Podcasts about rav chaim kanievsky

One of the points during Kaddish when the congregation answers "Amen" is after "Shemeh De'Kudsha Berich Hu." Ashkenazic custom, however, is not to recite "Amen" at that point, and to recite "Berich Hu" instead of "Amen." Rav Moshe Feinstein (1895-1986) rules that according to the Ashkenazic custom, a person who hears Kaddish while reciting Pesukeh De'zimra should not respond "Berich Hu." Although he may answer "Amen" to Kaddish, he may not answer "Berich Hu," as this does not qualify as an obligatory response that warrants interrupting Pesukeh De'zimra. This position was taken also by Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Jerusalem, 1910-1995). Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky (1891-1986) and Rav Chaim Kanievsky (1928-2022) went even further, ruling that Ashkenazim should preferably not answer "Berich Hu" to the Hasi-Kaddish recited before the Amida prayer during Arbit. Interruptions are not permitted during Arbit from Barechu through the Amida prayer, though "Amen" responses are allowed. According to the aforementioned Poskim, the response of "Berich Hu" is not significant enough to warrant an interruption before the Amida, and so the congregation should not respond "Berich Hu." Rav Moshe Feinstein, however, maintained that the "Berich Hu" response is allowed at that point.

Rabbi Eli Riesel was a working professional who walked away from everything to return to kollel. What followed was not inspiration overnight, but a life turned completely upside down. He found himself buried under debt projected to last up to 85 years, facing legal pressure, personal collapse, and a future that seemed impossible to escape. As his situation spiraled, he encountered a challenge far greater than money or reputation. Against the unanimous advice of his lawyers, Rav Chaim Kanievsky gave him guidance that defied logic and conventional strategy. Rabbi Riesel faced an impossible choice. Would he listen to the gadol hador, or follow the system that promised safety? His decision led him through federal prison, deep spiritual reckoning, and a survival story few have ever heard. This is the untold backstory of emunah, mesirus nefesh, bitachon, and what it means to rebuild a life when everything is stripped away.Rabbi Eli Riesel Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Curiuhdfc0&t=2692s✬ SPONSORS OF THE EPISODE ✬► Twillory: 50% OFF NowGo online for the season's BEST Deals!→ https://bit.ly/4eBHeKb► BitBean: Smart Custom Software Built for YouYaakov here. Just make the call. They can help you.Reach Out Here→ https://bitbean.link/MeEBlY► Wheels To Lease: #1 Car CompanyFor over 35 years, Wheels To Lease has offered stress-free car buying with upfront pricing, no hidden fees, and door-to-door delivery.→ CALL/TEXT: 718-871-8715→ EMAIL: inspire@wheelstolease.com→ WEB: https://bit.ly/41lnzYU→ WHATSAPP: https://wa.link/0w46ce► United Refua Healthshare: Spend Less, Save More, Get CareImagine healthcare that puts you first - and can save you thousands.Enroll here→ https://bit.ly/3MD9RN9→ 440-772-0700→ Eli's Kosher Money Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnNaMEumWQg&t=4s► Woodmen College: Smart FutureThe right way to take your career seriously.More here→ https://bit.ly/43Vn8Xs_____________________________________✬ IN MEMORY OF ✬This episode is in memory of:• Miram Sarah bas Yaakov Moshe• Shimon Dovid ben Yaakov ShloimaThis episode is for the speedy recovery of:• Yaakov Dov ben Pnina and all the victims• Yosef Chaim ben Devorah Chaya Golda#iftn Lchaim.

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For a 10% discount on Rabbi David Ashear's new book LIVING EMUNAH ON THE PARASHAH 2 click the link below https://www.artscroll.com/ Books/9781422645581.html Although Sara Imenu was nearly ninety years old and physically incapable of having children, Hashem still expected her to believe with full conviction that she could. The words Hashem used to describe His boundless abilities were, הֲיִפָּלֵא מֵיְ־הוָה דָּבָר — is there anything beyond Hashem? These are words that we must live by. It is true that the Gemara teaches that a person should not pray for something that requires Hashem to overturn nature. But our rabbis tell us that there are many exceptions to this principle. Rav Sadok Hakohen explained that having children is considered part of the natural order, and therefore no matter what any doctor says, a person is always encouraged to pray for children. Furthermore, if a person is facing a fatal illness, lo aleinu, the Orchot Rabbeinu writes that we must continue praying for refuah shelemah, and this is not what Chazal meant when they said not to pray for miracles. Even if doctors insist the illness is incurable, Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt"l said that there may be a medication in the world that we simply have not discovered yet. That is not a miracle; that is part of the natural world which Hashem controls completely. It is not our job to tell Hashem how to save us. It is our job to pray. Hashem can do anything—and it can all happen within the natural order. A woman — we will call her Sarah — told me the following story. She went to the doctor for a routine check. After the initial tests, she returned to the waiting room. A short time later, they called her name and told her the doctor wanted more imaging. She knew these weren't scheduled, and her heart dropped. She went in for the additional scans. As the technicians studied the images, she overheard them speaking in alarming tones: "Oh no… what are we going to tell the doctor?" "Let's try again…" Each time they repeated the scan, the tone got worse. Sarah panicked. Should she call her husband? Should she spare him the worry until she knew more? A flood of thoughts raced through her mind. She truly felt that her time in this world might be very short. But then she realized: at this moment, she didn't know anything for sure. This was the best time to pray. She wondered what words to use. Should she ask Hashem to remove whatever mass they were seeing — would that be asking for an open miracle? Should she ask that it be harmless — when the technicians' reactions indicated otherwise? Should she pray that surgery would be quick and successful? Each option seemed like she was dictating to Hashem how the salvation should come. So she said: it is not my job to tell Hashem how to help me. My job is simply to pray. With that clarity, she poured out her heart: "Hashem, please grant me many more healthy years of life so I can continue doing Your avodah." When the scans were finished, she returned to the waiting area and continued praying intensely. Finally her name was called. She braced herself. But the doctor smiled and said, "Everything looks great. You're good to go." She was stunned. She had heard the technicians' panic. She knew they had seen something. So she asked, "What about the retesting?" The doctor replied, "Oh, that wasn't for you. There's another Sarah. She has a known mass and we wanted updated imaging." The technicians were confused because they couldn't find the mass anymore and thought they were making mistakes. Her heart skipped a beat. While she was praying for life, convinced they had seen something terrible on her brain, she had no idea they were scanning the wrong Sarah. Never in her wildest imagination could she have predicted this scenario. But Hashem doesn't need us to figure out how salvation will come. He only asks us to trust and to pray. הֲיִפָּלֵא מֵיְ־הוָה דָּבָר — is anything ever beyond Hashem? Shabbat Shalom.

Welcome to our special Elul edition of Chovot HaLevavot , Sha'ar Cheshbon HaNefesh —day 11 of our 30-day journey. Today's cheshbon is an accounting of how we've used our lives until now. How have you used your time? Whom are you serving—Hashem or the yetzer hara ? Rabbenu gives a mashal . A king entrusts a servant with funds for a specific purpose: "Use this money to buy candy bags for the children in shul. Don't use it for garbage bags, don't use it for tissues—only for the kids' candy." At year's end there will be an exact accounting—no leeway. Naturally, the servant keeps careful books, reviews spending monthly, and safeguards the remaining funds for their intended use so he won't be blindsided on the day of reckoning. The nimshal: our accounting shouldn't be monthly but daily . Hashem has given us time and talents for specific responsibilities— חובה עליך —and we must ask: Did I do what I'm responsible to do today? A well-known story about Rav Chaim Kanievsky illustrates this. At a child's wedding, he left early. His mechutan worried that Rav Chaim had heavy debts. The next day he learned what Rav Chaim meant by "my chovot ": his daily learning obligations —pages of Bavli and Yerushalmi toward completing the entire Torah each year. Those were his "debts." I recently heard a story from Netzor , a project sharing daily lashon hara clips. A girl awoke from a coma and immediately asked her mother how many days had passed. "Why does it matter?" her mother asked. "Baruch Hashem, you're alive." The girl insisted: she studies two halachot of Chafetz Chaim every day and needed to know how many she had missed. That's a sense of responsibility. If we were negligent, nu —take stock now and don't allow one lapse to cascade into another . We may forget; Hashem doesn't . As the year closes, ask: Hashem gave me gifts— am I using them as intended? There's a powerful introduction to Sha'arei Yosher by Rav Shimon Shkop . The Torah says עשר תעשר , "tithe," and Chazal read: עשר כדי שתתעשר —"tithe so that you become wealthy." Is that a magical segulah ? Rav Shimon says no. Hashem appoints us as gabba'im , trustees of His resources, and tells us how to use them—like the king and his designated candy fund. If the trustee performs well, he's promoted : from candy funds to the main budget. Likewise, if one gives ma'aser faithfully, Hashem entrusts him with more to distribute. It's not magic; it's how a well-run enterprise operates. This applies to everything. A teacher who teaches well is given more teaching . Any talent or position we have is meant for the community at large . Use them well, and you're given more; misuse them, and opportunities shrink. That is cheshbon ha'nefesh . "The days are scrolls —write upon your scroll," he writes; that's what will be remembered. Don't be among those of whom it is said, גם שיבה זרקה בו והוא לא ידע —"gray hairs have sprouted, and he still doesn't know." Life rolls on while they imagine they'll be here forever, never reckoning with how to use their gifts. Elul's call is simple and urgent: keep the books daily . Time and talent are the King's funds—entrusted to you for a purpose. Use them as directed.

