Podcasts about Next World

A man asked the following question: He is leaving a job that he had for many years and now has two potential job offers. One is close to his home and will earn him enough to cover his expenses, but there is no potential to earn more through commissions. The second job is an hour drive from his home, which will require more hours of work and is a more difficult job. It will give him the same salary, but has potential for more income based on commission. He wanted to take the local job, but his wife is wondering, perhaps, if he is supposed to make more money, he will now be limiting himself by accepting the job that pays less. The Chovot Halevavot in the Shaar Habitachon (chap. 4) deals with this question. He says, when it comes to parnasa, a person should work with the goal of doing enough just to cover his basic requirements in this world. If Hashem determines that a person should be wealthy, he will earn that wealth without having to invest any additional effort. And if he is not destined to be wealthy, even if everyone in the entire world, both in the heavens and the earth, all the angels and human beings would try to help him and add to what he is getting, they would not succeed. This can be understood in light of what the Chovot Halevavot teaches us in the previous chapter. There he explains the rationale of why Hashem wants us to make hishtadlut in the first place. One reason is because in the process of earning a livelihood, there are numerous tests to overcome and by a person staying faithful to Hashem throughout the process, he will earn immense reward in the Next World. The second reason is because if a person would have too much free time, it would lead to sin. The conventional thinking is that we need to work to earn money. Chovot Halevavot is teaching us Hashem doesn't need our efforts to give us money. He has a completely different set of reasons for why we go to work. This means that Hashem required us to make a certain effort to earn a livelihood and once we've done that, He will give us exactly what we are destined to earn. The effort required is just to earn the bare minimum to get by, and therefore, regarding the current question, it is obvious that the man should take the closer job. His goal is to use the extra time to learn Torah and grow spiritually. Since the job will cover his basic expenses, it's a sufficient hishtadlut. He will earn every penny that Hashem decrees for him to have. If it is more than the employer is currently offering him, it will come another way, or the employer will give him a raise. Hashem has infinite ways of giving a person parnasa. If someone is working harder than he needs to earn the bare minimum and is making a lot of money, he may feel that it is his extra hard work that is paying off. Chovot HaLevavot compares him to a man who was walking in the desert and overcome by thirst. He found a pit with murky water and drank as much as he could. When he traveled a bit further afterward, he found a spring with pure sweet water. When he discovered that spring, he felt bad that he already filled himself to capacity with the disgusting water. If he would have just waited a little longer, he would have been able to enjoy the clear water instead. It is the same with the man who works overtime and earns a lot of money. If he would have worked less and put in more time for Torah, Mitzvot and his family instead, he still would have earned the same amount. Only it would have come without all of that additional effort. Our hishtadlut is not what produces our money. We do hishtadlut because Hashem tells us to. And when we fulfill His requirement, then He will give us exactly what we're meant to have.

When someone is going through a difficult time and prays day and night for a yeshuah but sees no change, it becomes incredibly hard to continue praying. He begins to feel like Hashem isn't listening. So why should I bother? He sees everyone around him enjoying their lives, free of the challenges he is facing, and he wonders, Why me? Why do I have to be so different? He has learned that everything Hashem does is good—but in this case, he cannot fathom how his suffering could possibly be for the best. Sara Imenu was one of the greatest women who ever lived. She went decades without a child, praying day and night, yet her tefillot remained unanswered. How could this have been good for her? Isn't raising children the essence of a Jewish woman's role? Everyone around her was building families, which made her situation even more painful. Yet, in hindsight, it was precisely this challenge that made Sara Imenu who she became, Decades of heartfelt tefilla without an answer. Decades of unwavering trust in Hashem, believing He was doing what was best for her. She was destined to be the mother of Klal Yisrael , and that required years of deep, heartfelt prayer. When something is extremely difficult for a person, it becomes exponentially more valuable. Praying after not being answered is far more precious than a routine tefilla. Believing in Hashem's kindness, even when everything seems to say otherwise, is an extraordinary zechut . If someone is struggling and searching for merit, these are among the greatest things he can do: Believe that his suffering is from Hashem and is for the absolute best, and continue praying, even though the answer has not yet come. Someone once shared that he had been begging Hashem for help. There were many possible outcomes that he would have been somewhat happy with. But after all of his efforts and tefillot, in his mind, the worst possible scenario unfolded. It became almost unbearable for him to continue praying when things only seemed to get worse. But perhaps Hashem was giving him the opportunity to attain the ultimate zechut —to trust in Hashem even after experiencing the greatest letdown. The ability to return and place one's trust in Hashem after such disappointment is an extraordinary achievement. The primary goal of a person's time in this world is to become the greatest eved Hashem he can be. And it is through challenges like these that we accomplish that goal. The Midrash in Yalkut Tehillim teaches that everyone experiences afflictions in life: Some lose sleep at night due to a toothache. Some are kept awake by an eye ailment. And some willingly stay awake learning Torah. The Midrash explains that all these afflictions count toward a person's necessary yesurim . When we endure pain in our avodat Hashem , it removes suffering that would have come in other ways. Losing sleep to learn Torah is difficult, but Hashem, in His kindness, does not only reward us for the Torah learned—He also considers it a substitute for other afflictions. Similarly, if someone finds it extremely difficult to pray—if it is the last thing he wants to do—then beyond the immense value it has for his neshama , and beyond the yeshuah it can bring, it is also considered a form of yesurim for him. Hashem sees the full picture of our lives. His goal is for us to succeed in this world and fulfill our mission, so we can enjoy eternal bliss in the Next World. The afflictions of this world are insignificant compared to the eternal reward that awaits us. But the only way to earn that reward is to fulfill our avodah in this world. Every tefilla we say, every thought of emunah we have, is infinitely precious. Everyone is destined for greatness—but we must put in the hard work first. Our greats never turned away from Hashem despite the immense difficulties they faced. Their tefillot and emunah through their challenges are what made them the tzaddikim they became.

Gemilut Chasadim is one of the mitzvot for which Hashem rewards us in both this world and the next. It is so precious to Hashem when we go out of our way to help others. The Chafetz Chaim writes in his sefer Ahavat Chesed that after 120 years, when a person stands in judgment before Hashem, he will see that most of the mitzvot he performed were not done with all the required halachic details. However, if he was a ba'al chesed in this world, Hashem will judge him with chesed as well. Even if he doesn't fully deserve it, his mitzvot will be accepted, and he will receive their full reward. Gemilut Chasadim is not only about giving money—it is about giving time and energy. Whenever we go out of our way to help someone, we should be mindful that we are fulfilling the mitzva of Gemilut Chasadim . And no matter what, we always gain from it. A man, whom we'll call Reuven, shared the following story: In 2013, Reuven was living in an apartment with about $7,000 in his bank account. One Sunday morning, he received a call from someone asking if he could help make a minyan for a person who needed to say Kaddish . At first, his yetzer hara tried to convince him otherwise. "It's raining outside, it's cold, I'm sure they'll find someone else." But he overcame the struggle and went to join the minyan . After tefillah , the man who had asked him to come thanked him and mentioned that he was getting involved in something called Bitcoin. Reuven had never heard of it before. The man encouraged him to buy one coin. At the time, the price was $50 per coin. Reuven listened to his advice and bought one. Very quickly, the price doubled to $100. Excited, Reuven called the man to thank him. The man told him, "Buy more. I'm certain it will keep going up." Following his advice, Reuven bought more coins—and as the price rose, he kept buying. Today, his Bitcoin holdings are worth millions, with each coin valued at around $100,000. Of course, in the Next World , his act of helping someone make a minyan will be worth infinitely more than millions of Bitcoins. But he is also happy to have seen a side benefit from the good deed he did. Sometimes we are asked to help others, and we don't think we can. But Hashem is interested in the effort , not just the results. If He wants the person to be helped, He will bless the efforts. A real estate developer, whom we'll call Shimon, shared his own experience: One day, he received a request from someone who needed an urgent appointment at the Cleveland Clinic. The waiting list for this particular appointment was extremely long. Shimon was very involved in helping people, but this time he felt he had no connections at the Cleveland Clinic. He initially told the person that he didn't think he could help. But after hanging up the phone, he told himself, "I have to at least try." He searched for a list of hospital contacts and decided to call the vice president. The secretary answered, and Shimon introduced himself. Thirty seconds later, the vice president was on the line. "Are you Shimon Cohen, the real estate developer?" the man asked. Shimon replied, "Yes." The vice president continued, "I've been on a waiting list to get a condo in one of your buildings in Florida. I heard there are only a couple of units left, and multiple people are trying to get the last one." Shimon told him, "Let me see what I can do for you." The vice president then asked why Shimon had called him. Shimon explained that he had a friend who urgently needed an appointment at the hospital. The vice president immediately replied, "Consider it done. You help me, and I'll help you." Afterward, Shimon reflected, "What were the odds that the one person I called would be someone who needed my help at that exact moment?" Because Shimon had a sincere desire to help, Hashem orchestrated the zechut for him to do so. Every effort we make to help others is precious to Hashem. And the more chesed we do, the more chesed Hashem grants us in return.

