has a few places where he can make it up. If he forgot it when saying ‘Tishkon Bitoch Yerushalayim', he can make it up in ‘Shema Kolenu'. If he forgot in ‘Shema Kolenu', he could make it up in ‘Ritze' in the place where you say ‘Yaale VeYavo' which is after the words ‘Avodat Yisrael Amecha.' Now, in that place you can not say the Beracha with a Chatima (ending) of ‘Baruch Ata Hashem Menachem Tzion BiVinyan Yerushalayim', but rather you would just say up until the Beracha and then continue ‘VeAta BeRachamecha'. If he still forgets to insert ‘Nachem' at that point, he can still make it before he finishes the Amidah after the second ‘Yehi Ratzon', right before the last part. Finally, if he forgets it there, he does not go back and repeat the Amidah. This is a once a year item. Therefore, everyone should prepare themselves and be ready to say the Amidah with the proper inclusions in the Amidah on Tisha BeAv. Specifically, don't miss out on the important addition of ‘Nachem' in Mincha. It's in the siddur, and one has to be cognizant while reading from the siddur. It's in the middle of ‘Tishkon', which is a Beracha that otherwise never sees an addition or insert. So be careful not to daydream, as it would be very easy to miss, since it is a once a year item. You can't make it up, so again, make sure to be aware and make the necessary additions as mentioned above to the Amidah on Tisha BeAv.

There is a Gemara in Masechet Yoma (9b) that tells us that the first Bet Hamikdash was destroyed because of the three cardinal sins, whereas the second Bet Hamikdash didn't have any of that. They had Torah and they had Gemilut Hasadim, and yet it was destroyed because of Sinat Hinam/ Baseless Hatred. The Gemara tells us that Sinat Hinam weighs in more than the three cardinal sins, and ends off with, “They were wicked in the time of the first Bet Hamikdash, but they relied on Hashem.“ From this Gemara, the Gaon of Vilna proves (in his Sefer Even Shlomo chapter 3) that the main thing is Bitachon. If you are lacking Bitachon, your Torah does not last. He says that a person who is strong in Bitachon, even though he might transgress sins, is better than one who lacks Bitachon. Because the one who lacks Bitachon comes to jealousy and hatred. Even though he is involved in Torah and Hessed, he's only doing it to get a good name. It is not being done with sincerity. If he really believed, he would not feel hatred and he would not feel jealousy. So obviously, the Mitzvot that he's doing are being done out of rote. This is an important concept. A person who really believes doesn't have any hatred or jealousy. As the Sefer Chinuch writes ( in mitzvah 241), When a person realizes that everything that happens is from Hashem directly, and there's nothing that your friend can do to you, In his words, “From a man or his brother, nothing can happen unless it's the Will of God.” Therefore, “When a person pains or hurts him, he has to know in his heart that it is his sins that caused it. God decreed it, and “That is why there is no room for hate or jealousy..” Hate and jealousy are indicators that, deep down, full belief is lacking. The Gaon of Vilna reiterates this when he says, “During the time of the first Bet Hamikdash, their hearts were very good.” And Hashem wants our hearts. From the Gaon of Vilna, we see that a healthy heart is a heart full of Bitachon. In the times of the second Bet Hamikdash, they didn't have bitachon, and that is what caused the Sinat Hinam. He says clearly that the lack of V'Ahavta L'Reecha was a lack of reliance on Hashem, and all hatred and jealousy comes from there. That is all on the negative side. On the positive side, the power of Bitachon, can bring the redemption, as the Yalkut Shemoni says in Tehilim (remez 736) “In the future, we will say on that day, This is our God, and we will point to Him. We hoped to Him, and He saved us.” On that, the Midrash says, “All we need to have is hope to God, that (reward of hoping to Him) is enough. As we say every day, “To you're salvation we hoped everyday.” The Yalkut Shemoni says in another place, on Eicha (remez 1096), “A generation that is looking forward to God's kingdom, immediately they'll be saved, as it says, “There is a hope to your end.” It's the hope that brings it about. The Midrash Raba on Bereshit (Parasha 98) says, “Rabbi Yitzhak says, Everything comes out through hope.“ On that, the Etz Yosef says, “It's as if to say that even though a person is not worthy, he can merit to all the gifts of God, in the merit of his hoping to Hashem,” which means, in the zechut of his Emunah and Bitachon. We might not be worthy of redemption, except for in the merit of our hope and reliance on Hashem. The Ben Ish Chai, in his Sefer Ben YoYada, regarding the Gemara in Masechet Yoma quoted above, that they were wicked but they relied on Hashem, says, “Why is it that God didn't destroy them? We all know that God had mercy and he let out his wrath on the wood and stones. It was because of their reliance on Hashem.“ And the Maharsha says that they should have been wiped out totally, but their Bitachon saved them. In essence, he says, it should have been like Sedom v'Amora, if not for their Bitachon. How far does this go- that Bitachon saves a person? In the three days of darkness in Mitzrayim, the wicked Jews died out. But the Rosh, in his commentary on the Torah (Parashat Bo) asks that if that was the case, why did Datan and Aviram survive? They were Resha'im/wicked. He answers that they were Resha'im, but they didn't despair from the redemption. They were extremely wicked, but they still relied on Hashem for the geula, and that is why they were saved. How unbelievable are the negative forces of a lack of Bitachon, and the positive effects of having Bitachon. B'Ezrat Hashem, we are working on this midah, and we should be zoche to the Geula, Bimhera.