For a 10% discount on Rabbi David Sutton's new book A Daily Dose of Preparation for Yamim Noraim click the link below https://www.artscroll.com/Book s/9781422645086.html Acknowledging and Appreciating the Torah Welcome to our special Elul series on Hovot HaLevavot, Sha'ar Cheshbon HaNefesh . We're now up to the fourth spiritual accounting, which focuses on appreciating a gift from God that exists outside of ourselves: the Torah . The author of Hovot HaLevavot , Rabbi Bachya ibn Pekudah, explains that the Torah is meant to awaken us, to bring life to us in this world and the next. The Torah is described as "honored and faithful" ( נכבדת נאמנה ). As we say in Tehillim , "The testimony of God is faithful" ( עדות ה' נאמנה ). The Torah's loyalty and trustworthiness serve several crucial purposes: It Removes Our Spiritual Blindness: The Mesillat Yesharim by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto compares a person who goes through life without their spiritual eyes open to a blind man walking on the edge of a cliff. The only thing that can remove this spiritual blindness is the Torah, which "brings us to be enlightened" ( תורה מביא לידי זהירות ). It Burns Away Foolishness: The Torah has the power to burn away a person's foolishness. This concept is illustrated by a story in Navi where a prophet sends foxes with torches through fields to burn them. Similarly, when a person teaches Torah to the masses, they are burning away their foolishness. It Enlightens Our Eyes: Even when we're not blind, darkness can obscure our path. The Torah lights our way, as we say, "Enlighten our eyes with Your Torah" ( והאר עינינו בתורתך ). It Brings Us Closer to God's Will: As we say, "Return us, our Father, to Your Torah" ( השיבנו אבינו לתורתך ), and then, "and bring us close, our King, to Your service" ( וקרבנו מלכנו לעבודתך ). We can't serve God or know what He wants until we learn His Torah. It Reveals God's Truth: God gave us a "Torah of Truth" ( תורת אמת ). Through it, we come to know God's truth and His very existence. It Guides Our Actions: The Torah tells us what we need to do in this world, giving us the tools for success in this life and the next. This is the meaning of the verse in Tehillim , "The Torah of God is perfect; it restores the soul" ( תורת ה' תמימה משיבת נפש ), and "it gladdens the heart" ( משמחי לב ). The Gift of Torah The Hovot HaLevavot then uses a powerful technique of imagining the Torah being taken away from you, only to be returned. We hear stories of people in concentration camps who traded their meager food rations for a single page of Gemara. Imagine how thankful you would be to someone who gave it back to you after you'd lost it. The author emphasizes that we are not talking about a person who gave us back the Torah, but God Himself—the Creator, who not only gave us the Torah but also arouses us to it and helps us understand it. Every day, when we sit down to learn, we don't realize that we say, " He gives the Torah " ( נותן התורה ), as God is continuously giving and teaching us the Torah. This concept is highlighted in a story about Rav Chaim Kanievsky. A convert on his way to conversion expressed second thoughts, telling Rav Chaim that he couldn't grasp the Gemara. He felt that since learning was so fundamental to Judaism, perhaps he wasn't fit to convert. Rav Chaim responded, "It's not your fault, you don't have a good teacher." When the convert protested that he had the best rabbi, Rav Chaim clarified, "A Jewish person has God as a teacher, He gives the Torah . When you convert, you will get that Teacher as well." The least we can do to show our appreciation for this great gift is to cling to the Torah and use it. A person who receives a gift shows appreciation by using it. Similarly, we must learn the Torah and keep its mitzvot (commandments). King David said in a verse, "I hurried and did not delay" ( חשתי ולא התמהמהתי ) in my love for Your Torah. "How sweet Your words are to my palate" ( מה נמלצו לחכי ). This is a fundamental point: we must appreciate the incredible gift God has given us in the Torah. This is why we are commanded to make a blessing every morning over the Torah, acknowledging that "He chose us from all the nations and gave us His Torah" ( שבחר בנו מכל העמים ונתן לנו את תורתו ). We ask that it be "sweet in our mouths" ( והערב נא ). We know the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) was destroyed because the people did not make a blessing on learning the Torah, showing they did not appreciate this great gift. This, then, is the fourth gift we must account for: the Torah.

0:00 Introduction 1:20 About the sefer & why he wrote it 11:03 Sources 12:00 Bitul Torah 15:40 Zerizus 18:06 Mikvah 21:20 Overspending 23:20 Beards & shaving 32:10 Success comes from learning a lot 33:28 R' Yehoshua Heller 35:30 Chinuch: when & how 38:05 Hitting children 44:20 Tefilah 45:30 Mitzvos b'simcha & doing more 46:40 Kavod of a talmid chacham 48:57 Ruach Hakodesh

00:00 - Singing01:03 - Good Voch01:20 - Guests01:44 - Emails06:29 - MDYsponsor.com10:24 - Introduction12:05 - Amud Beis12:19 - Amud Aleph32:08 - Amud Beis48:04 - Have a Wonderful Week!Quiz - http://Kahoot.MDYdaf.com----Mesechta Sponsors:לרפו"ש Shmuel ben Chana Ettel & Yosef Chaim Shmuel ben Alte Nechama by their grateful family-For הצלחה ברוחניות ובגשמיות-Larry Cohn: In memory of Yechiel Moshe Ben Chaim v'Yetta, who started learning Daf Yomi at age 70 and continued for 32 years until he was nifter​-For the unity of the Jewish people​-Glenn Esterson: With love & gratitude from Wilmington NC. Thank you for enriching my life with Torah----Monthly Sponsors:-לע״נ זכריה בן משה לע״נ חיה בת יוסף-​Binyomin Rosenfeld: Hatzlacha in Parnassah-Yosef Ben Chaya Sara for Hatzlacha ברוחניות ובגשמיות-L"N the fallen hostages: Ariel ben Shiri, Kfir ben Shiri, Shiri bat Margit-Parnasa Birevach Baruch Tzvi Nissim ben Shoshana Leah-ActualEyes----Kollel of the Month:יעקב בן שרה ומשפחתו לברכה והצלחה ----Sponsors of the Week:Hatzlacha in audit and tax season----Coffee of the Week:לזכות ולרפואת האדמור מויזניץ מורינו הרב ישראל בן לאה אסתר שליט"א----Sponsors of the Day:Moshe Banda: לזכות ליום הולדת משה אליעזר בן בריינדעל הצלחה בכל הכל מכל להביא את משיח עכשיו-Adam Plunka: The yahrzeit of Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim ben Yaakov Yisrael "Rav Chaim Kanievsky"-Peretz Chaim Levin: L'Zechar Nishmas Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim ben Yaakov Yisrael, HaRav Chaim Kanievsky ZTL. And to my favorite Daf פ"ח. Oy, do I miss Morei V'Rabi and the whole Chevra!----Art of the Month​:Refuah Shleima for יהונתן איתן בן בת שבע ברכה-For a zechus for Reb Eli and the whole MDY staff to continue to make Torah so enjoyable for so many -In honor of Yossi Klein & Mark Ashkenazi for all the work they do----Turning of the daf:Adar Global: Experts in International Financial Services-Drs. Alan & Barbara Listhaus:​ In memory of my dear father Joseph Listhaus on his 45th yahrtzeit. מרדכי יוסף בן אהרן ע"ה-​לרפואת רבקה הניה בת שולמית ולרפואת התינוק יחזקאל ידידיה בן נחמה שיינדל-Nadlife Realty Beit Shemesh & Moshe Einhorn: In honor of R Eli & the entire MDY family________________________________

Parshas Terumah - Rejuvenate Your Yiddishkeit If the Kruvim symbolize our greatest Torah scholars, why were they fashioned with childlike faces instead of elderly, wise figures with flowing beards? And why does Midrash Rabbah compare Torah to both gold and silver when gold clearly holds superior value? This week, we uncover a profound paradox at the heart of authentic Torah learning that might transform your entire approach to Yiddishkeit. The Aron's design reveals a startling truth—that childlike wonder and openness, not just scholarly seriousness, forms the foundation of becoming a true Talmid Chacham. Through a personal encounter with Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt"l, we witness how even the greatest minds maintain their excitement for learning at every level, embracing both the golden depths and silver accessibility of Torah. Join us to discover the delicate balance between intellectual growth and spiritual simplicity that can breathe new life into your daily avodas Hashem.

A man recently reached out to me for chizuk after receiving the devastating news that he had been diagnosed with a serious illness. That very same day, I had heard two incredible stories about people who had faced life-threatening illnesses and experienced miraculous recoveries. I immediately recalled yet another story that a rabbi had shared years ago. This rabbi had a student who had come to him seeking chizuk for two separate challenges—one regarding his struggling business and the other concerning his child's health. That same day, the rabbi happened to hear two stories addressing those exact concerns. He shared them with his student, along with the kabbalot those individuals had taken upon themselves as a merit for their yeshuot . Inspired by these stories, the student took on the same kabbalot . Baruch Hashem , he later experienced miraculous salvation in both areas of his life. So I told the man who had reached out to me, "I would like to share with you two stories I just heard. While the circumstances may not be exactly the same, the message is the same." The first story was from a rabbi who shared that when his child was born 15 years ago, doctors told him the baby had mental retardation. They also said he would have very limited mobility and would never be able to hear properly. The condition, they explained, was a result of an illness the mother had contracted during pregnancy. For the first seven months of the baby's life, he did not move at all and was unable to hear. Desperate for yeshua , the rabbi flew to Israel to seek a beracha from Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt"l . Rav Chaim told him, "If his mother prays three times a day, Shacharit, Mincha and Arbit, the baby will be fine." With complete emunat chachamim , the rabbi immediately called his wife and relayed the message. She happily accepted the commitment upon herself. Fifteen years later, as I was speaking to this rabbi, he called over that very child and introduced him to me. Baruch Hashem , he is completely healthy, with no sign of the condition he was once diagnosed with. In fact, he had become a gifted learner, having completed Masechet Tamid over 250 times. It was nothing short of an open miracle. The second story came from another rabbi whose baby would vomit everything it ate and cry throughout the night. This went on for months, and the parents were completely beside themselves. Doctors had no solution. This rabbi also went to Rav Chaim for a beracha . Rav Chaim advised him, "Dress the child modestly, and the problem will go away." The rabbi, surprised, responded , "But she's an infant." Rav Chaim acknowledged that, according to halacha , there was no requirement for an infant to dress modestly. "However," he explained , "doing something to enhance kedushah always brings yeshuot." The rabbi listened and followed the advice. Within a week, both issues disappeared. The baby was eating properly and sleeping peacefully through the night. I then told the man I was speaking to that we may not have someone today who can tell us exactly what Hashem wants from us. But when we face challenges like these, we know that improving in an area that needs strengthening is always a powerful zechut." Hashem loves us and wants us to reach our fullest potential. Sometimes, a person needs a gentle tap on the shoulder to remind them of what truly matters in life. Be'ezrat Hashem , when we answer that call, the challenges we face often disappear. We have seen countless stories proving beyond a doubt that Hashem is in full control of our health—and that He can take away an illness in the blink of an eye. This should inspire us to pray harder, strengthen our actions, and believe that our salvation comes solely from Hashem.