Join Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme on this episode of The Smylie Show, as they discuss Ludvig Åberg's dramatic win at Torrey Pines, break down his multiple memorable shots from the tournament, and analyze what this victory means for his future on the PGA Tour. They also cover the wild weather at Genesis, highlight moments from Scottie Scheffler, Mav McNealy, and more. Plus:- Charlie shares his simulator golf epiphany

In this week's parasha , Yitro exclaimed, " Now I see how great Hashem is, ' כי בדבר אשר זדו עליהם '" Rashi explains that Yitro recognized how Hashem made the Egyptians suffer in the very same way they had tormented the Jewish people. He knew that the Egyptians had drowned Jewish babies, and now, at the miracle of Kriyat Yam Suf , they perished through drowning as well. It had been 80 years since they threw those infants into the river. By this time, many had already forgotten that painful period—but Hashem never forgets. Yitro was amazed at the precision of divine justice. Every action a person takes is accounted for. This world is not a free for all. Though the world may appear as if people can commit terrible deeds without consequence, that is an illusion. Nothing goes unnoticed by Hashem. However, if reward and punishment were too obvious, free will would no longer exist. Hashem, in His infinite wisdom, ensures that every action is repaid—whether for good or for bad—but in a way that does not remove our ability to choose. A person may receive a reward for something he did 20 years earlier, just as we see the Egyptians being punished 80 years after their crimes. Of course, we know that the ultimate reward for any mitzva is reserved for the Next World. However, Hashem often grants dividends in this world as well. At times, Hashem allows us to see clear connections between our actions and their outcomes, knowing that these isolated cases will not disrupt free will. When we do recognize these connections, it strengthens our emunah and reminds us how much Hashem values and records every deed. Last year, a group of people traveled to Israel with the goal of giving chizuk to soldiers. While there, they met a soldier who had been injured in battle. As he spoke with them, he shared his struggle—he was trying to get married but had no way of affording a wedding. He had no relatives who could help, and the financial burden seemed impossible to overcome. Two generous individuals on the trip immediately took it upon themselves to cover the entire cost of his wedding. They gave enough for a beautiful celebration, and they had the zechut of establishing a home in Klal Yisrael. The rabbi leading the group was deeply moved by their generosity. He also knew that both of these men had daughters they were trying to marry off. He told them, "Be'ezrat Hashem, in the zechut of helping another Jew get married, may Hashem bless you to marry off your own daughters." Fast forward one year—just last week—and both of these men celebrated the weddings of their daughters. Not only did both daughters get married, but their weddings took place on the exact same night, down the block from each other. Had their weddings been even months apart, it would have been enough to see Hashem's hashgacha rewarding them for their act of kindness. But the fact that their weddings happened at the same time, practically next door to each other, was a clear hashgacha peratit that Hashem was paying them the dividends for their generosity. So many things in our lives happen as a direct result of our deeds, but most of the time, we do not recognize the connections. As we see, sometimes the results of an action take place 80 years later, and sometimes just one year later. Sometimes they happen instantly, and sometimes not until the Next World. Either way, it is enough for us to know that everything we do matters. Hashem loves us and wants only the best for us. The more good we do in this world, the greater our eternal happiness will be. Shabbat Shalom.

After theeighth makah , Pharaoh told Moshe that the Jewish People could go,but they had to leave back their animals. Moshe replied they were going to goand take everything with them, because לא נדע מה נעבוד את ה' עד בואנו שמה– hesaid we will not know what we need to serve Hashem until we get there. Someexplain this pasuk homiletically as saying, we don't know which serviceis more precious to Hashem עד בואנו שמה – until we will see with our owneyes in the Next World. Sometimespeople feel down about themselves, seeing that they aren't accomplishing asmuch as others in avodat Hashem and that could completely break theirdesire to continue trying to grow. Sometimes a person compares his children tohis neighbor's children and wonders why they are so much more successful intheir learning than his, while he is putting in much more effort in hischildren than they are in theirs. We must constantly remind ourselves, we haveno idea which person's avodah gives more nachat ruach(satisfaction) to Hashem. Hashem does not reward based on results, He rewards based onefforts. Every single person has a different job to do and if he does his jobto the best of his ability, he will be amongst the greatest rabbis of all timein the Next World. Just like every person has different physicalcharacteristics, different shoe sizes, different clothing sizes, so too everyperson is given different spiritual strengths, depending on what his job inthis world is to do. If he is notas "tall" as someone else with his spiritual capabilities, that just means hisjob is different and he doesn't need to accomplish what the other personhas to. If a person doesn't know this, he could easily miss out on the life he issupposed to live. If someone is feeling low, he needs to pray to Hashem to givehim chizuk to continue trying to do his job to the best of hisability. The sefer Ki Ata Imadi repeated a story that was told by Rabbi MoshePluchok, one of the Maggideh Shiur in Yeshivat Derech Chaim in America.Their yeshiva moved locations for a couple of months and in that new location,the Rabbi saw a man who looked like he had just started his path in Judaism. Hewas sitting in front of an Artscroll Gemara and learning with suchenthusiasm, swaying back and forth. When he had a question, he would go and askone of the rabbis learning there. Rabbi Pluchok was very impressed and he wentover to introduce himself. The man told him he was diagnosed with a terminalillness and was told by the doctors that he had just months to live. RabbiPluchok then asked him how he was able to learn with such diligence with thaton his mind. The man explained that just in the past couple of years hediscovered Torah and mitzvot and that is the only thing that gives him peace ofmind. A few weekslater, the Rabbi saw that man learning in his usual place, but he seemed to bedisturbed and much less enthusiastic. The Rabbi immediately went over to himand asked if everything was okay. The man said he was feeling very low. Here hesees outstanding Torah scholars all around him learning at the highest levelsfor twelve hours a day. He started to think to himself, I know Hashem getsso much satisfaction from them, but what about me? What does He need me tolearn for if He has all of these great scholars? " I spend a few hours a daytrying to learn and even with that I only get a few lines of Gemaraaccomplished, and I don't even fully understand them. I'm feeling completelyunnecessary." Rabbi Pluchokproceeded to give the man a fiery speech about how every single person has adifferent, unique job to fulfill and that no one else in the world could dowhat he has to do. And how much pleasure Hashem gets from every word of Gemara he attempts to learn. The man felt renewed strength and energy and continuedhappily learning. The followingyear, the Rabbi saw this man's son and asked him about his father. The boy saidhis father passed away, "but until the end, he went happily to learn every singleday and quoted what you said about how important his job is and how muchsatisfaction Hashem got from him." A few words of chizuk can goa very long way. Every single person has a very lofty mission to fulfill. Wewill not see the value of everyone's avodah, עד בואנו שמה – until theNext World – but we can be confident that everyone's avodah is extremelyvaluable and they should never let up, no matter what anyone else is doingaround them.

After the eighth makah , Pharaoh told Moshe that the Jewish People could go, but they had to leave back their animals. Moshe replied they were going to go and take everything with them, because לא נדע מה נעבוד את ה' עד בואנו שמה – he said we will not know what we need to serve Hashem until we get there. Some explain this pasuk homiletically as saying, we don't know which service is more precious to Hashem עד בואנו שמה – until we will see with our own eyes in the Next World. Sometimes people feel down about themselves, seeing that they aren't accomplishing as much as others in avodat Hashem and that could completely break their desire to continue trying to grow. Sometimes a person compares his children to his neighbor's children and wonders why they are so much more successful in their learning than his, while he is putting in much more effort in his children than they are in theirs. We must constantly remind ourselves, we have no idea which person's avodah gives more nachat ruach(satisfaction) to Hashem. Hashem does not reward based on results, He rewards based on efforts. Every single person has a different job to do and if he does his job to the best of his ability, he will be amongst the greatest rabbis of all time in the Next World. Just like every person has different physical characteristics, different shoe sizes, different clothing sizes, so too every person is given different spiritual strengths, depending on what his job in this world is to do. If he is not as "tall" as someone else with his spiritual capabilities, that just means his job is different and he doesn't need to accomplish what the other person has to. If a person doesn't know this, he could easily miss out on the life he is supposed to live. If someone is feeling low, he needs to pray to Hashem to give him chizuk to continue trying to do his job to the best of his ability. The sefer Ki Ata Imadi repeated a story that was told by Rabbi Moshe Pluchok, one of the Maggideh Shiur in Yeshivat Derech Chaim in America. Their yeshiva moved locations for a couple of months and in that new location, the Rabbi saw a man who looked like he had just started his path in Judaism. He was sitting in front of an Artscroll Gemara and learning with such enthusiasm, swaying back and forth. When he had a question, he would go and ask one of the rabbis learning there. Rabbi Pluchok was very impressed and he went over to introduce himself. The man told him he was diagnosed with a terminal illness and was told by the doctors that he had just months to live. Rabbi Pluchok then asked him how he was able to learn with such diligence with that on his mind. The man explained that just in the past couple of years he discovered Torah and mitzvot and that is the only thing that gives him peace of mind. A few weeks later, the Rabbi saw that man learning in his usual place, but he seemed to be disturbed and much less enthusiastic. The Rabbi immediately went over to him and asked if everything was okay. The man said he was feeling very low. Here he sees outstanding Torah scholars all around him learning at the highest levels for twelve hours a day. He started to think to himself, I know Hashem gets so much satisfaction from them, but what about me? What does He need me to learn for if He has all of these great scholars? " I spend a few hours a day trying to learn and even with that I only get a few lines of Gemara accomplished, and I don't even fully understand them. I'm feeling completely unnecessary." Rabbi Pluchok proceeded to give the man a fiery speech about how every single person has a different, unique job to fulfill and that no one else in the world could do what he has to do. And how much pleasure Hashem gets from every word of Gemara he attempts to learn. The man felt renewed strength and energy and continued happily learning. The following year, the Rabbi saw this man's son and asked him about his father. The boy said his father passed away, "but until the end, he went happily to learn every single day and quoted what you said about how important his job is and how much satisfaction Hashem got from him." A few words of chizuk can go a very long way. Every single person has a very lofty mission to fulfill. We will not see the value of everyone's avodah, עד בואנו שמה – until the Next World – but we can be confident that everyone's avodah is extremely valuable and they should never let up, no matter what anyone else is doing around them.