The power of a few words of chizuk is enormous. With a little chizuk , people could change their perspective on a situation that had been bringing them sadness. They can become happier or more motivated to take steps in the right direction. The right words said at the right time can do wonders. We don't always see how our words affect people, but we should know if we are able to provide words of encouragement, most probably they will have a lasting effect. A man said he heard a story last week about a woman who was so upset at her friend because she hurt her after she went out of her way to help her. The woman then heard a few words of chizuk from her friend about forgiving and she forgave and saw yeshuot from Hashem for her heroic act of forgiveness. The man heard the story and took it to heart. There was someone in his life who he bent over backwards for, for years, and he felt so betrayed when that person reciprocated with evil, and their relationship came to an abrupt end. Now, after hearing that story he decided to call and make peace and baruch Hashem he accomplished it. He felt so good ending a machloket . He definitely brought the Geula closer. He gave nachat ruach to Hashem and he made himself a vessel to receive Hashem's beracha . Another man who we'll call Yosef told me that an acquaintance of his who was in need of a large sum of money asked him if he would be willing to lend it to him. Yosef was a little bit hesitant as his wife was expecting their fourth child and he was planning on buying a new house because they would no longer be able to fit in their existing home. He was going to need every last dollar of his savings to do it, and so he told his acquaintance he wasn't sure if he could lend him the money. The acquaintance reassured Yosef, telling him it was just a short term loan, and he would pay it all back in thirty days. And so, Yosef happily lent this man money, trusting he would get it back a month later. When the thirty days were up and the money was not returned, Yosef waited patiently, figuring the man needed a little more time. He waited three additional months until he was ready to close on a new home and then, he called the man, requesting that the money be paid back. The man's response totally shocked him. He said in a loud voice, “You are such a stalker and a money-hungry, greedy pig. I will not give you a penny, and if you call me one more time, I'll block your number forever.” He then went on to speak very nastily, and he humiliated Yosef as if he committed the biggest crime. Yosef hung up the phone and started crying. He couldn't get his tears to stop. He had been robbed and humiliated after doing a chesed for a fellow Jew. He turned to Hashem in his tears and said out loud, “Hashem, you know how badly I have just been hurt, and only You can truly understand my pain right now. I am going to forgive this man with my full heart. And please, let it be a zechut that my two older siblings who are married for many years without children should both be blessed with a child. And please, my close friend should finally get married after years and years of trying. Hashem, I'm also praying to You that You should bless this man with all the berachot in the world and don't punish him for what he did to me.” After that, he felt much better and he tried to put the episode behind him. He said further, “The rest of the story might not sound real but I assure you, it's 100% true.” That same week, his friend met his zivug and got engaged a short time later. As well, both of his siblings conceived, apparently, also that same week and they are both now due to give birth on the exact same day. He concluded by saying, “Honestly, if even one of my three requests would have been granted, it would have been worth the torment I just went through. But Hashem is so loving and kind, He answered all of the tefilot that I made with my tears of forgiveness.” The power of forgiving is truly amazing, especially when it appears impossible to do. With a little chizuk , everyone could reach this level and forgive those who have harmed them. B'ezrat Hashem, there should be no more machloket in Klal Yisrael .