#330> Sponsored by Genazym. Check out the beautiful new catalogue for auction 20: Winter event. > Many fascinating items including a letter from the Baal HaTanya, marginal notes of the Rema M'Fano, the Chafetz Chaim's letter to his wife, Rav Chaim Kanievsky's personal Siddur, and more. The auction will take place Sunday, February 16 at 1PM EST: https://www.genazym.com/auction/624-20-en/> To view the Chafetz Chaim's letter to his wife: https://www.genazym.com/auction/624-20-en/lot-62-23/> We discussed David Shainberg of Memphis and how his story turned into this book, Chevron Yeshiva and its relocation there from Slabodka, British mandate Palestine in the 1920's, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, the Jewish community of Chevron, the cause of the 1929 riots, the riot in Chevron, the aftermath, impact on today, legacy, and more. > To purchase, "Ghosts of a Holy War": https://amzn.to/4h80krY> To join the SeforimChatter WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/DZ3C2CjUeD9AGJvXeEODtK>  To support the podcast or to sponsor an episode follow this link: https://seforimchatter.com/support-seforimchatter/or email seforimchatter@gmail.com (Zelle/QP this email address)Support the show

Today we continue with the Song of the Mouse , but on a deeper level. The עכבר / mouse says says, אֲרוֹמִמְךָ יְיָ כִּי דִלִּיתָנִי וְלֹא־שִׂמַּחְתָּ אֹיְבַי לִי׃ (תהלים ל ב) I'm going to lift up Hashem because He drew me up from the depths, There's an interesting story in the Navi, in Shemuel א . It was a horrible day, when the Pelishtim took the Aron Elokim , as the Navi reports, The glory has been exiled from Israel for the Ark of Hashem has been captured. But Hashem immediately made a miracle and the idol of that town came crashing down, so they decide to do something. And the first thing is Hashem struck the people of Ashdod with hemorrhoids. They got scared and decided to move the Aron to the town of Gat, but again there is a great commotion. Why? Because again the people of the city, from small to great were afflicted with internal hemorrhoids. So they decided to move the Aron to the town of Echron. And those people said, " They brought it here because they want to kill us ?" Finally, the leaders got together and decided, " Let's send it back. It's going to kill our people." There was a panic of death in the whole city. The hand of Hashem was very heavy there. And the people who did not die were stricken with hemorrhoids and the outcry of the city ascended to heaven. Horrific punishments were coming onto them. And when they were ready to send back the Ark, they said, " We'll send it back with a gift. " What did they send? They were five Philistine governors, and they sent five golden images of hemorrhoids and five golden mice. Very strange. Make your images of hemorrhoids and images of mice which are demolishing the country and give them his homage to the God of Israel.. Perhaps He will alleviate His hand from upon you and your gods and your land. What in the world is going on with this story? We turn to the Yalkut Shemoni Bamidbar chapter 11, which tells us that the people of Pelishtim said, God brought 10 plagues on the Egyptians. He ran out of plagues . So God said, I ran out of plagues?! I'm going to give you something you never saw before ! And so when every one of them sat down to relieve themselves, God sent mice from the depths to nibble away at them and cause hemorrhoidal pains. So it wasn't just the hemorrhoids, as the pasuk says, but the mice that caused the hemorrhoids. That is why, when they wanted to do teshuva they sent back, in homage, the image of mice and hemorrhoids. And therefore it says the sefer Siach Yitzchak that the mice say, אֲרוֹמִמְךָ יְיָ כִּי דִלִּיתָנִי וְלֹא־שִׂמַּחְתָּ אֹיְבַי לִי׃ (תהלים ל ב) / I want to praise Hashem. He drew me up from the depths, like with a pail And the enemies did not rejoice over me. We overtook the Pelishtim . And the mouse is happy to say, I caused a Kiddush Hashem, I caused the Aron to go back to the Mishkan. The Gemara in Masechet Yoma , 52 B says that in the Kodesh HaKodashim of the first Bet Hamikdash, originally there was the Aron , the manna , the oil, the staff of Aharon, and the box that the Pelishtim sent the 'gift' in! Th Ben Ish Chai is bothered- You're putting that gift- with these mice- in the Holy of Holies? The Ben Ish Chai explains that they removed all the gold mice and hemorrhoids, and just left the box there to remember the miracle that had happened. But the sefer Lekutei Amarim says in the name of an elder , who wrote the book Nefesh David , that the mice were there in the Aron . And that's why he says the mouse's song is אֲרוֹמִמְךָ יְיָ כִּי דִלִּיתָנִי וְלֹא־שִׂמַּחְתָּ אֹיְבַי לִי׃ (תהלים ל ב / You lift me up from the depths and You put me in the Holy of Holies. That's the song of the mice. The Gemara in Horaot 13A says, why is everyone controlling the mice? Rashi asks, Why is it that everybody is chasing mice, with mousetraps, etc… The answer is, Their makeup is bad. Rashi says that their Yetzer , their inclination, is really bad because they eat through things that they have no pleasure from, and they destroy them. That's why the Yerushalmi in Baba Metzia ( perek ג Halacha ה , cited by Rav Chaim Kanievsky, says the mice are wicked and that's why they're chased. As we know, everything in the world can be channeled or used for the good. And this wicked mouse, who bites and eats, was used on a mission to protect the Kavod of the Aron , which shows us that even someone with bad tendencies can channel them and use them, and say, אֲרוֹמִמְךָ יְיָ כִּי דִלִּיתָנִי וְלֹא־שִׂמַּחְתָּ אֹיְבַי לִי׃ (תהלים ל ב) You lifted me up, and my enemies were not happy. This is a song that was sung for David Hamelech when he went into the Bet Hamikdash. David also, it says, had seeming negative tendencies. It says is he was a redhead. And when Shemuel saw him, he said, He's a redhead. He can't be anointed. But no, Tov Ro'ee/he has good eyes. The Gemara says even though he was aggressive, he asked permission from the Sanhedrin. So certain people might have Achbar-like traits, and you might think the man is going to end up being totally wicked, but in the end, if he's channeled properly, he'll be able to sing that song of the mice, because they were the ones that brought Kavod Hashem, by bringing the Aron back to the Mishkan .

Welcome to our class on Perek Shira . Today's song is the Song of the Zarzir . There are actually two Zarzirs in Perek Shira . One of them showed up in the list of birds as a starling , and today's Zarzir , among the animals, is translated as a greyhound . What is the song of this zarzir ? זַרְזִיר אוֹמֵר. רַנְּנוּ צַדִּיקִים בַּיְיָ לַיְשָׁרִים נָאוָה תְהִלָּה: (תהילים לג א) Sing joyfully, righteous people, because of Hashem. For the upright, praise is befitting. What does this song have to do with the greyhound? The greyhound is known from a pasuk in Mishleh 30,29 שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה הֵ֭מָּה מֵיטִ֣יבֵי צָ֑עַד / There are three that step securely. Mishleh is describing certain animals that are powerful, and one of them is called the Zarzir Motnaim/thigh-belted greyhound, meaning that the greyhound has very strong thighs and powerful legs. They're able to reach speeds of 40 miles an hour, and they're used as hunters. Most people know greyhounds as the symbol of the Greyhound bus company, because they claim they move fast. But greyhounds are historically known as hunting animals. They would hunt rabbits and different small creatures. So what do we learn from the greyhound? The greyhound chases and runs and sweats for what? Not for itself. It doesn't eat those rabbits or whatever the prey may be. It works for its master, for its owners riding on the horses. And he's sweating away, chasing and proud to bring the prey to his owner. So the greyhound symbolizes a selfless servant, working for his master. That's the difference between the term Sadik and Yashar . A Sadik is someone who does what's right, even though he might have some ulterior motives. The Yashar , who's straight and upright, is doing things totally for his master. And that's why the pasuk says, Or Zaruah L'Sadik / the light is planted for the Sadik which means right now, he's not doing it totally for the sake of his master. He is not enjoying the work for itself. He's waiting for something in the future. So the light is planted for the Sadik. But the Yishreh Lev, those who are upright of heart, they have simcha , they have happiness right now because right now they're like that selfless greyhound who's serving and working for his boss. That's why the song of the greyhound is רַנְּנוּ צַדִּיקִים בַּיְיָ / the righteous will sing joyfully to Hashem because they're looking forward to what they're going to get. לַיְשָׁרִים נָאוָה תְהִלָּה: (תהילים לג א) / But the upright, they're deserving of praise because they're doing it for selfless reasons. So the message of the greyhound is, Be like me. Work hard for your Master selflessly. Rav Chaim Kanievsky adds another reason the greyhound sings this song: In the Yerushalmi in Shevi'it , chapter nine, Halacha א Rav Shimon Bar Yochai tells that when he was captured, he was listening outside his cave one day and he saw hunters. And every time a bird was captured, he heard a heavenly echo say it should be captured. And when the bird escaped capture, he heard an heavenly echo that said, have mercy on it. So the greyhound is privy to the Hashgacha of Hashem- he knows what he can and can't capture. Therefore he sings a song of, Sing to Hashem because you sadikim know what's going on. You could rely on Hashem and you know nothing evil will happen. So the greyhound is giving us some inside information: that in the end everything happens with Hashem's Hashgacha. It's interesting that the greyhound has two different pesukim that are brought down. Another one is Yeshaya 61,9, וְנוֹדַ֤ע בַּגּוֹיִם֙ זַרְעָ֔ם וְצֶאֱצָאֵיהֶ֖ם בְּת֣וֹךְ הָעַמִּ֑ים כׇּל־רֹֽאֵיהֶם֙ יַכִּיר֔וּם כִּ֛י הֵ֥ם זֶ֖רַע בֵּרַ֥ךְ יְהֹוָֽה׃ Their offspring will be known amongst the nation and their descendants among the people, all who see them will recognize them, for they are the seed that Hashem has blessed. This refers to the future, when the Jewish people will stand out from amongst the nations and everyone that sees them will say, Wow, look how special these people are. Rav Shmuel Kimchi says that this pasuk is befitting of the greyhound, because it's a loyal, dedicated servant to its master, as the Gemara says, The dog knows its master. As we know, dogs are man's best friend. People don't have the same relationship with their cows or their donkeys or their camels. Dogs know who their masters are. You walk inside the door and he is licking your feet. The Jewish people have that trait as well. We also recognize our Master, more than any other nation. And just like the dog is clear, and knows who its master is, walking together every day, so too the Jewish person stands out because he's praying and connected to his Creator, to his Master. Therefore, the second song of the greyhound is that the Jewish people be recognized and outstanding for their connection to Hashem.