If we had the ability to see what every mitzva accomplishes, we would want to do nothing else but mitzvot . To preserve our free will, Hashem does not reveal the full impact of our mitzvot in this world. The true reward is reserved for the World to Come. However, there are times when Hashem allows us to see dividends of our mitzvot in this world as well, giving us chizuk and a glimpse of how precious our deeds truly are. Rabbi Snir Gueta from Israel shared an incredible story: He was invited to Florida to speak at the home of a man whose two-year-old daughter was on life support. Although the family had a gate around their pool, security footage later showed that a strong wind had pushed the door open, leading to their little girl falling into the water. She was in the pool for eight minutes before being discovered. Her father pulled her out and performed CPR before she was rushed to the hospital. After examining her, the doctors gave a grim prognosis—there was only a slim chance of survival. They said that if she made it through the first 72 hours, there might be a glimmer of hope. The father, a well-known and influential person, put out a call for tefillot , and thousands of people responded. Every night, hundreds gathered in the hospital parking lot, reciting Tehillim and praying fervently for her recovery. Miraculously, she survived the critical 72 hours. On the tenth day after the accident, her condition deteriorated drastically. Her numbers began to drop, and the doctors warned that she had only minutes—maybe hours—left to live. Convinced that there was nothing more they could do, they began making preparations for the worst. Desperate, the father went live from the hospital room and pleaded with people to storm the heavens. Thousands responded, pouring their hearts into Tehillim like never before. Amazingly, the little girl's numbers began to rise again. The doctors were stunned. They asked the father what he had been reading. After witnessing what had just transpired, they told him that he had just experienced a miracle. By the time Rabbi Gueta was invited to speak at their home, the little girl had already been on life support for six months. When he arrived, he saw her still hooked up to machines. He delivered an inspiring class and then urged those present to take action. "We need to do more," he said. "Each of us should take something upon ourselves in the zechut that she should recover." On the spot, people began calling out kabbalot —commitments to strengthen their observance of mitzvot . The parents were deeply moved by the outpouring of dedication and hope. About half an hour later, as Rabbi Gueta was on his way back to the airport, he received a phone call from the father. "All of a sudden, the life support machine stopped working," he said. "Her numbers began dropping. We did everything we could to fix it, but nothing worked. The numbers kept going down." Then, the most incredible thing happened. Her numbers started rising again—on their own. She was able to breathe unassisted. She no longer needed the machine. This occurred right after an entire room full of people had committed to improving their observance of mitzvot . Our prayers and deeds are incredibly powerful. Their true reward is in the Next World, but sometimes, Hashem allows us to see their impact in this world as well. The little girl still needs our tefillot . Heleni Orna bat Chen Chanah —may Hashem grant her a complete refuah sheleimah speedily.

The Midrash in parashat V'Etchanan says a person should be happier with his yissurin – afflictions – more than when he receives open good because yissurin cleanses a person and gets rid of his averot . The Yalkut Shimoni in Tehillim says a person should thank Hashem when yissurin befall him because yissurin bring a person much closer to Hashem. At the end of Rebbe Avraham, brother of the Vilna Gaon's life, he was bedridden in excruciating pain, suffering from open wounds all over his body. When his son began to cry seeing his father in that condition, his father said this was the greatest gift that Hashem bestowed upon him. He said, "If I had the strength right now, I would get up and sing and dance out of joy in Hashem's goodness in giving me these yissurin . This is how our great chachamin viewed yissurin because they knew of their great effects. How great it would be if a person was able to achieve the effects of yissurin without having to actually experience them. The Gra wrote in a letter that there is a way to achieve this. He said if we follow his instructions, we will receive untold reward in the Next World by absolving ourselves of all our sins without having to suffer any physical pain. He wrote there, if a person would hold himself back from speaking something he shouldn't be saying, or if he would control a certain desire, that would accomplish more than any other form of yissurin . He writes further, for every second that a person holds himself back from saying something he shouldn't, he will also merit a special pleasure in the Next World that no angel could ever fathom. This means if someone is ready to relate a juicy piece of gossip to a crowd of people which would for sure make him the center of attention, he should stop himself and think, "If I hold back now, that would take the place of so much yissurin that may have been destined to befall me." And if it is very hard to do, he should know that for every second that he holds himself back, it's considered an additional affliction. Plus, he will receive untold rewards for his restraint in the Next World. This does not only apply to holding back from lashon hara . The Gemara says in masechet Moed Katan that Rabbi Yanai's student used to ask him very difficult questions during their daily class. But on the holidays, when the attendance of the class was very large, this student never asked the Rabbi a question because he didn't want to potentially embarrass the Rabbi if he didn't have a good answer. The Gemara applied to this student the pasuk in Tehillim , ושם דרך אראנו בישע אלוקים, which the Gemara explained to mean, as a reward for holding back his desire to show off his understanding of the material, he merited to be amongst those who were going to experience great salvation from Hashem. Every time we break our evil inclination, that is considered yissurin and, potentially, can wipe away endless amounts of averot . Imagine if a person was being told off and had a nasty comment he could say back that would allow him to enjoy sweet revenge, but instead he closed his mouth and didn't say a word. The kapara brought about by that act is unimaginable. Additionally, for every single second that he keeps his mouth closed at that time, he will be rewarded with the greatest rewards. Yissurin are great and accomplish so much for us, but nobody likes going through the painful process to receive those benefits. Here, the Vilna Gaon is giving us priceless information. We could accomplish more than any type of yissurin by holding back from saying things we shouldn't or by breaking any other desire for any kind of temptation. These are difficult things to do but it is well worth it. The next time a person is put into such a circumstance, he should pause and think about the golden opportunity that is being presented to him at that time.

If a person gets taken advantage of or is wronged by another individual or business and then the person sees how much that other individual or business is flourishing as a result, he may begin to feel that it pays to do the wrong thing because those who do, get away with it and enjoy from it. But there could be nothing further from the truth. The Mishnah says in Pirkei Avot that Hashem who created the world and sees everything that goes on, He is also the Judge, the Witness and the Plaintiff. He never forgets anything. He does not show favoritism in judgment and He cannot be bribed. And for everything that people do, they are held accountable. The yetzer hara makes a person think that he can do wrong and get away with it, but the Mishnah warns, אל יבטיתך יצרך – a person should not let his yetzer hara convince him that he could escape, because Hashem is the most righteous and fairest Judge. Everybody will get what is coming to them. If someone was taken advantage of and was meant to have the money that was stolen from him, he'll get it back. And if it was not meant for him, then the one who took advantage of him was just acting as a messenger to take away what wasn't his. However, that messenger is fully held accountable for choosing to do wrong and will be brought to justice for the crime unless he makes teshuva . It may appear that people get away with things for years, but that does not mean that Hashem is not holding them accountable. When the goblet was found in the sack of Binyamin and the Shevatim had to return to the viceroy, Yehuda told him, "What can we say? האלוקים מצא עוון עבדיך - Hashem has found the sin of your servant." Why was Yehuda speaking about Hashem to this leader? Because Yehuda knew, everything happens only from Hashem. And if they were suffering this torment, it must be because of an avon they committed. He was regretting selling Yosef as a slave now, seeing that he and his brothers may also become slaves. This episode took place 22 years after they sold Yosef, yet Yehuda saw it as a clear consequence for that action. Sometimes Hashem brings kapara to a person shortly after he sinned, sometimes it takes years, sometimes decades and sometimes not until in the Next World, but every action that a person does is always taken into account and nothing ever goes unnoticed. Therefore, we should feel calm, knowing that no matter what other people do or try to do to us, we are always in Hashem's hands and He is the fairest, most righteous Judge. Moreover, we should never let our evil inclination convince us to do wrong or take revenge because there is accountability. Those who harmed us will not get away with it. And we should never harm others either. Our sole focus should always be doing the will of Hashem. And if we do, we will always come out on top.

New year new series!

On today's episode of the podcast, Julian Hammer Hands Rodriguez talks about his boxing come back, his health, and life outside the ring. Timecodes (Episode #106): 0:00 - Intro 0:45 - Skip Intro 1:37 - When Did Julian Rodriguez Start Boxing 5:17 - Boxing Gave Him Anxiety 10:58 - What Considered a "Big" Purse in Boxing 17:42 - How Did Floyd Mayweather become so Successful 33:58 Julian Rodriguez Talks about His One Loss 42:13 - What Does a Pro Boxers Day Look Like 49:02 - Julian Beat Tank TWICE 1:03:24 - Julian's Spiritual Journey 1:12:18 - Julian Rodriguez's Highest High/Lowest Low 1:17:02 - Outro Follow The John Rondi Show TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnrondipodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnrondipodcast/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xuYMlfFAXUfReoHKGHjb6?si=e13220a9830e4463 Apple Music: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-john-rondi-show/id1670365515 Follow Julian Rodriguez Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teamhammerhands/ X: https://x.com/teamhammerhands Follow John Rondi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnrondi TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnnyrondi #podcast #johnrondi

R' Micha Golshevsky - Torah Beis Tinyana00:00 Introduction 01:21 The Power of Crying and Emotions03:17 Spiritual Realities06:16 Chanukah and Its Deeper Meanings08:09 The Importance of Gratitude12:38 Connecting to Hashem Through Halachos19:53 Conclusion: The Bliss of the Next World

In this week's parasha, Toledot , we are introduced to the wicked ways of Esav harasha . Yet although he was so wicked, he merited to rule over our people throughout history until that great day of ועלו מושיעים בהר ציון לשפוט את הר עשיו. What did he do to merit all of his blessings? The mitzvah of kibbud av v'em . And although he did excel in many aspects of this mitzvah, he was far from perfect in it, as can be seen explicitly in the pesukim . Furthermore, he was only careful with kibbud av and not kibbud em, as the Rambam explains. Yet, with all of his rishut and all of his deficiencies, he was still rewarded for generations in the merit of this one mitzvah. How much more so will the reward be for even the simplest Jew trying his best to serve Hashem, doing dozens and even hundreds of mitzvot every single day. Of course, we know the real reward for mitzvot is paid in the Next World, while here we only receive their dividends. Every single effort we make is appreciated by Hashem. A rabbi told me he wanted to do the mitzvah of kibbud av v'em and visit his parents who moved to Israel. This rabbi learns half a day and teaches half a day. And so buying plane tickets for him and his wife was a major expense. The travel agent told him the best he could get for two tickets at this time of year was $3800. He then offered him $500 less if he would take a stop-over. The rabbi accepted and booked the tickets. A few hours later, he realized that with the stop-over he was going to miss praying Shacharit with a minyan , as well as his entire morning seder of learning. Then he thought to himself, is it worth $500 to miss minyan and Torah? Of course not. He called the travel agent back and switched to the direct flight. In the end, his flight back had to land in another country because of a technical problem and, due to the delay, he ended up getting back after his morning seder . The airline gave him a $2400 credit for the inconvenience that they caused. He said to me, it was clear that for whatever reason he was meant to arrive in the afternoon that day, but baruch Hashem, he chose Torah and tefila over the money. And as a bonus, Hashem gave him an extra $2000. Our mitzvot are so precious. Even the objects that we use in their performance become holy and thereby bring about yeshuot . I read a story about a young rabbinical scholar who lives in Israel who accepted upon himself to go every Friday to the Shaarei Tzedek Hospital with his accordion and play Shabbat songs to the patients and bring them joy. One day his car broke down and the cost to fix it was more than the worth of the entire car, so he left it. He couldn't afford a new one, but he was worried. How would he continue his mitzvah of bringing joy to the sick on Fridays without a car? He decided he was going to go above and beyond and lug his big accordion on two separate buses to get to that hospital. He continued this week after week and month after month. A couple of years ago, he came into the room of an elderly patient in a coma who the doctors had already given up hope on. When he played his accordion and started singing Shabbat songs, the patient made a very slight smirk and the family began to celebrate. They called the nurses in to see. The following week when he came back and played again, again the smirk came back. On the third week, a miracle took place. While he was playing the song, her eyes opened. He kept playing and, finally, she said a couple of words. The children were so thankful to this young rabbi and asked him more about himself. He told them about his weekly chesed and how he has been doing it with extra effort since he lost his car. They were so moved, they chipped in and bought this rabbi a new car. A week later, their mother was out of the hospital. Our mitzvot are wondrous. The rewards for them are unimaginable and the kedusha that we bring about through their performance is great. Shabbat Shalom.