Now that we are in the three weeks, it's important to talk about the Churban/ Destruction of the Bet Hamikdash. Regarding the pasuk in Tehilim 119, שִׂבַּ֣רְתִּי לִישׁוּעָתְךָ֣ ה ׳ וּֽמִצְוֺתֶ֥יךָ עָשִֽׂיתִי I hoped for your salvation, God, And I fulfilled your Mitzvot, the Chida, in his Sefer Yosef Tehilot , a commentary on Tehilim, explains that we have a responsibility to look forward to Hashem's salvation (called Sipita LeYeshua- Did we look forward to God's salvation?). But we also have to contemplate the sins that prevent God's redemption. We have to stop , and stay away from those sins, b ecause if a person is looking forward to God‘s salvation, but actually interfering with it, it's really a worthless hope . “ Sibarti LeYeshuatecha/ I am looking forward to your salvation, “ i s not just looking forward , but also וּֽמִצְוֺתֶ֥יךָ עָשִֽׂיתִי fulfilling the Mitzvot , as the second half of the pasuk indicates . And the Chida adds that fulfilling the Mitzvot means staying away from the s ins that interfere with the rebuilding of the Bet Hamikdash . In another Sefer, Devarim Ahadim, the Chida ( in the 6 th derasha) says that we feel bad about the churban , which means not having weddings during the three weeks, refraining from meat and wine during the nine days, as well as other customs that we follow to mourn for the Bet Hamikdash . But, he says , at the same time, we continue to have Sinat Hinam/baseless hatred , which is the main sin that we are discussing when we talk about the Churban . We aren't unified. This is compared to someone who is planting a tree with one hand, and taking an ax with the other to cut it down.. Inherently, that is what we do every single day . In his words, “ How can a man be righteous with good deeds, as long as the contamination is still with us - which is Sinat Hinam.” So it's not enough to go through the three weeks and just feel bad, mourn, look forward, and yearn. We also have to work on correcting the sin that is the cause of the churban , Sinat Hinam . In essence, the rabbi s say that this is the question they will ask us after 120 years , when they ask, “ Did you look forward to the salvation? “ It seems to be a simple question. Of course we look forward to it. But in that question lies the deeper question of whether you were careful to stay away from the s ins that caused the destruction. That is the true Sipita Leyeshua/ looking forward to the salvation. And that is not so simple. B'Ezrat Hashem , we will be able to answer yes , b y working on Ahavat Yisrael. Have a wonderful day.

Welcome to Embrace Shabbat. I stumbled upon a beautiful sefer from the Yafe LaLev- Rav Rachamim Nissim Yitzchak Palagi, son of Rav Chaim Palagi. Within the sefer , there is a section called Nefesh Yetaira b'Shabbat, which includes many chiddushim about Shabbat. The Yafe LaLev quotes the Tikunei Zohar who says that on Shabbat, a person must change his clothing, his candles, and his food, thereby demonstrating kavod Shabbat. Additionally, he teaches that one must add from kodesh to chol by extending Shabbat both before and after. The Zohar teaches that the more one adds to Shabbat, the more powerful one's neshama yetira becomes. Incredibly, these two chiddushim are hinted to in the word שבת . A person should prepare a new שְׁ רַגָּא (the Zohar's term for candle), (clothing) ב גדים , and ת בשילין (food). שבת references the three things that one is supposed to make noticeable on Shabbat. Additionally, שבת can also stand for שיעשו בו תוספת , you should make an addition on it, referencing the second chiddush of the Yafe LaLev. Rav Rachamim Nissim Yitzchak Palagi quotes the mekubalim that a person is called “Adam” (which is a higher title referring to man) when he observes Shabbat, as the passuk ( ישעיהו נו:ב ) says: ובן אדם יחזיק בה שמר שבת , when one keeps Shabbat, he gets the title of Adam. Furthermore, when Adam sinned, he was diminished. To return to his higher level, a person must receive the nefesh yetaira, which come from reading שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום . The passuk states: וַיִּקְרָא הָאָדָם שֵׁמוֹת . On a simple level, this can be explained as: Man gave names to all of the animals . However, שֵׁמוֹת can also be explained as שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום . A person becomes a man from reading שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום . Similarly, when discussing שנים מקרא , the Gemara states (Brachot 8a): לְעוֹלָם יַשְׁלִים אָדָם פָּרָשִׁיּוֹתָיו עִם הַצִּבּוּר שְׁנַיִם מִקְרָא וְאֶחָד תַּרְגּוּם , an Adam should always complete שְׁנַיִם מִקְרָא with the congregation. That higher level of Adam comes from שְׁנַיִם מִקְרָא וְאֶחָד תַּרְגּוּם . These are just two of the wonderous remazim and chiddushim about Shabbat that I saw in this beautiful sefer Yafe LaLev. B'ezrat Hashem we will continue with some more chiddushim next week. Have a Shabbat Shalom.