Today's class is about what we'll call the cat and mouse game . It's a back and forth between the songs of the mouse and cat during a chase. עַכְבָּר אוֹמֵר The mouse says, אֲרוֹמִמְךָ יְיָ כִּי דִלִּיתָנִי וְלֹא־שִׂמַּחְתָּ אֹיְבַי לִי׃ (תהלים ל ב) I uplift You Hashem because you lifted me up, and my enemies were not happy. Simply, the cat chases the mouse and the mouse sings before he is attacked. Hashem, my enemy won't get me. You'll protect me, you'll get me out of this. And the cat responds, חָתוּל אוֹמֵר. אִם־תַּגְבִּיהַּ כַּנֶּשֶׁר וְאִם־בֵּין כּֽוֹכָבִים שִׂים קִנֶּךָ מִשָּׁם אוֹרִֽידְךָ נְאֻם־יְיָ׃ (עובדיה א ד) If you lift yourself up like an eagle, and you place your nest among the stars, from there, we'll take you down, says Hashem. So, the cat responds, Don't think you can get away from me. Then, when he gets a little closer to the mouse, the cat says, אֶרְדּוֹף אוֹיְבַי וְאַשִּׂיגֵם וְלֹא־אָשׁוּב עַד־כַּלּוֹתָם׃ (תהלים יח לח) / I will chase my enemy and I'll catch him. I will not turn back until I destroy them. And finally, when the mouse is caught, the mouse says, וְאַתָּה צַדִּיק עַל כׇּל־הַבָּא עָלַי כִּי־אֱמֶת עָשִׂיתָ וַאֲנִי הִרְשָֽׁעְתִּי׃ (ע"פ נחמיה ט לג) God, You are righteous in everything that comes upon me, You did correctly and I have sinned. This is a beautiful give and take, although of course they're not singing as this is happening- it's their ministering angels. But it is not a simple cat and mouse chase. There is a deeper give and take going on. The sefer Shirat Chaim tells us that in the word for mouse / עכבר , the outer letters are ר and ע , which is / רע , meaning the mouse is evil because he's attacking and eating our food. Baruch Hashem, we have cats to eat the mice. That is the way Hashem made the world. *Fun fact: Why are there so many cats in Eretz Yisrael ? Because when the British came, there were a lot of mice so they brought cats in from England to fight the mice. But Hashem created an ecosystem where there's a right amount of everything, and if you mess with the equilibrium, It doesn't work. We're supposed to have mice and we're supposed to have cats. Now I understand that we are supposed to have cats to eat the mice, but what are the mice doing there? Here we go: עכבר like we said , the outer letters are רע evil- which indicates the evil mouse, but the inner letters are כב which is 22, the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. So, are the mice good or bad? There is a story in the Yerushalmi Demai perek א Halacha ג , that tells us there was a certain town that had an attack of mice. When Rav Pinchas ben Yair came to the town he said, what's going on? The mice were making sounds that Rav Pinchas was able to understand and he told the people, " They're saying you're not taking your Ma'aser, you're not taking your 10%. Fix it and take Ma'aser . When they did, the mice went away. There are similar stories about Rav Chaim Kanievsky- where people had mice, and he said the only way to fix the mice is to take Ma'aser . When you don't take Ma'aser , your food rots; your assets rot. That's the job of the mice. Therefore, externally , the mouse is bad. But he is really good because he's following the 22 letters of the Torah. He's sent on a mission. His job is, If you're not taking Ma'aser out, I'm going to eat it. That's why mouse's song is וְאַתָּה צַדִּיק עַל כׇּל־הַבָּא עָלַי I accept everything that happened. Not only does he mean to say that he accepts that the cat is chasing him, but also that the person now accepted and did teshuva , and so the mouse goes away. He is expressing the important lesson of Hashem is righteous in what He did. And the person says, The reason the mouse attacked my food was because I wasn't taking the Ma'aser properly. I'll fix that and the problem will go away. So not only does the mouse say Hashem is righteous , but the person says Hashem is righteous, and that's why the mouse goes away. Additionally, the mouse says, Hashem, you are good and I'm a sinner, because at the beginning of the story, the mouse says, I'm going to lift You up because You protected me, and my enemy's not happy with me. But at the end of the day, the mouse got caught. He was hopeful, but what happened? The answer is, the mouse admits, Hashem, it's not Your fault. You gave me the ability to run away. You gave me the ability to hide, but I messed up. I didn't run fast enough, I didn't do enough hishtadlut. It's my fault. And therefore, the mouse takes responsibility for getting caught. That's a nice lesson for us. There is a pasuk in Mishleh , אִוֶּ֣לֶת אָ֭דָם תְּסַלֵּ֣ף דַּרְכּ֑וֹ וְעַל־יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה יִזְעַ֥ף לִבּֽוֹ׃ / Man's foolishness causes his path to become crooked, and he gets upset at Hashem. He says , Hashem, why did You do this? And Hashem says, I didn't do it. You did it. It was your foolishness. Rav Wolbe used to quote the Gaon of Vilna on this pasuk, where it says on one hand, When someone wants to become pure, Hashem helps him. Sometimes the person starts learning Torah and keeping mitzvot, but it doesn't work. It's very hard. He doesn't feel like he is getting helped. So he complains to Hashem, Why didn't You help me? But the truth is, it's his own fault. Says the Gaon of Vilna, You have to go according to your level and not jump . The person blames Hashem for his lack of success, but in truth, it was the person's lack of understanding and lack of proper guidance properly that possibly caused him to take the wrong track. So when things don't work, don't say, "I tried really hard and it didn't work. I'm giving up- it's Hashem's fault." No, take some responsibility. That's the lesson of the mouse. He went in positive, and he messed up, but he's not going to blame Hashem.

The Gemara says in Masechet Berachot that a person is not allowed to make personal requests during the first three berachot of the Amida which are designated for praise, nor during the last three berachot which are designated for thanking. Rabbi Menashe Reizman noted, it is only forbidden to add requests during those sections, but it is not forbidden to make additions that have to do with the beracha being said. In fact the Shut HaRambam discusses an instance in which a questioner asks if he is allowed to make additions after Retzeh which have to do with the topic of that beracha , and the Rambam answered yes. Therefore, knowing how great thanking Hashem is and how great the beracha of Modim is, a person is encouraged to add his own thank yous in the same place that we add Al HaNisim on Purim and Chanukah. A person who was given a salvation should add his own words, something like the following: רבונו של עולם אתה ידעת שהייתי במיצר– Master of the Universe, You know how much distress I was in – לא ידעתי איך להסתדר – And I didn't know what to do to get out of it – פניתי לימין ואין מציל – I turned to the right and I did not find anyone to help me – ולשמאל ואין מושיע– and I turned to the left and there was no savior for me – ואתה הושעתני ברוב רחמיך וחסדיך– but You were there to save me, Hashem, in Your abundant kindness and mercy. And then proceed to describe what Hashem did and thank Him for it. This is just one example. We are encouraged to specify all of the blessings for which we feel gratitude for and describe them in detail. There is something very special about thanking Hashem specifically in Modim . The Da'at Zekenim writes, In general, after a person thanks Hashem, he should also make a request to keep the blessing coming. The Chovot HaLevavot , however, warns us not to thank Hashem just with the intention to receive more, but rather we should thank Hashem wholeheartedly for everything He has given us already. Being that we are not allowed to make personal requests in Modim , there we can comfortably thank Hashem without any ulterior motives of asking for more. Rabbi Moshe Shlesinger said he was once praying next to his Rebbe, Rav Yechezkel Abramski, and in the Rabbi's old age, he needed to whisper loudly for his ears to hear what he was saying. After he said Modim with great kavana , before he began ועל כולם , he started thanking Hashem in Yiddish for so many things, one of which was for giving him the zechut of sending money to the young Rav Chaim Kanievsky, to help support him when he was learning in kollel. At that time, he was not well known and he was going through a very difficult time with poverty. Rabbi Abramski saw his greatness and had the zechut to keep him learning, with his support. The beracha of Modim is so powerful. There are opinions who say that if a person did not have kavana during the first beracha of the Amida , he can still make it up if he has kavana in Modim . The Belzer Rebbe said, when a Jew thanks Hashem properly in his tefila , no prosecuting angels can hold back that tefila. The Mabit writes in his sefer Derech Hashem that the main part of the entire Amida is Modim . The Radbaz asks, how can Chazal tell us that the last three berachot of the Amida are all reserved for thanking Hashem? We understand Modim is thanking, but Retzeh is full of requests, as well as Sim Shalom. The Radbaz answered something amazing. He said the last three berachot are all collectively called the beracha of Modim . That is the main beracha, to thank Hashem. The beracha is so powerful, the Rabbis wanted to honor it by putting a beracha before it and after it, similar to Shema where we have berachot before and after it. The beracha of Retzeh is related to Modim because we know when we get back the Beit HaMikdash , we'll be able to thank Hashem there with the ultimate thank yous and with a true recognition of what He does for us. And Sim Shalom as well. When we have peace and blessing, we're in the best frame of mind to thank Hashem properly. Let us utilize every Amida to thank Hashem more and fulfill one of the main purposes that we were put on this earth, like it says, עם זו יצרתי לי תהילתי יספרו

0:14 Moshe Schwed Intro 1:54 Eliezer Brodt Intro 3:50 R' Uri's background 5:45 Developing relationship with R' Chaim 9:24 R' Chaim's special room 12:30 Which seforim did you edit? 13:40 Videos with R' Chaim? 15:50 R' Chaim paid for the work? 16:50 Reprinting of the Shoneh Halochos 19:00 Nezer Hachaim 21:55 L'Dofkei B'Teshuva 25:00 Over 2000 comments from R' Chaim 29:00 Derech Ish on the Chazon Ish 35:00 Closing questions