WOW!!!

Irish Olympian & world cycling medalist Lara Gillespie joins Ger & Colm on the show following her bronze medal at the Track World Championships.Catch The Off The Ball Breakfast show LIVE weekday mornings from 7:30am or just search for Off The Ball Breakfast and get the podcast on the Off The Ball app.SUBSCRIBE at OffTheBall.com/joinOff The Ball Breakfast is live weekday mornings from 7:30am across Off The Ball

Gain unparalleled insights into the evolving world order with Ray Dalio, renowned hedge fund manager and founder of Bridgewater Associates, in this illuminating YouTube video. Dalio, a financial expert with a deep understanding of economic principles, shares his investment strategy and market insights, offering a comprehensive perspective on the global economy. Delve into his thoughts on world order, paradigm shifts, and economic predictions as he navigates the complexities of monetary policy and the geopolitical landscape. With a focus on economic philosophy, Dalio provides invaluable commentary on global markets, macro trends, and institutional investing. Learn about asset allocation, diversification, and the factors influencing economic stability. Explore Dalio's unique perspective on market cycles, risk management, and his economic forecast, addressing systemic risks and providing a compelling vision for the future outlook of our interconnected world. *** Be Uncommon If You Can – Because in our Uniqueness & Struggles – Give Birth to our GREATNESS! Listen Now as I interview uncommon people, business owners & top level entrepreneur assassins & their uncommon journey! This is the Journey with Christian D Evans Podcast! Be Uncommon….If You Can! __________ CONNECT WITH ME: Twitter: https://twitter.com/be_uncommon_now?t=3bJA68AUmCxFBjciRGm8Tw&s=09 TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdujUXWv/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChristianDEvansEliteSideHustler/videos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evansandfamily/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christian_d_evans/?hl=en The Journey with Christian D Evans Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/journey-with-christian-d-evans/id1396344349 #investing #business #entrepreneur #investingtips #motivation #success #wealth #achievegreatness #achieveyourgoals #achieveyourdreams #politics #nevergiveup #founder #privateequity #venturecapital #successmotivation #successmindset #wealthy #wealthbuilding

It's the best time of the year! It's October, the month of road trips and big bucks and steelhead in the rivers and we have Jordan Knigge in the studio to talk about fishing Central Oregon and the next world record king salmon, which we believe someone is going to catch in South America. This is a great episode.If you want to support free speech and good hunting content in the Internet Age, look for our coffee and books and wildlife forage blends at https://www.garylewisoutdoors.com/Shop/For more info on forage blends, click on http://baileyseed.com/products/frontier-unlimited-wildlife-mixes/We appreciate our sponsors: Nosler, Camp Chef, Warne Scope Mounts, Carson, Pro-Cure Bait Scents, The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce, Madras Ford, Central Oregon Shooting Sports Association, Bailey Seed and Smartz.Watch select episodes of Frontier Unlimited on our network of affiliates around the U.S. and on Hunt Channel TV or click https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gary+lewis+outdoors+frontier+unlimited

This podcast has been graciously sponsored by JewishPodcasts.fm. There is much overhead to maintain this service so please help us continue our goal of helping Jewish lecturers become podcasters and support us with a donation: https://thechesedfund.com/jewishpodcasts/donate

HOUR 4 - Seth and Sean discuss Dianna Russini buying the Texans hype but why fans should take that opinion with a grain of salt, dive into why they aren't sure about flag football being added to the Olympics if it's could get Texans players injured, and get back into the whole Tua vs Brian Flores thing.

EPISODE #1086 PSYCHIC SOLVES MISSING PERSONS CASE Richard speaks with a young woman with a remarkable track record of solving missing persons cases using her psychic abilities and a former police Lt. who consulted with her on a missing persons case. The family of a Louisiana woman who went missing last year has credited Carolyn Clapper with helping them locate her remains. GUEST: Carolyn Clapper saw Spirits and had psychic experiences as a child. However, it wasn't until her near death experience with meningitis in 2011, that she experienced a bombshell transition into full blown mediumship. Her abilities were magnified by 100 folds or more, with a boundless ability to communicate with Spirit between two worlds. She had been miraculously healed on 11/11/11, and released from her deathbed. Though she had returned from the Next World, her connection remained. Clapper is now known as the Next World Medium. She has one foot in this world and one foot in the next at all times. She's an evidential and medical medium, who has located people both deceased and alive, brought through pathology reports prior to autopsy, and has found illnesses and ailments in countless others, which have all then been validated and confirmed by medical doctors. The magnitude of Carolyn's expanded awareness has included everything from hauntings to departed loved ones; missing person's and cold case homicide, to rare and misdiagnosed illnesses; real-estate and finances to national and global predictions, all later validated. GUEST: Lt. Greg Lawson is a retired Sheriff's Office Lieutenant, police academy director of training, and current Criminal Justice college professor. He has 32 years of law enforcement experience including working as a patrol deputy, mental health investigator, hostage negotiator and suicide mediator, swat officer, academy instructor, Major Crimes detective, underwater evidence recovery team specialist, lake patrol and dive team Sergeant, and patrol watch commander. He served 10 years with the US military as a paratrooper with 82nd Airborne Division, as an operation specialist onboard USS NIMITZ, and as a firearms and tactics instructor in the 301 Fighter Wing. He's written six books on the paranormal, to include “How to be a Paranormal Detective” and his latest “Messages From Mothman,” a review of the signs and symbols in our lives. WEBSITES/LINKS: https://thenextworldmedium.com https://www.youtube.com/@nextworldmedium https://www.instagram.com/nextworldmedium http://www.theparanormaldetective.com BOOKS: Zombie Economics The DisOrient Express How To Be A Paranormal Detective Roswell: The After-Action Report Diaries of a Paranormalist Messages from Mothman SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! HIMS - Making Healthy and Happy Easy to Achieve Sexual Health, Hair Loss, Mental Health, Weight Management START YOUR FREE ONLINE VISIT TODAY - HIMS dot com slash STRANGE https://www.HIMS.com/strange BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER!!! https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm Three monthly subscriptions to choose from. Commercial Free Listening, Bonus Episodes and a Subscription to my monthly newsletter, InnerSanctum. We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm/

Graeme Souness and Troy Deeney were captains throughout the majority of their careers and Simon once sat in the ultimate leadership position, as owner of Crystal Palace FC. Societal changes, money and player power have created a very different footballing landscape, one that many people feel produces fewer leaders than ever.In this week's episode our panel sat down to discuss leadership in modern football, analysing the traits that the best captains and managers exhibit whilst looking at England's footballing future as we head into the post-Southgate era.Subscribe for future episodes. 18+ please gamble responsibly.

Jason Smith and Mike Harmon fill for Covino & Rich react to the Euro/Copa Finals and tell you if the United States is ready to host a World Cup after last night's shenanigans in Miami. How much trouble are the Dodgers in? Jason explains why Aaron Judge is going to go off in the second half of the season. Plus, the guys remember a Super Bowl Legend who passed way too soon!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Keziah (Keziah_Gibbon) joins Ettie as cohost, updating all of us where life has taken them since May of 2021 and the expansion they've had in their own practice and offerings to the world.  In this episode our listener questions come from Anon whose home is in chaos with their kids home for the summer and their house is in chaos. The second question comes from Liz who would like guidance on reconnecting to their spiritual practice when spirit is guiding them away from using tarot to connect.  If you have a question would like to have answered on the podcast, please fill out this form! The deck of the episode is the revolutionary and battlecry for the people; Next World Tarot by Christy Road.  Follow guest host, Keziah, on Instagram and download their app to stay connected!  Follow Ettie on Instagram and buy a personal reading from them in the Wildly Tarot Shop, and for bonus content support the podcast on Patreon! 

Hodu La'Hashem Ki Tob ! The iTorah APP has launched. Click below to download! for iPhone users https://apps.apple.com/us/app/itorah-watch-listen-stream/id6472929090 for Android users https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.itorah.app There are people who have to endure enormous yisurim in this world. Some are not able to leave their hospital bed. Some have been abandoned by their family. Some don't have any family. Not only do they have challenges beyond imagination, but they have nobody by their side helping them through them. A common denominator in challenges is usually thoughts of why is Hashem doing this to me? Am I so bad? What could I have possibly done in the previous lifetime to deserve all this? All they want is just to have a normal life like everybody else. Some even feel that Hashem hates them, lo alenu. We can never judge anybody. Nobody truly knows how difficult a person's circumstances are. And we hope and pray that they improve quickly. However, we must understand the way Hashem views yisurim. The pasuk says, כי את אשר יאהב ה' יוכיח. It is the ones that Hashem loves most that have to endure yisurim like this. The Mesilat Yesharim reminds us our purpose in coming into this world is not for this world. We are here to acquire eternal life in Olam HaBa. This world is a drop in the ocean compared to the Next World. A person has a very limited amount of time in this world to do a job that will earn him the right to live blissfully forever. The Pesikta Rabbati in parashat Achareh Mot says, Fortunate is the person who has to endure difficult yisurim in this world and does not complain to Hashem over it. Who had more difficult yisurim than Iyov? Rav Chaninah bar Pappah said, If Iyov would not have complained about his yisurim, the same way we say אלוקי אברהם, אלוקי יצחק, ואלוקי יעקב in the Amidah, we would have added אלוקי איוב as well. This statement is mind-boggling. It implies that Iyov would have been elevated to the same status as the Avot HaKedoshim had he accepted his yisurim. Our Avot dedicated every moment of their lives to Hashem. They became the greatest people who ever lived. How could it be that Iyov would have been considered on their level? This is how valuable it is for a person to trust Hashem and accept the way He deals with them. The more difficult a person has it, the greater is his opportunity to elevate himself. We only came into this world to achieve that purpose. Some become great through tireless avodat Hashem, day in and day out. Some can reach greatness with just a few words out of their mouths. If with all the difficulties they are going through and all the questions they may have and all the potential hard feelings they have towards Hashem, if they could change their attitude and say, “Hashem, I trust You. I know You're the only One in charge of my life and You are giving me the exact life that I need to fulfill my purpose in this world.” That will make them great. Those words can elevate them to be counted amongst the greats of the generation and perhaps the greats of all time. We hope the yisurim will go away quickly, but before they do, the person should seize his opportunity while he has it to catapult himself into greatness, to attain the highest portions in the Next World. The value of accepting yisurin is beyond comprehension. That is precisely why it's so difficult to do. If we can persevere and accept the way Hashem deals with us, we'll rise to the highest levels and we'll be eternally rewarded.