We are commanded every day to remember the story of Balak and Billam. This commandment is found in the Haftara that we read this past week in Parashat Balak ( Micha 6,5) עַמִּ֗י זְכׇר־נָא֙ מַה־יָּעַ֗ץ בָּלָק֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ מוֹאָ֔ב וּמֶה־עָנָ֥ה אֹת֖וֹ בִּלְעָ֣ם…. לְמַ֕עַן דַּ֖עַת צִדְק֥וֹת ה׳ My nation, Please remember Balak's plot and what Bilaam responded to him…to know the righteousness of God As we should all know, there is a list of things to remember in our daily prayers (Sephardic siddurim list 10 remembrances, the Ashkenazi siddurim list 6), all of which come from pesukim in the Torah. One is Shabbat, and another is this pasuk in Michah , where Michah is commanding, in the name of God, that we should remember what Balak and Bilaam did to us. We will dedicate this week to discussing this topic, thus fulfilling this mitzvah every day. ( I f you have a little time after s hul , look in the back of your siddur after Alenu and you will see the list of things to remember. ) Our first point is- Why does it say, Zochor -Na/ Please remember We rarely see God saying Please before He asks us to do something. So obviously, it's very important. But what exactly was the Sidkot Hashem/ Righteousness of Hashem? 24,000 people died because of Bilaam's idea. So what are we supposed to remember exactly? One of t he R abbis of B risk explains with a mashal . In the days of old, before yeshiv ot were common , a man would go from town to town , staying for a month or so to teach the children of that town. When he got to a certain town, they told him that the president of the synagogue had a very dangerous dog, and they warned him to be careful. The man was there for a few days, and although he was initially afraid of the dog, which was chained, the dog seemed to be nice and docile. After two or three weeks, he was convinced that there must be some kind of mistake, and he told everyone t hat it was cruel to keep the dog chained up . But as he went to unleash the dog, the dog began to attac k him. He was lucky to get away alive. And he learned that if not for the chains, the dog would be attacking people all day . By remembering the attack, he was able to remember what could have been happening every day but wasn't. That is the message of the story of Balak and Bilaam . God, so to say, unleashed Balak and Balaam for a moment, and we saw what happened, and how many people die d . This is what could be happening constantly , but God is keeping them on a leash. We have to think about the things that don't happen. Th is goes back to the less on than we have said many times from Rabbi A des- When a person goes to sleep at night, and he's in his own bed, not in an emergency room, he should dance a jig for what did not happen ; what could have happened, but Hashem prevent ed from happening. That is the explanation of what we are supposed to remember every single day. We are supposed to remember the miracles that happen every day, that we don't even know about. It's a daily responsibility of ours to remember, as God says, “ P lease remember this.“ B'Ezrat Hashem, this week we will talk about the different lessons we can learn from Balak and Bilaam. Have a wonderful day.

We continue with Emuna lessons from Rav Chaskel Abramsky's sefer Melech B'Yofyof ( page 612): In Parashat Vayetzeh , when describing Yaakov Avinu , the Torah says, “ Yaakov made a neder/vow saying… If God will be with me..” But Rav Abramsky says that we can read also the pasuk as, “ Yaakov made a neder, to constantly say, If God will be with me.” In other words, Yaakov Avinu's neder was to get used to saying B'Ezrat Hashem, Im Yirtzah Hashem, With the help of God, If God wants… The first statement of his neder was to constantly mention, “ God is with me.” The Shelah Hakadosh says that a siman for this is the phrase, “ עצת ה׳ היא תקום The advice of God will stand up . ” If you have a thought in your head and it's God's idea, it will last. But how do we know if it's God's idea? עצת ה׳ היא תקום The letters of the word היא rescrambled, stand for א ם י רצה ה ׳ If Hashem wants When a person gets into the habit of saying,I'm Yirtzeh Hashem/ If God wants, it will bring success. He also says something fascinating- We see in Parashat Hukat that God was exacting with Moshe Rabbenu for hitting the rock rather than speaking to the rock. But the commentaries say that really, Moshe Rabbenu wasn't supposed to go into Eretz Yisrael anyway. God was, so to say, looking for a pretense to hold him back from entering, so it had to be something. Rav Abramsky tells a story that he says he heard from Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer- As was well known, the Chafetz Chaim planned to move to Eretz Yisrael later in life, but he did not end up going - for a variety of reasons- As we have said in the past, when the great Syrian Mekubal Rav Shaul Dweck HaKohen, who was in Eretz Yisrael at the time, was told that Chafetz Chaim was preparing to come (it was world news), he said he's not coming. How did he know?He was a great mekubal. When the Chafetz Chaim did not end up coming, they asked him how he knew, and Rav Shaul answered that a Gadol Hador has to be owned by Klal Yisrael, by the people at large. If he is owned by one party, then the other party thinks he is not theirs, and he can't be a true Gadol and world leader. The Chafetz Chaim was a world leader. But if he were to come to Eretz Yisrael, with so many different groups, factions and parties, he'd end up belonging to one group over the other, and would not be