For a 20% discount on Rabbi Ashear's new book on THE TEENS BOOK click the link below https://www.artscroll.com/ Books/9781422640289.html On June 11th, Erev Shavuot, Rabbi Ashear will be starting Mishna Berura on the Laws of Shabbat. No better time to join and show your commitment to the Torah. Click on the link to join this program. https://chat.whatsapp.com/ EJFtV50LPJq44X7o0nthnN Today's Lesson dedicated for the Refuah Shelema of Shlomo Zalmen Ha'Levy ben Golda At the end of this week's parasha, Bamidbar , the Torah begins to count Shevet Levi for the purpose of working in the Mishkan for people between the ages of thirty to fifty. The family of Kehat was counted first, followed by Gershon and then Merari. The Midrash asks, usually the Torah gives preference to the bechor , who in this case is Gershon, so why is Kehat counted before him? The Midrash answers, because the children of Kehat carried the Aron HaBrit , which had the Torah inside of it. And the Torah is more important than the bechor . The Kli Yakar asked, why was Kehat chosen to carry the Aron and not Gershon? Shouldn't Hashem have given precedence to the bechor to have this honor? The Kli Yakar answered, that if Gershon carried the Aron and he was counted first, we would not have seen that it's the Torah that gave him precedence, we may have thought it was his bechor status. Hashem wanted it to be clear to all that it is the ma'alah of Torah that supersedes everything. Another reason why Gershon didn't get it is because Hashem wanted to teach us that the crown of Torah can be gotten by anyone. You don't need to have special lineage. You don't need to be a bechor . The greatest crown of all is available to anyone for the taking. As we prepare for Shavuot, we are to take to heart the message that the Torah is the greatest gift ever given. It is incumbent upon us to give honor to the Torah and to those who learn it. Those who learn it most know what real kavod HaTorah is. Rav Chaim Kanievsky zatzal once related that in the Chazon Ish's day, there was a great need for money to help those observing Shemitah properly. The first Shemitah after the war in 1948 was going to take place in 1951. At that time there was a lot of poverty and the farmers were having a hard time getting motivated enough to keep Shemitah that year. The Chazon Ish wanted to help them with their test and give them peace of mind by raising money on their behalf. So the Chazon Ish sent Rabbi Zelig Shapiro to handle this issue and raise the funds. A rich man in Tel Aviv told Rabbi Zelig he was prepared to cover any amount the Chazon Ish wanted, on one condition. He wanted the Chazon Ish himself to come to his house for a gathering and he would give him the money at that gathering. Rabbi Zelig was so excited, his legs carried him quickly back to the Chazon Ish's house to relate the good news. He was going to be able to get all the money in an easy way. No going around knocking on doors, no explanations and requests for donations. When Rabbi Zelig arrived at the Chazon Ish's house, he told him about the wealthy man and then told him of the condition and respectfully asked, “Can I tell him that the Chazon Ish will come?” To his astonishment, the Chazon Ish said, “Absolutely not. I should go there just to receive money? That would be a dishonor to the Torah, and it is forbidden to do such a thing.” The Chazon Ish did not go, and the wealthy man did not donate the money. The fundraising campaign continued with a lot of difficulty. In this story, there was no miraculous ending. Nobody else stepped up to give the large donation that this man would have. Not every story has to have a miraculous ending. The greatest part of this story is that the Chazon Ish would not bend one inch when it came to kavod Torah . No matter how much money was depending upon it. That is true emunah, following what Hashem wants under all circumstances. B'ezrat Hashem, this should give us a new appreciation of what Kavod Torah is and how Gedolei Yisrael make decisions. The Torah is our greatest gift and we have to treat it that way, as well as those who learn it. Shabbat Shalom.

Yahrtzeit Yomi #995!! (טו אדר שני) Rav Chaim Kanievsky Steipler Rav רב שמריהו יוסף חיים ב״ר יעקב ישראל קנייבסקי (1928 - 2022) ---------------------------------------------------- Share the Yahrtzeit Yomi link with your contacts!! https://chat.whatsapp.com/JimbwNtBaX31vmRDdnO3yk To dedicate or sponsor, please contact 917-841-5059. Sponsorships can be paid by Zelle to the same number. First come, first served. Monthly sponsorships are $540. Weekly sponsorships are $180. Daily sponsorships are as follows: Dedications (l'Zecher Nishmas, Zechus shidduch/refuah/yeshuah, etc.) are $50. Sponsorships (fliers, advertising, promotions, additional links, etc.) are $100. The cost to request and sponsor a Tzaddik that is not included on the Yahrtzeit Yomi schedule is $180. --------------------------------------------------- Friends, the following audio was recorded on the occasion of Rav Chaim's 1st Yahrtzeit, on Shushan Purim of last year, 5783. --------------------------------------------------- Adar Sheini Yahrtzeits 1. BOO!!/Ibn Ezra 2. Beis Yisrael/R' Moshe Schwab 3. The Levush/The Aderes 4. Menachem Begin/R' Avraham Blumenkrantz 5. R' Avraham Bing 6. R' Naftali Amsterdam 7. Yahrtzeit of Moshe Rabbeinu 8. R' Moshe Aaron Stern 9. R' Shmuel Auerbach 10. Taanis Esther/Shaya Twersky 11. Rashash/R' Shmuel Brudny 12. R' Naftulche Bobover 13. Rav Moshe Feinstein 14. Peeerim!!

Today's daf is sponsored in memory of haRav Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim ben Yaakov Yisrael, Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt"l. When one finds an object in a wall, what clues are there in the placement of the object that can attest to whether it belonged to the owner or to someone from the street who left it there? If the object was placed in a part close to the house, but the house was rented to others, there is no obligation to return the object. How does this halacha fit with the Mishna in Shekalim 19 where we assume that money found on the streets of Jerusalem during the holiday season was second tithe money and not from money that may have been left there from the week before? Reish Lakish quotes Bar Kapara and explains that it refers to a room rented to three Jews. How can one explain that in light of the issue in Bava Metzia 24 where they grappled with Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar’s opinion and were unable to decide whether or not there is despair when there is a majority of Jews. There are two resolutions to this question. Rav Menashia bar Yaakov explains that there were three gentiles, not Jews. But Rav Nachman differentiates between the case that Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar was relating to and this case. Rav Nachman’s explanation of this case is consistent with another teaching of his. Raba limits the case of the teaching of Rav Nachman. Raba describes three cases where there is a combination of theft and restitution of lost property and explains what offenses the one who found lost property committed. The Mishna rules in cases where money is found in a store or in a money changer’s store. What are the guidelines for keeping the lost item? Rabbi Elazar rules about a case that was not mentioned in the Mishna. Is it possible to raise a difficulty on his ruling from the wording of the Mishna? What in the Mishna motivated him to understand the halakha in this way?

Today's daf is sponsored in memory of haRav Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim ben Yaakov Yisrael, Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt"l. When one finds an object in a wall, what clues are there in the placement of the object that can attest to whether it belonged to the owner or to someone from the street who left it there? If the object was placed in a part close to the house, but the house was rented to others, there is no obligation to return the object. How does this halacha fit with the Mishna in Shekalim 19 where we assume that money found on the streets of Jerusalem during the holiday season was second tithe money and not from money that may have been left there from the week before? Reish Lakish quotes Bar Kapara and explains that it refers to a room rented to three Jews. How can one explain that in light of the issue in Bava Metzia 24 where they grappled with Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar’s opinion and were unable to decide whether or not there is despair when there is a majority of Jews. There are two resolutions to this question. Rav Menashia bar Yaakov explains that there were three gentiles, not Jews. But Rav Nachman differentiates between the case that Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar was relating to and this case. Rav Nachman’s explanation of this case is consistent with another teaching of his. Raba limits the case of the teaching of Rav Nachman. Raba describes three cases where there is a combination of theft and restitution of lost property and explains what offenses the one who found lost property committed. The Mishna rules in cases where money is found in a store or in a money changer’s store. What are the guidelines for keeping the lost item? Rabbi Elazar rules about a case that was not mentioned in the Mishna. Is it possible to raise a difficulty on his ruling from the wording of the Mishna? What in the Mishna motivated him to understand the halakha in this way?

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There have been many times over the generations that were considered to be auspicious for Mashiach to come. Whether or not Mashiach actually comes depends on us . Now is definitely one of those times. On Succot, we read the Haftarah of the War of Gog U'Magog and the Tur brings from Rav Hai Gaon, that it's because that war will start on Succot and תחיית המתים will be on Pesach. Rabbi Menashe Reisman quoted the Gemara which tells us that Shemini Aseret is called Succot regarding bringing the makeup korban for someone who missed it at the beginning of Succot. Hashem shook up the world on the last day of Succot and we are still in the middle of it. It says in Zachariah ( perek יד ) that a day will come when all the nations of the world will come to Israel for war. May Hashem protect us. Rabbi Meir Shapiro wrote, in his sefer אור המאור , over a hundred years ago, many hints that the year תשפד which we just began, is a potential year for Mashiach. One of the hints he brings is that in Mitzrayim during Makat Choshech, it was revealed to the Jews the same light that will appear in the days of Mashiach and it says there, ולכל בני ישראל היה אור במשבתם the word במשבתם is the same numerical value as תשפד . The Chafetz Chaim wrote, in his sefer Chomat HaDat , that just like the redemption in Mitzrayim took place after the Jews cried out to Hashem, like it says ונצעק אל ה , so too, in the future, the Jews will need to cry out Hashem to bring Mashiach. Hashem wants us to yearn for it and pray for it with all of our hearts. We all want Mashiach to come, but we don't want it to happen through a difficult war. What can we do to protect ourselves? The Chafetz Chaim once said, imagine if we could ask the great rabbis of yesteryear like the Ketzot HaChoshen, or the Netivot what we should do at a time like this. We would all be so excited to seek their counsel. Imagine if we were able to ask Maran Bet Yosef or the Rama what to do. We wish we had Rav Chaim Kanievsky here with us to ask him, but this would be a much greater opportunity. Imagine the Rif or the Rambam would come back into this world and we could ask them what to do. The Chafetz Chaim said we have something much greater than all of them. We have a great Tanna , Rebbi Eliezer HaGadol, who told us exactly what we need to do. The Gemara says in Masechet Sanhedrin (98,B) that the students of Rebbi Eliezer once asked their rabbi, what should a person do to be saved from the Hevleh Mashiach . The rabbi told them they should delve into the study of Torah and in acts of kindness, it does not say just to learn Torah and do acts of kindness, but rather a person needs to delve in Torah and delve into performing Gemilut Hasadim . Just like a businessman does not rest until he achieves success in his business, we have to go over and above in our learning Torah and worrying about other people's needs. A person can choose, when he gets home from work, to open up a sefer or a Gemara and try to break his head comprehending the deep wisdom of Torah- that is called delving in Torah. The Chafetz Chaim wrote, when someone knows that another person is angry at him, it hurts that person a lot . Being a peacemaker is a tremendous c hessed . Taking away negative feelings and allowing people to move on happily is a great form of c hessed . Giving someone c hizuk and taking away anxious feelings from his heart is also a great c hessed . Praying for someone is a great c hessed . We can help so much from wherever we are, with heartfelt prayers on behalf of others. At this time of difficulty, people from all circles are uniting in a common cause. We need unity for Mashiach to come. Maybe if we will accept upon ourselves to continue loving and helping others, who don't share the same philosophies as us, beyond this time, that would be a tremendous zechut . May we experience the great light of Mashiach B'Karov, Amen.