Hodu La'Hashem Ki Tob ! The iTorah APP has launched. Click below to download! for iPhone users https://apps.apple.com/us/app/itorah-watch-listen-stream/id6472929090 for Android users https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.itorah.app There are people who have to endure enormous yisurim in this world. Some are not able to leave their hospital bed. Some have been abandoned by their family. Some don't have any family. Not only do they have challenges beyond imagination, but they have nobody by their side helping them through them. A common denominator in challenges is usually thoughts of why is Hashem doing this to me? Am I so bad? What could I have possibly done in the previous lifetime to deserve all this? All they want is just to have a normal life like everybody else. Some even feel that Hashem hates them, lo alenu. We can never judge anybody. Nobody truly knows how difficult a person's circumstances are. And we hope and pray that they improve quickly. However, we must understand the way Hashem views yisurim. The pasuk says, כי את אשר יאהב ה' יוכיח. It is the ones that Hashem loves most that have to endure yisurim like this. The Mesilat Yesharim reminds us our purpose in coming into this world is not for this world. We are here to acquire eternal life in Olam HaBa. This world is a drop in the ocean compared to the Next World. A person has a very limited amount of time in this world to do a job that will earn him the right to live blissfully forever. The Pesikta Rabbati in parashat Achareh Mot says, Fortunate is the person who has to endure difficult yisurim in this world and does not complain to Hashem over it. Who had more difficult yisurim than Iyov? Rav Chaninah bar Pappah said, If Iyov would not have complained about his yisurim, the same way we say אלוקי אברהם, אלוקי יצחק, ואלוקי יעקב in the Amidah, we would have added אלוקי איוב as well. This statement is mind-boggling. It implies that Iyov would have been elevated to the same status as the Avot HaKedoshim had he accepted his yisurim. Our Avot dedicated every moment of their lives to Hashem. They became the greatest people who ever lived. How could it be that Iyov would have been considered on their level? This is how valuable it is for a person to trust Hashem and accept the way He deals with them. The more difficult a person has it, the greater is his opportunity to elevate himself. We only came into this world to achieve that purpose. Some become great through tireless avodat Hashem, day in and day out. Some can reach greatness with just a few words out of their mouths. If with all the difficulties they are going through and all the questions they may have and all the potential hard feelings they have towards Hashem, if they could change their attitude and say, “Hashem, I trust You. I know You're the only One in charge of my life and You are giving me the exact life that I need to fulfill my purpose in this world.” That will make them great. Those words can elevate them to be counted amongst the greats of the generation and perhaps the greats of all time. We hope the yisurim will go away quickly, but before they do, the person should seize his opportunity while he has it to catapult himself into greatness, to attain the highest portions in the Next World. The value of accepting yisurin is beyond comprehension. That is precisely why it's so difficult to do. If we can persevere and accept the way Hashem deals with us, we'll rise to the highest levels and we'll be eternally rewarded.

23_Reward on the Next World ... [Bais HaLevi on Bitachon 12b - 13a]

Send us a Text Message.TO WATCH ALL FLYOVER CONTENT: www.flyover.liveClay ClarkWEBSITE: www.timetofreeamerica.comPODCAST: www.thrivetimeshow.comTo Schedule A Time To Talk To Dr. Dr. Kirk Elliott Go To ▶ https://flyovergold.com Or Call 720-605-3900 For Tickets to a ReAwaken America Event - text the word FLYOVER to 918-851-0102-------------------------------------------

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Although we have been learning about how valuable it is to accept and thank Hashem for the way He deals with us when things don't necessarily go the way we want, we cannot forget about thanking Him when things do go the way we want. We are not only supposed to thank Hashem when a problem arises. We should thank Hashem and praise Him constantly for the endless chesed which He bestows upon us. In the very same Chazals which tell us to thank Hashem for the “bad”, somehow we sometimes forget and overlook the parts that tell us to thank Him for the good. One example, the pasuk says in Tehillim , חסד ומשפט אשירה , which Chazal tell us means that David HaMelech did not only sing to Hashem when he experienced His open chesed , he even sang to Him when he experienced what appeared to be the opposite of chesed . Usually, when that Chazal is quoted, the speaker ends up talking about thanking Hashem for the difficulties. But we can't forget about the first part of the Chazal . David HaMelech also sang to Hashem every time he experienced something good, חסד אשירה . On the pasuk which tells us to love Hashem בכל מאודך , the Chazal tell us, בכל מידה ומידה שהוא מודד לך הוי מודה לו במאד מאד . Whatever Hashem sends a person's way, he is supposed to thank Him for very much. On this Chazal as well, we tend to focus on the part that tells us to thank Hashem for the “bad”. But we must not lose sight of the words בכל מידה ומידה , for the good as well. We have to thank Hashem very much. The Shomer Emunim quotes the Midrash in Tehillim perek 100 which tells us that if a person thanks Hashem for the good that he receives, it's considered as if he's bringing a korban todah in the Bet HaMikdash , and he brings upon himself and the entire world more chesed from Hashem. The Yesod V'Shoresh HaAvodah used to thank Hashem for every little chesed that he received. He would first acknowledge that every little chesed came from Hashem, and then he would thank Him for it. He gave examples to his children about how he thanked Hashem. He wrote, on one occasion, when a glass that he was holding fell on the floor, it didn't break. He thanked Hashem for the chesed he just did for him. He realized it was Hashem who decided to leave the glass intact. It doesn't have to be that when a glass falls, it breaks. Whatever Hashem wants to happen is going to happen. On another occasion, he passed by a dangerous place and didn't get harmed, and he thanked Hashem for protecting him. The Chozeh M'Lublin had a revelation from Shamayim about how precious this avodah was to Hashem. Hashem loves when people thank Him, especially for every little thing that they receive. Chazal tell us, Yosef HaTzaddik always had the name of Hashem on his lips. He constantly asked Hashem for help, and then would thank Him afterward. And that is why, בכל הוא עושה ה- מצליח בידו - Hashem brought success to everything that Yosef did. Here, the Torah and Chazal are teaching us the recipe for success. Constantly asking Hashem for help, and constantly thanking Him afterward. Chazal also say, if someone had a miracle performed on his behalf, it may take away from his merits in the Next World. But if he sings to Hashem and thanks Him for the miracle, not only will he not lose zechuyot , he will even gain atonement for all of his sins and become like a newborn. Look at the power of recognizing and thanking Hashem for the good! Every time we say thank you for anything we get, it brings so much joy to HaKadosh Baruch Hu . He wants us to recognize all the good that He does. An individual who is looking to thank will find more and more reasons to thank Hashem. And he'll also realize how much blessing he truly has.

The Shomer Emunim writes at the end of Perek 5 in his Ma'amar on Hashgacha Pratit that any afflictions which Hashem brings upon a person is only because of His endless chesed and love for the person, as it says in Mishleh Perek 13. Furthermore, any amount of suffering or inconvenience that a person experiences in this world, even something very small, wipes away potentially much worse suffering in the World to Come. If the person believes that whatever happened to him came about only because of Hashem, and he accepts it with love and doesn't question it or complain, then it wipes away infinite times more than it would have if he did not accept it with love. If the person who accepts with love would be able to see what he's accomplishing with his acceptance, he would get up and dance with joy for the chesed that Hashem just did for him. Just like when a loving mother cleanses her baby from a dirty diaper, the baby cries because he doesn't understand what his mother is doing for him. But if he would, he would kiss and thank her for it. So too, a person, if he understood what Hashem was doing for him with the yisurin , he wouldn't stop thanking Him. Then the Shomer Emunim writes further, if a person is not just passive, but rather he kicks back and complains when he receives affliction, then the afflictions do not wipe away anything, and he'll still have the stains on him that will need to be purged in the future world. That means the person will end up having to suffer twice, lo alenu . The choice here should be obvious. If a person can train himself to accept his afflictions with love, he'll feel better about them in this world, and will gain endless amounts of kapara for the Next World. But if the person complains and is bitter about his suffering, it is counterproductive, causing him to lose both in this world and the Next. There is one exception, however. If the person's afflictions are very severe, and because of his pain, he instinctively complains, similar to Iyov, then the Gemara says, אין אדם נתפס בצערו - a person will not be held accountable for those instinctive reactions, because the pain he was suffering was so difficult to deal with. However, that person should know, if he does have very difficult yisurin , and still manages to hold back his complaining, and rather accepts them from Hashem instead, then he would elevate himself to a status of the greats of all time. Rav Chanina bar Papa said, if Iyov wouldn't have complained about his suffering, then the same way we say אלוקי אברהם אלוקי יצחק ואלוקי יעקב , we would have added to that list, אלוקי איוב . Iyov would have been on par with the holy Avot , for accepting the very difficult afflictions that Hashem sent upon him. The Shomer Emunim writes further, according to the amount that the person accepts, that is how purified the yisurin will make him. And as well, acceptance is able to sweeten his judgments, and give him atonement for all his averot , and then he will not need any more affliction. Rabbi Yehoshua said, accepting suffering is so great, it has the power to bring salvation to the entire world. Therefore, a person should accustom himself to always accept every inconvenience with love. And if he is able to accept the small afflictions with love, he won't need anything bigger, because the zechut of his acceptance will accomplish what the additional yisurin would have been needed to accomplish. The Shomer Emunim then ends Perek 9 by saying, when a person accepts the small little inconveniences, it's considered as if he got much bigger yisurin , as brought down by many sefarim kedoshim . And therefore, we should always train ourselves with every little inconvenience to say, “Thank you Hashem for doing what's best for me.”