able to have the same leadership power. Sure enough, he didn't come. There were other, on the ground reasons that covered up the real reason Hashem didn't allow it to happen. In 1935, the Chafetz Chaim spoke in Radin for what they thought was the final time before he'd leave. It was his final goodbye speech. After he spoke, one of the baalei batim , a sked (in simplicity and with no ill intentions) why the Chafetz Chaim did not say Im Yirtzha Hashem even once in the whole speech. That night, the Chafetz Chaim's wife suddenly got sick with very severe disease, and they canceled their trip. Rav Abramsky added that of course, Hashem was very medakdek/exacting with the Chafetz Chaim, and there were more reasons he didn't end up moving, but what Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer brought out was that when a person doesn't use the term Im Yirtzah Hashem, it might be a signal, or even a cause, for something not to be successful. We have to get into this habit. In our community we say, “ Inshallah ,” which is the Arabic way to say, “ With God's help, ” so this has been in our vernacular for a long time. We also say “ Allamaak ,” which means “ God be with you.” This is an ancient tradition, whether in Arabic, English or whatever language you speak. B'Ezrat Hashem , we will take this lesson to heart. Have a wonderful day.

The sefer Choshev Machshavot asked the following question. On one hand, it says in Iyov regarding the wisdom of Torah והחכמה מאין תמצא – that it is difficult to decipher. It also says there לא ידע אנוש ערכה – people do not understand its true value. Yet, in parashat V'etchanan , it says regarding the Torah, כי היא חכמתכם ובינתכם לעיני הענים – the world will recognize its great wisdom through us. How do we understand this pasuk in light of the pesukim in Iyov ? Furthermore, what great wisdom will the world see in us by us adhering to the Torah? We follow its mitzvot like eating matzah , shaking lulav and etrog , and blowing shofar . How is the wisdom of the Torah apparent in those mitzvot ? The rabbi explained with a mashal . Take for instance the person who created the very first piano. How much wisdom went into creating it? Namely, all of the mechanisms and stringing of the chords that connected to the keyboard to produce the beautiful music that it produced. All of that back work was hidden. We are only able to see the pianist pressing the buttons and producing the beautiful music. Those sounds reveal all of the wisdom that is behind them. Similarly, Hashem connected the Torah and mitzvot with infinite connections to the myriads of Upper Worlds in Shamayim . Every mitzvah we do sets off so many things in motion. The Gemara says when we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, Hashem gets off His Throne of Judgment and moves to His Throne of Mercy. Hashem in His endless wisdom prepared spiritual connectors to every mitzvah that we do and one day those connections are going to be revealed and everyone will see how each person's performance of mitzvot was what was making this world turn and how many things each one of them accomplished. The nations of the world will recognize the endless wisdom behind the Torah at that time. For now, we don't fully appreciate the value because we don't have the eyes to see what's going on behind the scenes. Sometimes, we are given small glimpses of how people's performance of mitzvot directly cause physical changes to take place in this world. A rabbi told me, during the time the schools were closed because of Covid, his neighbor asked him if he would teach his son Torah on a daily basis outdoors. The neighbor apologized saying he couldn't afford to pay, but he hoped the rabbi would do it anyway. This was a tall order, being that there was a going rate to do such a thing and the rabbi could have used the money. This rabbi had a few daughters but no sons. Moreover, he and his wife had not been blessed with any children in the previous four years. He remembered once learning that teaching someone else's son Torah is a segula to be blessed with one's own son. So the rabbi told the neighbor he would happily do it, and every day, for months, he taught this boy for an hour a day. About ten months from when they began, this rabbi and his wife were holding their very own baby boy. Another man, who used to be in prison, related the following story about himself. While in jail, the only thing he looked forward to was receiving a weekly care package from a relative. One day, a bully went over to him and asked him to give him the package. And then, he took out a knife and threatened him if he didn't. With no other choice, he gave up that package and this went on every single week and it bothered this man greatly. One day he was visited by a rabbi from Chabad and he told the rabbi about his plight. The rabbi asked him if he kept Torah and mitzvot and the man said he knew he could do better. The rabbi asked him if he would commit to putting on Tefillin every day as well as saying Asher Yatzar each time he went to the bathroom. The man said he would do it. The rabbi told him, “ B'ezrat Hashem, in the merit of those deeds, this man will stop bothering you.” Lo and behold, by the end of that week, this bully was removed from the prison and put into solitary confinement because he was caught attempting to harm somebody else there. We have no idea what our mitzvot are accomplishing, but we do know each one of them is connected in infinite ways to the holiest places and, one day, the great wisdom of Hashem will be understood by all.