We all know that Hashem could help us at any moment. We all know that one of the greatest ways to access Hashem's help is through tefila . But, do we really believe in our heart of hearts that our prayers work? Do we believe that tefila is the best option we have in all situations? The strength of our tefilot depends on our belief in their effectiveness. Rabbi Ari Ben Shushan told that he and his siblings all started out their marriages childless, for around four years. They all got married about the same time and it was very strange that they were all going through the exact same difficulty. He lived in Israel at that time and one of his brothers told him he had to go to Rav Chaim Kanievsky z”l and get advice on what they needed to do to break that decree. Rabbi Ari went and watched as all the people who met Rav Chaim before him all get the same blessing, “ Beracha v'hatzlacha .” His brother had demanded of him to try to get more than that. He really wanted counsel besides for the blessing. Rabbi Ari wrote up the entire situation on paper and Rav Chaim's gabai read it to him. When he finished, Rav Chaim said, “ Beracha v'hatzlacha .” Rabbi Ari then asked the gabai to please ask Rav Chaim if there was a kabbala they could take upon themselves to help them break the decree. The gabai asked Rav Chaim and Rav Chaim laughed, saying, “Kabbala? They need tefila .” With that, Rabbi Ari left and called his siblings to tell them the message. They all knew about tefila. They have been praying heartfelt tefilot on a daily basis and that's why the Rabbi's advice was not what they were expecting. Rabbi Ari told them, “Rav Chaim knows something that we don't. We need to redouble our efforts in tefila .” With that, they all viewed tefila from a brand-new perspective. Baruch Hashem, that year Rabbi Ari and three of his siblings got the wonderful news that they were all expecting a child. We all know that tefila is necessary. But when we see it perhaps in a new light, it becomes so much more special. If someone would be going through a very tough difficulty and he is making every hishtadlut possible to fix his problem, and all of a sudden a Navi would come to him and say, “Your problem will be solved when you pray with the emunah that Hashem is in front of you and is waiting to help you. Then, all of a sudden, his tefilot would take on a new dimension. He would stop focusing on all of his other hishtadlut and would pray the way he is capable of praying. We don't need a Navi to tell us this, as our Chazal have already told us. Whenever a person comes to pray, he should first think about the person who loves him most in his life and how much that person wants to please him. And then he should think that Hashem loves him more than that and wants his benefit much more than that person does. Then he should imagine that he is walking in to have a face to face conversation, kavayachol , with Hashem. Hashem is giving him complete attention and wants to hear everything that is bothering him. The same way a person would talk to his father, who told him to come over and get his help, that is how we should be talking to Hashem during tefila . When we do it the right way, we will see amazing results. This time of year is the most opportune for tefila . During the days of Elul, Rosh Hashanah, Aseret Yameh Teshuva and Yom Kippur, we need to strengthen ourselves and pray with real emunah that tefila works. And b'ezrat Hashem, we will see the answers to all our tefilot . Amen.

There are various segulot found in Chazal , some which promise wealth, some marriage, some children. If a person follows exactly what he was told to do but does not see the outcome that he was told he would get, it could severely damage that person's emunah. The same applies when people go to rabbis for berachot and the rabbi tells them, If you do this, you will get married by this date, or you will have a child by this date. If it doesn't happen, the person's emunat chachamim gets damaged. The Gemara tells us that even a Tanna , Elisha ben Avuya went off the derech because his emunah in the Torah became shattered when what he saw didn't seem to match up with what it said. The Torah says for doing the mitzvah of kibud av v'em one of the rewards is long life and the same applies to the mitzvah of shiluach haken . Elisha once saw a boy who was told by his father to climb a tree and sent away the mother bird, and he fell and died. He did both mitzvot that promised long life and he died young. This caused Elisha to go off the path. The Gemara says, if he would have understood the pasuk properly, he would not have gone astray. The reward referred to in those mitzvot of long life is speaking about life in the Next World. The Rambam wrote in a letter to his son that if he ever comes across a pasuk or a Chazal that he doesn't understand, he should attribute the lack of understanding to his own shortcomings. He should leave the question on the side and, one day, he will get an answer. The Shulchan Aruch writes in siman 118 that washing netilat yadayim for bread with a lot of water is a segula which brings a person wealth. The Mishna Berura there writes, if somebody is careful to always wash with a lot of water but did not become wealthy as a result, it is because that person has other deeds which he did that are blocking the parnasa from coming. Washing with a lot of water does bring wealth, but that is assuming the person didn't do an averah that blocks the wealth. The Mizmor L'Asaf writes, the same applies the other way. If a person did an averah whose negative effect is to lose parnasa , if he has certain merits, they can prevent the parnasa from being lost for the time being. The Gemara says, someone who prays the Amida at sunrise will not get damaged that day. The Mishna Berura says something similar about a person who is סומך גאולה לתפילה . Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zatzal , said the same applies to those guarantees. They are assuming the person did not do an averah that would require him to get damaged. If somebody followed a segula of Chazal and did not get the reward he was looking for, it is not because the segula didn't work. Rather, it is because of other deeds that he did that he needs to make teshuva for first. And therefore, he should not lose faith in the promises of Chazal but improve his ways and continue doing the segulot . The Chatam Sofer in his Teshuvot in siman 158 writes, regarding the segula of being a sandak making a person wealthy, it is one hundred percent true. However, it is also possible that the person may have done sins which block that parnasa from coming. The same applies as well when a rabbi gives a beracha . The rabbi has power, but there could be other factors that are holding back the coming to fruition what the rabbi said. Every word in the Torah is emmet , every word of Chazal is emmet . We should never allow an experience to cause our emunah to waver even in the slightest bit. There is an answer to every question and if we don't know it yet, we should leave the question on the side and continue doing our avodah knowing that one day we will get the answer and the answer will be so clear to us that we won't even believe that we ever had the question in the first place.

Recording Available Via Telephone Dial: (605) 475-4799 | Access ID: 840886# | Reference #: 2404 The Beit HaMikdash was destroyed because of sinat chinam , which is usually translated to mean baseless hatred. Rav Elya Lopian writes, any hatred which is not sanctioned by halacha is called baseless. Many times people justify why they are permitted to hate another individual. They may even convince themselves that it is a mitzvah to hate. But in the majority of cases, it's just the evil inclination getting them to sin. Hatred is rarely permitted. Rather than justifying our reasons for hating, we should be looking to do just the opposite and go out of our way to show love. Hashem loves when we are at peace with each other. If we have a hard time doing it ourselves, we should do it for Him. I read a story about a man who had one child, a son who was very successful in his Torah learning. When it came time for him to get married, he was told of a girl with the finest qualities. However, after further investigation, they found out that she had a very low level of hearing. The boy did not want to pursue the shidduch . The father of the girl told the father of the boy he would give the boy as a dowry for his daughter one million shekels. The boy's father really wanted his son to be able to learn with peace of mind and he did not have the funds to support him. The girl did have sterling middot and was able to hear, albeit with difficulty. They agreed to go out and, soon enough, the shidduch was finalized. A couple of months after the wedding, the father of the girl informed the couple that the million shekels that he gave them was actually a loan he took out and put in their names. He basically lied to get his daughter married. The young man obviously had no way of paying back that debt, especially since he used most of the money to buy an apartment. And he honestly didn't want to have anything to do with his father-in-law anymore. He went to Rav Chaim Kanievsky z”l, to ask what to do. Rav Chaim told him to overcome his natural inclination and give honor to his father-in-law, despite what he did, and everything would be fine. The boy obediently listened. On Yom Kippur, he bought his father-in-law a very special aliyah and on Simchat Torah he bought him another one. This boy was learning in the Mir Yeshiva and since he came from America, he learned with a group of American boys. One day, a new boy came to the yeshiva and he was very homesick. He wasn't happy with his bed, the food was not to his taste, and he wanted to go home. He was also an only child to his parents. When the newly married young man found out about this boy's problems, he tried to give him chizuk . He told him he was also an only child and he also had a hard time when he started out in the yeshiva, but now he loves it. He offered to learn with this boy chavruta and the boy accepted. That Chanukah, this boy's father, who is extremely wealthy, took his private jet to Israel to visit his son. While there, his son told him of how this nice young man saved his entire year and how much he loves the yeshiva because of him. His father was so appreciative, he asked the young man what he could do to help him. The young man, seeing how wealthy this man was, told him about the million shekel debt and how it happened. The wealthy man happily went and paid back the debt in full. Rav Chaim knew that the secret to blessing is when a person goes against his inclination and loves people instead of hating. If we could all find it within ourselves to get rid of any hatred we have and give love and honor instead, b'ezrat Hashem we will turn the sad day of Tisha B'Av into the greatest holiday, celebrating the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash . Amen.

A rabbi told me that some years back his mother's eyesight started deteriorating, and eventually, she was told by her doctor that she was in jeopardy of going blind. She and her husband immediately took a flight from New York to Israel to seek the guidance of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zatzal . Rav Chaim told them to accept Shabbat ten minutes earlier than the regular candle lighting time. He also added that the entire family had to accept that time as well. Shortly after their acceptance of this kabbala , the woman had an eye surgery performed and, baruch Hashem, it saved her eyesight. However, a couple of years ago her eyes started worsening again and, once again, she was in jeopardy of losing her eyesight. When she told her son about it, he said, “I don't understand, the rabbi said the ten minute acceptance of Shabbat is a guarantee. Aren't you still doing it?” She said, “Yes, but maybe not ten minutes exactly. Sometimes ten minutes, sometimes a little less.” He asked her if she would please go back to being strict and make sure that it is never less than ten minutes. She did and, baruch Hashem, her eyesight was restored once again. Accepting Shabbat early is a wondrous segula . The Chachmeh HaKabbalah have taught us that it is also a segula for increased parnasa . The sefer Chazon Yoshiyahu told a story of one of the main supporters of his yeshiva, which took place around fifteen years ago. This man purchased a building in Manhattan for $800 million. He put down $100 million of his own money and needed to borrow the other 700 from the bank. He had 60 days to come up with that money or else he would lose his $100 million deposit. He thought he would easily get the money from the banks, but each bank he went to turned him down. The 60-day time limit was up, and he still didn't have the funds. He asked the sellers if they could give him a one-week extension. They told him that for that to happen, they needed an additional $10 million deposit which he would lose if he didn't get the money by the following week. This man was in great distress and asked his rabbi what he could possibly do to get extra Heavenly mercy. His rabbi told him to accept upon himself to take on Shabbat a full hour before sunset and, in that zechut , Hashem would help him. The man accepted from then on to keep Shabbat an extra hour. And that Friday, 40 minutes before Shabbat, his phone rang. He saw it was the bank calling and he was faced with a very big inner struggle. His good inclination was telling him, You accepted Shabbat. A kabbala is a kabbala. Just ignore the phone call. His evil inclination was telling him, It's not really Shabbat yet and your whole financial life is depending on this phone call. Just answer it. The man stood strong and overcame the test. Shabbat came, then Sunday, and finally, on Monday morning he spoke to one of the heads of the bank who told him that on Friday they called to tell him they were not going to give him the loan. However, the next day, a higher authority overruled and said they were going to give him the loan and, baruch Hashem, he got that loan and was able to purchase the building. Accepting Shabbat early is a great segula , but it has to be adhered to with the utmost strictness.