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There are times when a person is confronted with very big tests, and sometimes those tests entail giving into another party for peace. Whether it's giving up money, property, or just plain old honor, it's always very difficult to do, especially when the person feels that they should not be the one to give in because it was the other side that caused the problem, and they should be giving in. We must know the great value in being the one to sacrifice for peace. According to the effort is the reward. Many times, Hashem will present someone with an opportunity to give in as a vehicle to bring that person a blessing that he needs very badly. The rule is, a person never loses by sacrificing for Hashem. It may appear that way at the onset, but in the end he will only gain. A man related, he deals in real estate. Being that he has no steady income, he is constantly connecting to Hashem and asking for His help. Sometimes he doesn't make any money for months, and then one day, in one swoop, he'll get a half a year's salary. In 2022, his third son became engaged, and they set the wedding date towards the end of November. From months in advance, he booked the wedding hall, the band, and the photographer. He also booked the caterer for the Shabbat Sheva Berachot . All of the Sheva Berachot meals were confirmed as well. One day, he received a phone call from his father-in-law telling him that his brother-in-law was about to celebrate his son's engagement, and their wedding was scheduled for the same week as his, and that would mean that both Shabbat Sheva Berachot s would fall out on the same Shabbat. His father-in-law explained to him he really wanted to attend both, and politely asked him if he could switch his wedding date. Initially, this seemed like an impossible request, being that it would mean he would have to change so many things. He also felt that, if anything, his brother-in-law should be the one changing his wedding date, because his was set already beforehand. His father-in-law did tell him it would be too complicated for his brother-in-law to switch, but he felt it was just as complicated for him to switch also. He told his father-in-law respectfully he would see what he could do. After going back and forth with it in his mind, he decided to get over the unpleasantness of it and ask his mechutan if he would be okay with them switching the date. The mechutan thought about it, and then said, he would be okay with it if he would take care of making all the changes himself. And so, he contacted everyone that he needed to, and baruch Hashem, was able to reschedule the wedding for ten days later, with everything being exactly the same. As the wedding drew near, the man received an invitation to a huge event where apartments and properties would be featured for sale. It was like a real estate fair, and the date was the same date that his son's wedding was originally scheduled for. Now that the date was changed, he was able to attend, and at that fair, he found a property worth twenty million dollars and succeeded in closing a deal between a buyer and a seller on it. He got his two percent commission, which came out to four hundred thousand dollars, the largest commission he had ever earned. He then understood that Hashem had blessing in store for him, but he needed him to first do that heroic act of giving in for peace to access it. By giving in, he not only earned endless rewards in the Next World, he also received dividends in this world as well.

The Chovot HaLevavot describes at the end of the Sha'ar HaBitachon the eighth level of trust in Hashem, in which a person understands that he needs Hashem for everything he does, even the simplest tasks, and because of that he is constantly looking to Hashem for help all day long. This will enable him to get to the next level. He will begin to appreciate Hashem's compassion on him, and see that everything Hashem does is with intent to bestow kindness upon him. Then he will reach the very high level of wanting whatever Hashem wants for him. He will not just accept that whatever Hashem does to him is good. He will actually feel that way in his heart as well. He will submit himself entirely to Hashem and will not even desire to be in any other situation than his current one. The Chovot HaLevavot quoted a master of bitachon saying, “I never woke up being in a certain situation and desired to be anywhere else.” This is referring to his physical state. In matters of spirituality, we are encouraged, and we are supposed to want more. Then, after a person's awareness of Hashem grows even stronger, he is ready for the tenth and highest level of bitachon . What the Chovot HaLevavot is about to tell us is the goal of every bote'ach b'Hashem. We may think that the ultimate goal of bitachon is to be able to get whatever we want by trusting in Hashem for it. That, however, is not the goal. A person who is already on the ninth level does not desire more than he has, unless it will benefit him spiritually. The highest level is when a person truly understands the purpose for which he was created. He begins to recognize the importance of the Next World that endures forever. This causes him to despise anything in this world that is not important for that goal. Things that may make other people happy or sad do not affect him at all. He doesn't get upset if he doesn't get a certain physical pleasure or a luxury that others may be yearning for. He understands how fleeting and temporary things of this world really are. He commits himself in his mind, in his neshama, and in his body completely to Hashem. He loves thinking about Hashem and feels empty when he's not contemplating the greatness of Hashem. When he's in large gatherings, he has no desire to impress people. All he wants is to please Hashem. The joy that he gets in his love of Hashem far surpasses the joy that people get from partaking in the pleasures that this world has to offer. Even the joy that people will have in the World to Come is secondary to him, because he loves Hashem so much that nothing else could possibly compare to it. This is the highest level that a person with complete bitachon could possibly reach. This is the level that the Nevi'im and the greatest of all time have reached, those who are Hashem's precious treasure. Although this level is attained by few, it's good just to know that this is the ultimate level. The Ramban counts bitachon as one of the 613 mitzvot. It's a middah that leads to more spirituality and closeness to Hashem. Bitachon is not just a tool to get what we want out of Hashem, it's a very high level of avodat Hashem that culminates with being lovesick over Hashem and thinking about Him all the time and only wanting to please Him. May Hashem help us grow to greater and greater levels in our quest to rise through these levels of bitachon .

We must figure out what liberation could look like so everyone can live the life they deserve. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the book Rehearsals for Living by Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, which compiles letters written by the authors to each other analyzing the histories, lived experiences, and struggles of Black and Indigenous communities around the world and offering possibilities for abolition and more liberatory futures, and what we take away from this incredible book in our continued learning and unlearning work for collective liberation. Follow us on social media and visit our website! Patreon, Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leave us a voice message⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Merch store⁠⁠

Originally preached at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Greenville, SC on June 2, 1974. You can contact us at wtbi.org

The Chovot HaLevavot writes toward the end of perek 4 in the Sha'ar HaBitachon that one of the fundamental principles that is so important for a ma'amim b'Hashem to believe in is the fact that Hashem will reward the tzaddikim for serving Him, both in this world and the Next, and that Hashem will punish those who violate His will. If they do not merit to get their punishment in this world, they will have to endure it in the Next World. It is foolish and naive to believe that a person could be granted stature in the Next World without doing what is expected of him in avodat Hashem in this world. The rewards in the Next World will be far greater than anything we could imagine and they will be eternal. It is not possible to describe because it will be entirely different from any concept that we are familiar with in this world. That Rambam writes that even Moshe Rabbenu, while he was alive, was not capable of understanding what the future pleasures would be like. We trust, Hashem knows how to make us happy, and the happiness that will be experienced in the Next World will be the greatest possible. Of course, our main intention in serving Hashem is to do what He wants, not just to get rewarded for it. The Chovot HaLevavot writes further, that there will be people who attain extremely high levels in the World to Come. Those are people who dedicate their lives to connecting to Hashem. And then he gives signs to recognize who will be from those prominent individuals who will be at the highest levels for all eternity. One of those signs is if a person is teaching others how to serve Hashem. He is not content with just serving Hashem himself, he wants and tries to help others do it as well. Some people go around organizing shemirat Shabbat campaigns to teach people how to keep Shabbat. Others organize systematic ways for people to teach others Torah. There are so many ways that we can become part of this exclusive, elite group of those who teach others the ways of Hashem. A person does not have to be a leader with charisma to do it. A person does not have to be a rabbi or a rebbetzin to do it. All a person needs is to care and want to spread the word of Hashem to others. A man told me five years ago he was married to a gentile and didn't even realize what a grave sin that was. He was completely disconnected from Torah and mitzvot and just didn't know any better. Today, he is married to a bat Yisrael and keeps every law in the Torah to its fullest. He learns Torah from early in the morning and prays in minyan with great kavanah . I asked this man how he went through such a complete transformation in such a short amount of time. He told me, one day a friend of his, who lives in another state, called him and asked if he would like to learn a little bit of Torah by phone once a week. He told this friend he would be happy to. From then, on every Friday, they learned Pirkeh Avot for about 20 minutes. The man was very impressed with the great wisdom of Chazal and felt a feeling of connection that only a Jew with a neshama kedosha could feel. He told his friend he was enjoying the learning and wanted more. His friend encouraged him to find out if there was a local kollel where he lived and to go there and ask someone to teach him. The man listened and, one day, just walked into a kollel, asking if there was someone who would teach him Torah. He started at a very beginner level and kept growing and growing until he saw with clarity the path he needed to be on. He divorced his gentile wife and worked on himself spiritually until he was at the level to marry a very religious girl from a very religious family. How was this man inspired to follow in the ways of Hashem? It was just from a concerned friend who reached out and offered a few minutes of his time weekly. We could all attain this elevated status and be from those who spread the word of Hashem. All it takes is a little bit of thought and effort.