It is apparent from the Gemara in Masechet Berachot daf 20 that when a person is moser nefesh and gives up of himself to follow the will of Hashem, that makes the person worthy of receiving a miracle from Hashem. Rav Shemuel Razovsky, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ponovitch, explained the connection between the two based on the Malbim in this week's parasha, Kedoshim, explaining the words of the midrash אם מקדשים אתם עצמכם, מעלה אני עליכם כאילו קידשתם אותי . Says the Malbim on those words, if we will rise above our nature of being drawn towards physicality, and rather sanctify ourselves with spirituality, then kavayachol, Hashem will rise above the way He made this world, which operates according to the rules of nature and He will deal with us in a way that transcends nature. On a Shabbaton of teenage girls who were struggling with religion, Rav Chaim Zayid made an inspirational speech encouraging the girls to go above and beyond their limitations. One of the suggestions the Rabbi made was in regard to their use of smartphones. After the speech, on Sunday morning, one of the girls approached the Rabbi and said she had just spent 4000 shekel on a brand new phone. “It's very difficult for me to get rid of it now,” she explained. “Do you know how hard I had to work for that 4000 shekel?” Then she said, “I might be willing to do it, but on one condition,” she said she had a sister who was 18 months old and a short while before this contracted a dangerous virus which affected her breathing. The doctors were saying her lungs weren't operating properly and there was nothing they could do to change it. It was just a matter of time until it would be over. Her mother sits by her bed day and night and she won't leave her for a moment. She asked the Rabbi to end everyone's suffering and ask Hashem to take back her sister's neshama as quickly as possible. The Rabbi was taken aback by the request. He said, “Although the doctors have no hope, we always have hope.” He then added, “You are now going above your nature and you are going to accept something upon yourself lima'an Hashem. B'ezrat Hashem, Hashem will go above nature and heal your sister.” In the middle of the next week, Rabbi Zayid was not surprised when he received a phone call that, miraculously, the baby began breathing on her own and in an amazing turn of events, the doctors were proven wrong and she made a full recovery. Going above our nature is truly wondrous. I heard a story about Rav Chaim Kreisworth when he was younger. The Rabbi who related the story said that Rabbi Kreisworth had to wait over a year to receive a bed in the yeshiva he was learning at. He used to walk back and forth every day a long distance to his lodgings and it was a very big inconvenience. Finally, a bed opened up, but shortly after that, another boy came to the yeshiva and he was searching for a bed. He asked the young Rabbi Kreisworth how he could get a bed. When the Rabbi told him it could take a very long time, he became saddened. The boy then asked, “Maybe someone who has a place to stay would give me his bed?” Heroically, Rabbi Kreisworth gave this boy his own bed that he waited so patiently for. Later on, when the Nazis, yimach shemam, invaded, one of the soldiers seized Rabbi Kreisworth and took him to his commanding officer. This officer was known to shoot every Jew who was brought to him, on the spot. This time, however, he told the soldier to take him to the outskirts of the town and kill him there. While Rabbi Kreisworth was being led there, he said to Hashem, “Please have mercy on me. I know I don't deserve anything, but please, in the merit that I gave up my bed that was so hard for me, please let me live.” When the soldier had him there at the edge of the town, he fired three shots into the air to make it seem as though he shot his prisoner and then he told him to run. Rabbi Kreisworth ran throughout the night until he reached a point of safety. He eventually survived the war and went on to become a great Torah leader. Mesirut nefesh produces wonders. Shabbat Shalom.