The weekly D'var Torah on the Parsha, this week dealing with the value of the opportunities Hashem gives us. Based on Rav Chanoch Schrier, quoting Rav Schwab and Rav Chaim Kanievsky

Study Guide Nazir 44 Today's daf is dedicated in memory of our fellow Hadran learner, Miriam Kerzner. In her eighties, Miriam was drawn into the world of Gemara’s intricacies and excitements, enchanted by Rabbanit Michelle’s teachings and enthralled with the intellectual challenges. Talmud became an integral and vibrant part of her life during the long days of Corona and nurtured her during her illness. She joined us in learning up to her last days. Yehi Zichra Baruch, with much comfort to her family from the Hadran Zoom family. Today’s daf is sponsored by Amy Goldstein in memory of her grandmother, Ann Barnett. "Eishet Chayil who embodied qualities from each of the 4 Imahot. Your legacy lives on in your great-granddaughter." Today’s daf is sponsored anonymously in memory of Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim ben Yaakov Yisrael, Rav Chaim Kanievsky. Of the three prohibitions of nazir, there are stringencies in some that don't exist in the other(s). Impurity and shaving are strict as they cancel the previous days, whereas drinking wine does not. The prohibition to drink wine is stricter than the others as there is no situation in which drinking wine is permitted, whereas a nazir who becomes a leper can shave and if there is a met mitzva, the nazir can become impure. Another stringency of impurity over shaving is that impurity cancels all the days and requires a sacrifice, whereas shaving only cancels thirty days and there is no sacrifice. There is a long discussion in the Gemara full of many suggestions of why we wouldn't learn laws from one to the other, in the style of: "If this one is more lenient than this one in this way and yet more stringent in another, why isn't the other one that is stringent in the first way, also stringent in the second way!" Or the reverse. Each answer provides is either based on a verse or some other clear explanation as to why the logical inference is not followed. The Mishna explains what is the process for a nazir who becomes impure to a dead body. The shaving is to be done on the seventh day. But is it part of the purification process and therefore one can only bring the sacrifices on the following day, even if one pushed off the shaving to the eighth day, or not? Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon disagree. After Rabbi Akiva's explanation that it is different from the leper, does Rabbi Tarfon concede? A zav cannot go into the Levite camp on the seventh day or purification even after going to the mikveh (status of a tvul yom) as is derived from a verse. Abaye questions this drasha as the same thing appears by nazir and yet the halacha is not the same.

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Study Guide Nazir 44 Today's daf is dedicated in memory of our fellow Hadran learner, Miriam Kerzner. In her eighties, Miriam was drawn into the world of Gemara’s intricacies and excitements, enchanted by Rabbanit Michelle’s teachings and enthralled with the intellectual challenges. Talmud became an integral and vibrant part of her life during the long days of Corona and nurtured her during her illness. She joined us in learning up to her last days. Yehi Zichra Baruch, with much comfort to her family from the Hadran Zoom family. Today’s daf is sponsored by Amy Goldstein in memory of her grandmother, Ann Barnett. "Eishet Chayil who embodied qualities from each of the 4 Imahot. Your legacy lives on in your great-granddaughter." Today’s daf is sponsored anonymously in memory of Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim ben Yaakov Yisrael, Rav Chaim Kanievsky. Of the three prohibitions of nazir, there are stringencies in some that don't exist in the other(s). Impurity and shaving are strict as they cancel the previous days, whereas drinking wine does not. The prohibition to drink wine is stricter than the others as there is no situation in which drinking wine is permitted, whereas a nazir who becomes a leper can shave and if there is a met mitzva, the nazir can become impure. Another stringency of impurity over shaving is that impurity cancels all the days and requires a sacrifice, whereas shaving only cancels thirty days and there is no sacrifice. There is a long discussion in the Gemara full of many suggestions of why we wouldn't learn laws from one to the other, in the style of: "If this one is more lenient than this one in this way and yet more stringent in another, why isn't the other one that is stringent in the first way, also stringent in the second way!" Or the reverse. Each answer provides is either based on a verse or some other clear explanation as to why the logical inference is not followed. The Mishna explains what is the process for a nazir who becomes impure to a dead body. The shaving is to be done on the seventh day. But is it part of the purification process and therefore one can only bring the sacrifices on the following day, even if one pushed off the shaving to the eighth day, or not? Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon disagree. After Rabbi Akiva's explanation that it is different from the leper, does Rabbi Tarfon concede? A zav cannot go into the Levite camp on the seventh day or purification even after going to the mikveh (status of a tvul yom) as is derived from a verse. Abaye questions this drasha as the same thing appears by nazir and yet the halacha is not the same.

Rabbi Uri Tieger was born into a secular family in Israel. He grew up like most Israeli children, attending public school and enjoying a typical secular upbringing. However, despite his secular background, Rabbi Tieger developed a deep interest in Judaism and the Torah. Over the years, Rabbi Tieger's relationship with Rabbi Kanievsky deepened, becoming a study partner. Rabbi Tieger even helped Rabbi Kanievsky edit some of his works, contributing to the canon of Jewish scholarship in a significant way. 00:00 - Intro 11:28 - Interview 1:00:08 - Outro Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Rabbi, Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS). Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Associate Rabbi, BRS. Rabbi Josh Broide: Outreach Rabbi, BRS.

Join our BIG campaign! Announcing the NEW APP from iTorah.com https://itorah.com/campaigns/special The Gemara says in Masechet Berachot that a person is not allowed to make personal requests during the first three berachot of the Amida which are designated for praise, nor during the last three berachot which are designated for thanking. Rabbi Menashe Reizman noted, it is only forbidden to add requests during those sections, but it is not forbidden to make additions that have to do with the beracha being said. In fact the Shut HaRambam discusses an instance in which a questioner asks if he is allowed to make additions after Retzeh which have to do with the topic of that beracha , and the Rambam answered yes. Therefore, knowing how great thanking Hashem is and how great the beracha of Modim is, a person is encouraged to add his own thank yous in the same place that we add Al HaNisim on Purim and Chanukah. A person who was given a salvation should add his own words, something like the following: רבונו של עולם אתה ידעת שהייתי במיצר– Master of the Universe, You know how much distress I was in – לא ידעתי איך להסתדר – And I didn't know what to do to get out of it – פניתי לימין ואין מציל – I turned to the right and I did not find anyone to help me – ולשמאל ואין מושיע– and I turned to the left and there was no savior for me – ואתה הושעתני ברוב רחמיך וחסדיך– but You were there to save me, Hashem, in Your abundant kindness and mercy. And then proceed to describe what Hashem did and thank Him for it. This is just one example. We are encouraged to specify all of the blessings for which we feel gratitude for and describe them in detail. There is something very special about thanking Hashem specifically in Modim . The Da'at Zekenim writes, In general, after a person thanks Hashem, he should also make a request to keep the blessing coming. The Chovot HaLevavot , however, warns us not to thank Hashem just with the intention to receive more, but rather we should thank Hashem wholeheartedly for everything He has given us already. Being that we are not allowed to make personal requests in Modim , there we can comfortably thank Hashem without any ulterior motives of asking for more. Rabbi Moshe Shlesinger said he was once praying next to his Rebbe, Rav Yechezkel Abramski, and in the Rabbi's old age, he needed to whisper loudly for his ears to hear what he was saying. After he said Modim with great kavana , before he began ועל כולם , he started thanking Hashem in Yiddish for so many things, one of which was for giving him the zechut of sending money to the young Rav Chaim Kanievsky, to help support him when he was learning in kollel. At that time, he was not well known and he was going through a very difficult time with poverty. Rabbi Abramski saw his greatness and had the zechut to keep him learning, with his support. The beracha of Modim is so powerful. There are opinions who say that if a person did not have kavana during the first beracha of the Amida , he can still make it up if he has kavana in Modim . The Belzer Rebbe said, when a Jew thanks Hashem properly in his tefila , no prosecuting angels can hold back that tefila. The Mabit writes in his sefer Derech Hashem that the main part of the entire Amida is Modim . The Radbaz asks, how can Chazal tell us that the last three berachot of the Amida are all reserved for thanking Hashem? We understand Modim is thanking, but Retzeh is full of requests, as well as Sim Shalom. The Radbaz answered something amazing. He said the last three berachot are all collectively called the beracha of Modim . That is the main beracha, to thank Hashem. The beracha is so powerful, the Rabbis wanted to honor it by putting a beracha before it and after it, similar to Shema where we have berachot before and after it. The beracha of Retzeh is related to Modim because we know when we get back the Beit HaMikdash , we'll be able to thank Hashem there with the ultimate thank yous and with a true recognition of what He does for us. And Sim Shalom as well. When we have peace and blessing, we're in the best frame of mind to thank Hashem properly. Let us utilize every Amida to thank Hashem more and fulfill one of the main purposes that we were put on this earth, like it says, עם זו יצרתי לי תהילתי יספרו