People may look around at their peers and see people who are doing such great things on behalf of Klal Yisrael. They have charisma and talent, and they seem to be accomplishing so much in such a little amount of time. They, on the other hand, are not as gifted and are not accomplishing anywhere near what the others are. They struggle daily just trying to overcome their natural inclinations to sin. They feel like their service to Hashem is nothing in comparison to all of those people around them and they wonder if what they do even matters that much. Rav Tzadok HaKohen quotes a gemara in Masechet Taanit which says Rabbi Elazar ben Rebbi Shimon was once on his way back from learning an abundance of Torah. He felt very proud of his accomplishment and during his journey he came across a man who was extremely ugly. The man greeted the Rabbi and the Rabbi replied by calling him an empty one, telling him how ugly he was. The man replied by saying, go tell the One who made me how ugly His creation is. The Rabbi regretted his words and apologized, but the man did not want to forgive him until others interceded on the Rabbi's behalf. Tosafot there explain, this man was none other than Eliyahu HaNavi in disguise and he was sent specifically to rebuke the Rabbi. Rav Tzadok explained, the man was not physically ugly but rather he was spiritually ugly because his deeds and thoughts were not so pure. The Rabbi, who was able to see right through a person, was astonished that somebody could be falling to their yetzer hara like this man was. Eliyahu Hanavi rebuked him by telling him that Hashem makes every single person different. Some people are created with extremely bad middot and very difficult desires to overcome. For this type of individual, every struggle he overcomes and does the will of Hashem is so precious to Hashem. In the words of Rav Tzadok, the personal battles that this type of person fights and overcomes brings more satisfaction to Hashem than the deeds of someone who is created with great middot without such desires to do evil. Nobody knows what any other person's potential is. It could be that someone who is accomplishing a tremendous amount is failing in his mission in life because with the potential he was given, he should be accomplishing much more. With this, Rav Tzadok explains how Moshe Rabbenu was able to be so humble despite being arguably the greatest man who ever lived. Moshe knew how much potential Hashem gave him and how much he was capable of doing with that potential, and he was worried that he wasn't utilizing the gifts he was given as much as he needed to. Nobody in this world could ever feel like they have done enough, no matter how much they have accomplished, because if they don't utilize everything Hashem has given them they will come up short in what is expected of them. Somebody who accomplished much less may be considered greater in the eyes of Hashem because he has done all that he could. Everyone is judged differently and therefore no one could know who's really bringing more satisfaction to Hashem than others. Each person is responsible to do the absolute best that he could based on what Hashem has given him. And if he does, then he will be in the highest places in Gan Eden and the Next World.

The pasuk says in this week's parasha, Ki Tisa , הודיעני נא את דרכיך ואדעך למען אמצא חן בעיניך – Moshe Rabbenu asked Hashem to show him His ways so that he could know Him better and thereby find favor in His eyes. The goal of every eved Hashem is to find favor in Hashem's eyes and the more we know about Hashem the better we will be able to do His will and thus find more favor in His eyes. The Gemara says, one of the questions Moshe Rabbenu was asking Hashem here is why do we sometimes find a tzaddik suffering and a rasha prospering? The Chovot HaLevavot in the Shaar HaBitachon writes regarding this question, there is no one answer that fits all. Every single tzaddik who ever suffered had a different reason why he needed that suffering. And every rasha who ever prospered had a different reason why he needed to prosper. And therefore, we can never know why any particular person is living the life that he is living. However, there are endless reasons why Hashem would act in this way and the Chovot HaLevavot in perek 3 gives us some of them. One thing he says is eye opening and can definitely give people chizuk to overcome this very difficult part of life. He writes, one of the reasons Hashem would give a rasha tranquility is to test everyone else, to see who is really a faithful servant to Him. If someone sees the rasha prospering and says, “That's not fair,” or, “Good people always finish last, so why bother?” Then he is not a ne'eman . But if someone would say instead, “I know Hashem is the fairest Judge and everyone will get exactly what's coming to them.” And despite the challenge, he rises above it and continues clinging to his service of Hashem, then he will be called a ne'eman and will be rewarded so greatly because of it. And even though, currently, Hashem makes it look like things are not fair, in actuality, they are as fair as can be. The rasha may have done some good deeds that Hashem is rewarding now and the consequences for the bad will come later. And a tzaddik may have done things that require atonement that Hashem is giving him now so he can be ready for the ultimate rewards in the Next World. This is one of the most difficult questions in life to deal with, but as always, Hashem is acting in a way that will give us the greatest opportunity to rise to the highest levels and earn more rewards. When a righteous individual prays day and night for something that he needs so badly, but does not receive what he is asking for, and then he sees someone else who never prays receiving that very same request he has been asking for, it is a major test in his emunah. When a person is honest in business, constantly battling to do what is right to honor Hashem yet he struggles with parnasa , and then he sees someone else who is dishonest making more money than he knows what to do with, that is a big test in emunah. When a girl dresses and acts in the ways of modesty and goes through the dating process the way Hashem wants, and still hasn't found her zivug , yet others who completely ignore the ways of modesty get married with ease, that is a very big test. On this we say וצדיק באמונתו יחיה . To be faithful despite these enormous tests is a very high madrega . These people are the ones who are going to bring Mashiach . They will be rewarded for every moment that they were able to have emunah. Everything is happening the exact way it is supposed to. We only gain by doing right and although it might not appear that way, one day Hashem will show us how fair and righteous He was always acting. For now, it is up to us to remain ne'eman . Shabbat Shalom.

Some people dream of the day they will have so much money, they'll be able to quit their job and take it easy and relax all the time. And a lot of stress comes when these people realize that that's most probably not going to happen. This dream is an empty dream, because even if they would have unlimited money, they would not be able to sit around and relax all day. I once heard a rabbi ask, why would people with billions of dollars continue working day in and day out? They have enough money for themselves, their children, grandchildren and beyond. The answer, he said, was that they love the feeling of satisfaction they get from their work. They love making another business deal. They love the buying and the selling, etc. Relaxation is good for a short amount of time to rejuvenate oneself. But if someone would sit around by a pool for weeks, he would go crazy. There's only a limited amount of time that a person can do nothing until he becomes disgusted with himself. The pasuk says in Iyov , אדם לעמל יולד - Man was created to toil. A person can only feel true satisfaction when he works for something. The greatest work we can do is avodat Hashem. When a person toils and accomplishes spiritually, both his body and soul feel pleasure and satisfaction from it. Hashem is so kind. Besides giving us satisfaction from toiling in Torah and mitzvot in this world, He is also going to reward us for everything we do in the Next World. The angel that used to learn with Rav Yosef Karo told him to call his sefer the Bet Yosef . Why would he tell him to call his Torah work a house? He explained, זהו ביתך בעולם הזה ובעולם הבא - because through his Torah, he was building his house, both in this world and the Next. Hashem makes it appear that we are working for Him, but in actuality, with everything we do, we are only helping ourselves. A woman said she was recently in a flower shop and she noticed a young man trying to make his own bouquet. He was mismatching flowers and obviously needed assistance. She didn't want to get involved in other people's business, so she left it. But a couple of minutes later, she heard this young man asking the owner of the store if he thought the bouquet that he made was nice. The woman was standing right there and told him she could help him pick out the most beautiful flowers. And so she did. Later that afternoon, her nephew who was eating by her for Shabbat came over and dropped off a bouquet of flowers. This bouquet looked exactly like the one that she made for that young man in the store and she asked her nephew about it. He said, in fact, he sent his friend to get the flowers for him because he was too busy. That is when this woman realized that the bouquet she made in the store was actually for herself. It looked like she was helping somebody else, but she was really helping herself. This is the way it is with all of our avodat Hashem. Like the pasuk says, לטוב לך - we do it for our benefit. We should feel so fortunate that Hashem gave us such an abundance of Torah and mitzvot to occupy ourselves with all the time. It is only a person's hard work that will give him real satisfaction.

Audio, eng_t_rav_2024-02-24_lesson_bs-shamati-075-bchinat-olam-haba_n2_p2. Lesson_part :: Daily_lesson 2

The Chovot HaLevovot writes, when it comes to doing mitzvot, especially those that involve other people, like giving tzedaka , teaching Torah, or honoring parents, a person's sole motivation when doing them should be to connect to Hashem. He should not do these things so that he can make a name for himself, or so that people should honor him, or for any other ulterior motive. He should also do his utmost to conceal his good deeds from anyone who doesn't need to know that he's doing them. The more he is able to conceal the deeds, the greater the rewards for them become. And in circumstances where he is unable to conceal his deeds, but he is worried that it might cause him to have ulterior motives, like feeling that by impressing people he'll gain side benefits from them, he should remember the golden rule that people have no ability to give a person anything that Hashem didn't decree he should get. And if Hashem does decree for him to get something, he doesn't need any specific person to give it to him. Naturally, a person wants to be recognized and make a good name for himself. In fact, the pasuk says, a good name is more valuable than expensive oil. However, the way a person gets a good name is by impressing Hashem, not people. He is the One who decides everything, including a person's reputation. The more a person conceals himself and only focuses on impressing Hashem, the better he will be performing on Hashem's standards. If someone was not recognized or left out of a thank you for his efforts, he should feel so happy that his deed became worth infinitely greater. Hashem recognizes everything a person does, and whatever he does in private is so much more valuable. We never have to worry about being rewarded. Hashem is trustworthy to pay for every last deed that we do. Of course, the main reward is always in the Next World. But here, sometimes side benefits are given as well. A man by the name of Yossi Poznanski from Manchester recently passed away. Before he left this world, he asked to be buried in Gateshead, where his parents are buried. Everybody knew that the old part of the cemetery, where his parents are buried, had been full for quite some time. He would have to be buried in the new part of the cemetery, far away from his parents. But when the inquiry was made to the Chevra Kadisha , they looked into it and they found one burial plot just a few graves away from his parents. How was that possible? Two years ago, a man was buried there and his father made a condition at the time that he would eventually move the body to Israel. A year later, when a sibling visited the grave, the monument fell down and injured him. He took that as a sign that they needed to fulfill their promise and bring him to Israel. However, they did not have the funds to do it. Yossi Poznanski was a friend of this man and he, along with another individual, took it upon themselves to raise all the necessary funds to move him. They worked tirelessly, with tzniyut doing it as quietly as possible, and they got the job done. This grave that Yossi helped with, was now the one that he was being buried in. Many tzaddikim have requested to take with them a big mitzvah that they have done. Here, Yossi was being buried in his own mitzvah. Very few people knew what Yossi did for his friend. His rewards for that chesed are eternal. The main one who knew about it was Hashem and He gave Yossi a side benefit from it as well.