This Shabbat is Rosh Chodesh Nissan and B'ezrat Hashem we are going to read Parashat HaChodesh. In that parasha we were given the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh, to sanctify the new moon based on the renewal of the moon. What's interesting about the moon is that the same moon is always there. We're just only able to see the parts that Hashem shines the sun's light upon. In a similar manner, we are supposed to feel as if any yeshua that we need is already in the world waiting for us. All we need is for Hashem to shine His light upon it so that we can discover it. Hashem has many ways of showing us where our help is meant to come from. Many times, even what appears to be a negative occurrence is Hashem disguising His light to reveal to a person the help that he needs. A man who owns an electronic store, who we'll call Yosef, told that he sold someone an expensive camera and he paid for it with two separate checks. A few months later, the man came back and informed Yosef that his checks were never cashed. Yosef was surprised as he needed every dollar that he earned. He searched for the checks, but they were nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, the other man asked his rabbi if he needed to pay again, and the rabbi said he didn't. Yosef was very upset about this, especially since the camera was so expensive, but he encouraged himself with thoughts of emunah assuring himself that Hashem would give him the exact amount of money he was supposed to make. Two weeks later, he misplaced his credit card and before canceling it, he turned over his entire house, searching for it. And low and behold under his mattress were those two checks along with 7,000 shekel. He had no recollection of any money being there, but he did feel a hug from Hashem in the way that Hashem guided him to discover what he was looking for. Hashem caused him to misplace that credit card so He could reveal the salvation that was waiting for him right under his nose. Another man, the administrator of a successful nonprofit organization, said that one of his former workers who was fired, sued them for a million shekel in compensation pay claiming that he didn't receive benefits that he deserved. This man had obviously been preparing for this for years, as he had saved every slip and letter that he ever received. His claim was well documented. The organization on the other hand was the type of place where finding forms from years before would be very difficult. So when this man's claim reached court, they were in pretty bad shape. The single form that could extricate them from this claim was the original form that the employee had signed when he was first hired for the job where all his rights and benefits were clearly listed. The problem was they had no idea where it was, and they couldn't find it no matter how hard they tried. This case went on for a couple of years. The organization head tried to prove his innocence, but when it came down to it, the judge was going to rule against him if he couldn't produce the form. Finally, the court gave a date for its final verdict. The day before that, this man got a phone call. On the line was the deep voice of the municipal inspector. He was told that they were registering a complaint against his organization for illegal deposit of construction waste. That was strange because they weren't doing any construction. The inspector said it from a building site on the other end of town. They found some folders with the organization name on it there. It turned out the garbage was near a building that housed their organization years before this. He told the inspector it wasn't his. The inspector said, I have proof in my hand and ten minutes later, a delivery man knocked on their office bearing all of the forms. The secretary saw the forms and ran into this man's office saying,” Look at this! The missing form is here! It's the original contract that we've been searching for! They found it!” They found out afterwards the current tenant was doing some renovations and had to clear out the storage. Together with a pile of building debris was the cherry on top, a clear plastic bag with their filing papers. Hashem opened their eyes to discover what they needed just in the nick of time. We have to pray for all of our salvations, realizing that they're already there. We just need Hashem to show them to us. Shabbat Shalom.

The pasuk says that Amalek attacked the Jewish People when they were in רפידים and Chazal tell us the reason Amalek was able to attack was because רפו ידיהם מן התורה – the Jewish People became weakened in Torah. Rabbi Menachem Reizman quoted from the Shem M'Shmuel who said in the name of his father the Avnei Nezer that Amelek attacked around the 29 th day of Iyar, just about a week before the Jewish People received the Torah on Har Sinai. At that time, they were counting Sefirat HaOmer , they knew they were rising each day out of the 49 th level of tuma they had been in and they knew they were going to reach the highest levels of kedusha , so how were they able to become weakened in Torah at a time like that? The answer is because they didn't feel any tangible change inside of them. They weren't feeling more spiritual. More than 40 days of the counting had passed and yet they still felt the same as they did before. That caused them to become weak and that was how Amalek was able to attack. The Tiferet Shlomo writes the same thing is happening during this long galut . Without a question we are at the doorstep of Mashiach and when he comes, the Navi tells us, ישפוך ה' רוחו על כל בשר ונבאו בניכם ובנותיכם – Hashem is going to bestow His spirit upon us and our children are going to be nevi'im. We would think that at this time we should feel 99% of the way there, we should feel imbued with the spirit of Hashem, ready to receive prophecy. Yet, in reality, we don't feel that way. The reason, he says, Hashem did it this way is because if we felt like the level we were actually on, it would take away our free will. The enjoyment from those feelings would make it too easy for us to choose good over evil. We are always going to have the Amalek inside of us saying, You're not accomplishing anything. See, you don't feel it. This attitude has caused so many people to become weak in their avodat Hashem. The Jewish People didn't feel the growth that they had a week before Matan Torah , but how great were they in actuality? The following week they received the ultimate level of prophecy, they reached the ultimate level a person could possibly be on, hearing the voice, kavayachol , of HaKadosh Baruch Hu . They had a misunderstanding, they really were on a high level, it's just that Hashem didn't allow them to feel that way, so He could balance their free will. The same applies to us today. A person who is learning and growing might say to himself, I don't feel any change. The Amalek inside of him is saying, you're not growing, the Torah's not affecting you. And because in reality the person doesn't have the feeling he is looking for, he believes Amalek. We must strengthen ourselves and realize, every avodah we do is making us so great. We are rising higher and higher in anticipation of greeting the Mashiach . Specifically because we live in such a depraved world, it makes our avodah that much more valuable. If we stay the course, we will see how much of an effect Torah and mitzvot really is having on us. B'ezrat Hashem, we should merit that glorious day when the Mashiach will come and Hashem will rest His spirit upon us.