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Sometimes people are put in very difficult positions in life. They need a heroic effort to overcome their extremely difficult test. Most of the time, they are opportunities to elevate themselves to great heights. The people may not be held accountable for passing up on the opportunity, but they would be missing out on so much if they didn't take advantage of it. Every effort we make is paid in the Next World, but Hashem also uses our deeds to benefit us in this world too. Things that we may have done years before can come back to help us at the times we need most. I heard a story of a man who was terminally ill, and when he went to a rabbi for a beracha , the rabbi showed him a letter he had from his wife years earlier. She was completely humiliated, and when she was asked for forgiveness, she couldn't bring herself to do it. This rabbi told her to write down everything that bothered her, and then write that she was forgiving to honor Hashem. The rabbi kept a copy of that letter, and now he handed it to her husband and told him to go and pray by the kever of Rabbi Shimon, and put down the letter there, and ask Hashem to be saved in the zechut of what his wife did. Amazingly, this man's illness was cured within days from that experience. A young Rabbi who will call Rabbi Yitzchak told me, he runs a kollel in Israel with fifty men. Within his first couple of years of marriage, he had two children, and then a problem arose. No one knew why, but his wife was unable to conceive. They went ten straight years without children, and the top doctors told them she would never be able to conceive again. Two years ago, Rabbi Yitzchak was somewhere in America speaking to a wealthy man about what he does. The wealthy man told him he wanted to sponsor kollel learning on Shabbat. He spoke about how valuable every minute of Torah learning is on Shabbat, and he really wanted the zechut of having people learn in depth on Shabbat in a kollel environment, just like they do on weekdays. He told Rabbi Yitzchak he would take full responsibility for supporting it. Rabbi Yitzchak immediately instituted it in his own kollel, and opened up two more kollelim, as the wealthy man wanted, specially for learning on Shabbat. They learned Masechet Shabbat with halacha in depth. About a year ago, a few days before Rabbi Yitzchak needed to pay the $30,000 it costs per month for the 150 people to learn on Shabbat, the wealthy man called him saying he was no longer able to support the project. Initially, Rabbi Yitzchak was very upset. After all, it was this man who wanted the project, not him. How would he continue supporting it? He decided he wasn't going to get upset. He wished the man hatzlacha and hung up the phone. He told Hashem he was going to accept upon himself, at least in his own kollel, to keep the program going. He had no idea how he would raise the funds, but he didn't want to stop such a beautiful project. Two weeks after that decision, they discovered that his wife was miraculously expecting a child. None of the doctors could believe it. At the end of the pregnancy, she went to the doctor for a checkup, and he saw something was very wrong. The heart rate had dropped, and the baby wasn't getting enough oxygen. They needed to perform an immediate C-section. The problem was the uterus constricted, and the surgery would put the life of the mother at risk. Before they knew it, there were twelve doctors in the room discussing what to do. By this time, there was no oxygen going to the baby. They tried to take the baby out the regular way, but it was impossible. The head doctor told Rabbi Yitzchak the baby already had brain damage due to lack of oxygen, and his wife's life was at risk. He told him the only way to save his wife would be to kill the baby. Rabbi Yitzchak was so distraught, they had waited over ten years for a baby, and now this. He asked the doctor how long he had to make this decision. The doctor said a few minutes. Rabbi Yitzchak went outside the room and spoke straight to HaKadosh Baruch Hu . He said, “Hashem, I know that what's happening I deserve. But this baby was given to me miraculously in the zechut of Shabbat. Please, before You make the final decision, ask Shabbat if it agrees with it.” He cried and he prayed, and then he went back into the room, totally calm, accepting whatever Hashem would do. The doctor said he saw a sudden change, and they were able to operate on the spot. The surgery took about a half hour, and against all odds, the baby came out fully healthy, and the mother was fine as well. This heroic act that Rabbi Yitzchak did in the zechut of Shabbat and Torah learning on Shabbat, came back to save his child and wife. And Baruch Hashem, today the baby is four months old and as cute as can be. Our deeds are so powerful, especially the ones that require a great deal of self-sacrifice.

One of the greatest ways to get chizuk to work on shalom bayit is to know that our spouse was given to us by Hashem and only by Hashem. Like Chazal have taught us, מה' אישה לאיש . The Ra'avad writes in his sefer Ba'aleh HaNefesh how wondrous the ways of Hashem are. A husband and wife actually share the same neshama that was split into two and then reunited when they got married. Our spouse is actually a piece of ourselves. We have no idea of all the calculations of Hashem as to why each spouse has to be exactly the way they are to help the other fulfill his purpose here. But we trust that Hashem gives everyone exactly who they need. Rabbi Moshe Shuchatowitz met with the Steipler numerous times seeking guidance to help people with their marriages. On one occasion, the Steipler told him, “You must know that any couple that stood together under the chupa has a chazakah , that it was for their best, not only for the Next World, but for this world as well.” Which means they are able to bring each other the most happiness in this world, besides helping each other attain the Next World. The Steipler continued, “If it doesn't seem to look like that, look again.” Then, after a moment of silence, the Rabbi repeated it in a louder voice, “If it still doesn't look like that, look again.” He continued doing this, louder and louder each time, until he said it ten times. Rabbi Moshe said he was shaken from that experience, but the message was clear. Even if it seems that a couple got married mistakenly, look deeper. There are no mistakes. The Rabbi used that chizuk to save the marriages of dozens of couples. He pointed out, this doesn't mean that a relationship can't reach a state which requires divorce. That happens when there is no other choice. Just to give you one example of how deep the calculations of Hashem extend. A young avreich , who was married for just a couple of months, once went to Rabbi Moshe Shuchatowitz, telling him he wanted a divorce because he felt that his marriage was a clear mistake, and he was intentionally deceived by the shadchan . This young avreich was an exceptional Torah scholar, who had a uniquely strong sensitivity to truth. In addition, he hated falsehood with all his heart, and simply couldn't exist in its proximity. When he was ready to look for a wife, everyone knew he needed a young lady who also valued truth and hated falsehood. He thought his wife fit that bill, but within the first few months of marriage, he caught her lying three times, and said he was unable to continue with the marriage. Rabbi Moshe tried to get him to change his mind, but to no avail. So he took him to the Steipler, before he would agree to allow him to give a get . When they entered the Rabbi's room, before they even opened their mouths,, the Steipler asked this young man if he had any unique qualities. The young man didn't know what to say. The Steipler persisted, “Say the truth.” Without much choice, the young man admitted he had a unique attribute of truth, and provided several examples which illustrated his special gift. The Steipler then asked him what he thought they think of him in Heaven. He didn't know what to say, so he just said, he knows the seal of Hashem is truth, and Hashem values truth very much. The Steipler then looked at this young man and yelled, “In the eyes of Heaven, you're a murderer!” The young man almost fainted on the spot. The Steipler explained, he killed himself, his wife, as well as both of their families in spirit already. And in the future, he'll also kill someone physically. The Rabbi explained further, “You must understand that the quality of truth within your neshama is unique, and such a soul is only sent to this world once every few generations. However, there's one problem. Complete truth can't exist in a world of falsehood. If such a neshama would be faced with the disgusting falsehood of this world, it would not be able to hold itself back from killing somebody. The only way for such a neshama to enter this world would be if it had a small amount of falsehood associated with it. “Therefore, before your neshama was sent to this world, there was a judgment in Heaven to determine if they should add a little falsehood to your part of the neshama or to your wife's. They asked you, and you chose to place the deficiency in your wife and committed to live with her in peace. And now you're asking for a divorce? She is the one that's going to prevent you from killing. Without her, your virtue of truth will turn into a destructive attribute. You think this is your Gehinom , but in truth it's your Gan Eden .” The trembling young avreich heeded the Steipler's words and humbly went to appease his wife. There's so much that we can't see and don't know. Hashem makes marriages, and we should always keep that in mind and try to maintain them as best as possible.

By Gillian Conoley

The Midrash says in the beginning of this week's parasha, Vayeshev , ביקש יעקב לישב בשלווה – after all the trials and tribulations that Yaakov Avinu had gone through, he wanted a little tranquility, but immediately afterwards, Hashem brought about the tragedy of him losing Yosef for 22 years. The Midrash continues with a quote in the name of HaKadosh Baruch Hu , “It's not enough that the tzaddikim are going to get a glorious life in the Next World? They want tranquility here as well?” On the surface level, these sound like harsh words. What would have been so bad for Yaakov to have some peace and tranquility in this world as well? Rabbi Menashe Reizman pointed out something astonishing in Yaakov Avinu's life. From the moment he received the berachot from Yitzchak, his life began becoming tougher and tougher. Until then he was living in his parents home surrounded by kedusha , with all of his needs being taken care of, learning Torah day and night. Then, after he got a beracha from the Gadol Hador Yitzchak Avinu for success, everything became difficult. His brother was pursuing him to kill him, then Elifaz pursued him to kill him, his father-in-law swindled him one hundred times, nothing went his way. Then he had the horrendous experience with his daughter Dina and Shechem and the horrifying experience with Yosef. About 70 years of hardship, from the moment he got the berachot until he went down to Mitzrayim . How do we understand this? Rabbi Reizman explained, at the end of parashat Toldot , when Yitzchak finally realized that he gave the berachot to Yaakov and not Easav, he then gave Yaakov additional blessings: ואל שדי יברך אתך ויפרך , and then he said, ויתן לך את ברכת אברהם לך ולזרעך . What was the beracha to Avraham and his children that he gave Yaakov? The promise that they would get Eretz Yisrael after 400 years of slavery. At that moment, Yitzchak revealed to Yaakov that he was told that the 400 years started when he was born. He then asked Yaakov if he wanted the count to continue during his lifetime. That would entail him having to endure hardships and overcome tests. But those 70 years of hardships would take away 70 years of millions of people working backbreaking labor in Egypt. Every minute of what Yaakov had to experience was saving pain and heartache and hardship for millions of people. The reward he was going to get in Olam HaBa for that sacrifice was incomprehensible. And therefore, he agreed to take it. And so, when Yaakov requested a short rest of tranquility, Hashem who knew what he was getting for every moment of his difficulty said it's not worth it for him to give up for even one moment of his current life because if he really knew what he was getting in Olam HaBa , he would never make such a request. Very often, people are left with questions on how Hashem is dealing with them, especially after they have done so many good things in the hope of attaining a yeshua they have been longing for. They may have gone to tzaddikim for berachot , prayed very hard, accepted upon themselves new stringencies in mitzvot , but yet what happened after that only made their salvation harder to get. How could it be that after doing so many good things their situation became worse? We have no understanding of the calculations of Hashem, but we know for a fact that if the person knew the calculations, he would be thanking Hashem for every moment of what he had to endure and he would understand why exactly things were panning out the way they were, specifically after he did so many good things. For now, it is our job to trust and continue doing the best we can serving Hashem. In the future, Hashem will reveal how much we have gained from our experiences and how much more we have gained from our emunah during those experiences. Shabbat Shalom.

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 .