Based on various statements in the shas , as well as the pasuk in sefer Iyov, ותגזר אומר ויקם לך, there is a well-known saying, צדיק גוזר והקב"ה מקיים - A tzaddik says something, and Hashem fulfills it. Everybody wants to know what they could do to have their tefilot answered speedily. The purer they become, the more powerful their prayers will become. If a person is able to achieve the status of being called a tzaddik in Hashem's eyes, then everything he says will be fulfilled. Rav Chaim Kanievsky Z”l was considered a tzaddik in Shamayim , and therefore he had a tremendous power of beracha and tefila. One of his grandchildren recently related just some of the stories that he personally witnessed in which Hashem fulfilled the words of the tzaddik. He said he once made a siyum in Rav Chaim's house, and Rav Chaim was giving out wine to everyone to make a L'chayim. One of the guests there was a well-known rosh yeshiva , who told Rav Chaim that he was not able to drink wine due to health reasons. And on one occasion, he accidentally drank wine and fainted on the spot, and almost lost his life. Rav Chaim told him, "This wine, you are able to drink. It's Mitzvah wine. And in fact, it will even heal you of your health problem". The rosh yeshiva listened to the words of the tzaddik and drank a full cup of that wine. From that day on, he was completely cured and was able to drink with no problems. Of course, someone with a health problem should not take this as a license to be lax at a seudat mitzvah. In this case, it was Hashem fulfilling the words of the great tzaddik that was able to heal this individual. The grandchild told another story. He was once at Rav Chaim's house on Shabbat with his only daughter, who was six years old at the time. The little girl asked the Rabbi for a bracha to have more brothers. Rav Chaim told her, "B'ezrat Hashem, you'll have three". The Rebbitzen was standing nearby and said, "Maybe twins would be better; three might be too much to handle". Rav Chaim answered, "I didn't mean specifically that they should have triplets, one boy each year is also a possibility". And that's exactly what happened. They had a baby boy each of the following three years. Then six years passed without them having any children. The grandchild asked Rav Chaim for a beracha and the Rabbi told him, "By this time next year, you will have another baby." And again, that's exactly what took place. On another occasion, his daughter was scheduled to undergo a minor surgery. He came to Rav Chaim the night before to get a beracha. Rav Chaim told him they shouldn't do the surgery, and by the following day she would feel all better. And so it was. In general, Rav Chaim would tell people to do exactly as the doctor says, but there were instances in which he would nullify the doctor's words, even in cases of life-threatening illnesses. One example was when this grandson's mother, the daughter of Rav Chaim, once came and asked her father for a beracha for a talmid chacham who had to get his leg amputated. She explained to her father that the doctor told him if the surgery didn't take place right away, he could possibly die within hours from infection. Rav Chaim told her to go tell them he didn't need to get his leg amputated, and they should cancel the surgery. When the doctor heard what the Rabbi said, he left the hospital and went to Rav Chaim's house to explain to him how critical the situation was. Rav Chaim told the doctor again, not to do the surgery, and the man would be fine. In the end, they listened to the tzaddik, and today this talmid chacham is walking the streets of Bnei Brak fully healthy like everyone else. The grandson went on to tell two more similar stories with the same message, Hashem listening to the words of the tzaddik and fulfilling what he said. Everyone could improve their power of prayer and power of beracha by improving their adherence to Torah and mitzvot.