The pasuk says סוד ה' ליראיו ובריתו להודיעם – Hashem has made a covenant with the tzaddikim of every generation that He informs them of certain secrets that other people are not privy to know. Our tzaddikim are able to see things that we can't and that is one of the reasons that we go to them to seek guidance and counsel. Rabbi Ilan Guzel told that when his brother Sagi passed away, they invited the great tzaddik Rav Bentzion Musafi, shlita , to give words of chizuk in his memory towards the end of the shiva . The Rabbi told them he had to leave at 10:00 sharp to go give a different shiur . The gathering took place on a Motzei Shabbat in the Beit Hakeneset Ahavat Yisrael and the room was packed with nearly 1000 people. At 9:58, Rabbi Musafi picked up his water to take a sip, but instead his hand began to shake and it slipped out and spilled on the floor. The Rabbi then continued speaking for an additional 30 minutes. Rabbi Guzel couldn't believe that the Rabbi was going overtime, being that he said he had to leave at 10:00 sharp. After the shiur , Rabbi Guzel asked Rabbi Musafi about how he was able to stay extra. Rabbi Musafi replied, when he picked up his cup of water, suddenly he saw Sagi ז"ל , the niftar , standing right in front of him saying, “Please don't end, you're giving me such nachat ruach from this class right now.” That's when he dropped his cup and that's why he had to go overtime. He was able to see things that no one else in that room was able to see. A man told me, ten years ago he wanted to get the Lasik eye correction surgery so he wouldn't need glasses anymore. As always, before he makes any major decisions, he consults with Rabbis. This time, he asked a certain Rabbi if it would be okay to proceed and, strangely, the Rabbi told him he should not get the procedure done. It was something he really wanted to do, but in deference to the Rabbi, he held back. That summer, he was playing in a tennis match and, during the game, a ball was hit extremely hard that went right into one of his eyes. He was in considerable pain and his eyesight got skewed. He went to an ophthalmologist to be diagnosed. The doctor told him he is very fortunate that he is still able to see out of that eye, after assessing the damage that was caused and the damage that could have been caused. The man then told the doctor that he almost got the Lasik surgery a few months before and wanted to know if that would have changed anything. The doctor told him, “If you would have gotten that surgery, for sure you would be blind in one eye right now.” That is when the man realized that this tzaddik was able to see what he couldn't. The Rabbi was able to save his eyesight because Hashem showed him secret information that only great Rabbis are privy to. Through a person's Torah learning, and praying and fulfilling mitzvot and staying pure, he is given abilities by Hashem that others do not get. A man told me when his daughter was just two years old she had to wear extremely thick glasses which made her stand out like a sore thumb. Anyone who saw her immediately felt pity for her. She had a rare eye condition that required such a high prescription just for her to be able to see. When this man was on a trip to Israel, he took his little daughter to see Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zatzal . When the Rabbi saw her glasses, he asked why she was wearing them. The man told him she had an eye ailment. The Rabbi then gave her a beracha and told the man, “Don't worry, she's going to be fine.” At that point, he did not realize the extent of the Rabbi's words. A few months later, when he took his daughter to her regular checkup, the doctor started calling others into the room. The young father was getting nervous. The doctor then said to everyone, “We are witnessing a modern miracle. This little girl went from a prescription of over 700 and she now sees 20/20.” Everyone there was in awe. We are blessed to have tzaddikim in our generation and we should take advantage of them by seeking their guidance and counsel and berachot .

The beginning of this week's parasha , Metzora speaks about the purification process of a person who was stricken with tzara'at . Although the person's skin became discolored and he had to be banished from the camp, suffering humiliation, the tzara'at was actually a blessing in disguise. It was a physical manifestation of the sin the person committed. In a miraculous fashion, Hashem was informing the metzora that he committed an aveirah and needed teshuva . There's nothing better for a person than to be able to purify himself from sin. Averot create barriers between us and Hashem and they block blessing which could have come down from Shamayim . We wish we could know every time we did something wrong so we could correct it. Hashem no longer informs us in miraculous ways when we do wrong, but He has other ways of doing it and if we are in tune to His message and we are zocheh to correct what we did, then we have gotten the greatest present possible. Rabbi Ilan Guzel told the following story which took place in Bnei Brak some years back. A father was having a very hard time finding a shidduch for his daughter. She was attending a prominent seminary, she had great middot and they were a well-respected family. The father noticed all of his daughter's friends were also having the same issue, and when he investigated the matter further he found that not one of the 34 girls in her class had gotten married yet. The father went to Rav Chaim Kanievsky זצ"ל , to ask about this strange phenomenon, and Rav Chaim said, “It is happening because somebody is holding a grudge against the girls in this class. Perhaps it was a teacher whom they hurt, or another student. They must find the person and ask her forgiveness.” The father went back and told his daughter what the Rabbi said. She made a meeting with the girls in her class to try and figure out who they hurt. At the meeting, they came to the conclusion that it was a classmate of theirs who had been with them since first grade. She came from a very poor family who couldn't even afford to buy soap – they washed their clothes with water alone. So with no soap for their bodies or clothing, naturally this little girl emitted an unpleasant odor. The rest of the girls in the class tried to avoid her. No one would sit next to her in class and so she sat alone in the back. And this continued for 12 years. It became so normal that the girls didn't even realize they were doing anything wrong. This girl did not attend the same seminary as them. They went together to her house to ask forgiveness. She was so hurt she refused to even talk to them. They pleaded with her, explaining that none of them were going to be able to get married if she didn't forgive them. She then said, “What about me? How am I ever going to get married? I failed in school because none of you ever helped me. I have deep-rooted pain because of all the hardship I had to endure all those years.” She remained silent for 12 years about her pain and now she let it all out. The girls were heartbroken about what they had done to her. They went back and told their parents what happened. The parents couldn't believe their ears. Why didn't anyone help this family? Why didn't anyone give them money if they were so needy? How could they not have known about it? The girls again expressed remorse, and then this father went back to Rav Chaim to ask what to do next. Rav Chaim told him, “You must do whatever it takes to get her forgiveness. There's no other choice.” The father called all the parents and said, “I have a plan. First, we must each contribute $1000 now, no matter how hard it will be for you. Then, we must do everything in our power to find this girl a shidduch .” They went and bought her a whole new wardrobe. They gave her some of the money to start with to use for herself and her family. Then, they made inquiries to whoever they knew to find a shidduch for her and, baruch Hashem, they found a boy who was a perfect match. They went and gave this girl $30,000 as a wedding present and then, once again, begged for her forgiveness. This time she was able to completely forgive them. Within one year of this episode, all 34 girls from that class found their shidduch and got married. To be able to find out about something we did wrong is a blessing from Shamayim . With tzara'at it was an open miracle but today we could pray to Hashem to guide us and help us avoid mistakes and help us correct the ones we have already made.

The Shefa Chaim writes, one of the reasons a person's emunah may be shaky is due to the ploys of his evil inclination. Chazal have taught us that the study of Torah breaks the evil inclination, and that will enable a person to have more clarity in his emunah. Chazal tell us when Hashem created the world, he put a special light into the world, which gave people the ability to see from one side of it to the other. However, since the people were unworthy of it, Hashem hid it away for the future. He also hid it inside the holy Torah, and when a person learns Torah with purity, for its own sake with no ulterior motives, he will be able to utilize this light, and see things that other people can't. This does not only mean he will be able to see things on the other side of the world. It also means he will be able to see things in the upper worlds as well. So writes the Shefa Chaim in his sefer Torat Hamoadim. We have witnessed with our own eyes Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt"l, who learned Torah purely day and night for his entire life. And thus, he was able to see things that other people couldn't. I heard a story which took place during the time when there was a lot of talk about herpes and circumcision. A man told that he wanted the mohel to do the milah with metztiza b'peh which is the preferred way. Although his father and father-in-law, who were both doctors, were against it, they agreed to let him do what he wanted. A couple of days after the milah his baby was sick. It was confirmed that the baby indeed contracted herpes, and he was told to rush the baby to the hospital. The man was so scared for his child, and he was also worried about the potential for Chilul Hashem which may arise when this became public knowledge. His rabbi told him to consult with Rav Chaim Kanievski regarding how to proceed. When Rav Chaim heard the question, he said they should make believe they didn't know that the child has herpes. They should not take him to the hospital. He assured them, the baby would be fine. The man's rabbi then asked him to ask Rav Chaim if they should inform the mohel that he has herpes. Rav Chaim reiterated, consider it as if nothing happened. Don't tell anyone anything, and everyone will be fine. And of course, they listened to the rabbi, and Baruch Hashem, everyone was fine. The baby was fine. The mohel was fine. And no other babies were affected. How was Rav Chaim able to take that kind of responsibility in a case of life and death? The Torah gave him the ability to see what was happening on the other side of the world, where the question came from. He was able to see there, and beyond. He was able to see things that nobody else could. A man by the name of Baruch Ben Yigal is the father of Amit Ben Yigal hy"d, a 21 year old soldier who was murdered in 2020 during an operation in an Arab village. Amit was Baruch's only child, his entire world. After Rav Chaim passed away, Baruch told his moving story of when he personally met the rabbi after his son was murdered. He was introduced to Rav Chaim as the father of a hero in Israel, Rav Chaim patted him on his face, and began to cry. He said, you should know your son is sitting closest to Hashem's throne in Shamyaim, and he is together with Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and Rabbi Akiva. Rav Chaim was not told that this soldier died on Lag Baomer, and here he was saying, he's sitting with Rabbi Shimon. When Baruch left the rabbi's home, he stopped off at a gas station to fill up his car. While there, someone approached him saying, "I know that you are the father of Amit Ben Yigal. I want you to know, I had a dream about your son. And I saw him sitting closest to the throne of Hashem together with the Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Akiva." Baruch was astounded. He immediately raised his hands towards heaven and asked Hashem what he wanted him to do. It was such a clear sign that Hashem was talking to him. How did Rav Chaim know where this man's son was in Shamayim? The אור הגנוז, which came from the Torah that he learned, enabled him to see across this world, as well as what's going on in the upper worlds, just as the Shefa Chaim wrote. We all have access to the same Torah. The more we learn it with purity, the more access we will have to the אור הגנוז.

In this week's parasha Shemini , in the middle of the festivities of the inauguration of the Mishkan , Nadav and Avihu, two great tzaddikim were taken from the world and the Jewish People went from a state of celebration to a state of mourning. This past week, while Yerushalayim was celebrating the joyous day of Purim, the news came regarding the death of the Gadol HaDor and celebration turned into mourning. This Shabbat, we are also going to read parashat Parah and Rashi brings the Chazal who tell us the reason the Torah puts the death of Miriam next to the para aduma is to teach us that just like para aduma is michaper , so too the death of tzaddikim is michaper . We don't know why at this time we needed such a big kapara , but we do know there is definitely a massive void in the world that needs to be filled and every single one of us could do our part in trying to fill it. Although we have been hearing about the unparalleled greatness of Rav Chaim Kanievsky Z”l who became a master over every facet of Torah, it is not incumbent upon us to fill his shoes. Rabbi Menashe Reizman quoted from the Chovot HaLevavot in the Shaar Avodat Elokim who teaches us that every single person is sent to this world to do a different mission and nobody is expected to be someone he is not capable of becoming. Hashem chose this Gadol to lead the generation. He gave him the tools necessary for him to become the person he needed to become. And, he used those tools to their capacity and fulfilled his role. A boy learning in yeshiva should not feel bad if he doesn't remember his Torah like Rav Chaim Kanievsky did. A person doing his utmost to learn an hour in the morning and an hour in the night should not feel bad that he is not making a siyum on the entire Torah each year. It is known that Rav Chaim was not a public speaker. Only twice a year he gave a derasha in the Kollel Chazon Ish, on the yahrzeit of his father the Steipler and his uncle the Chazon Ish. He was not given the tongue of an orator because that was not his mission. He had a golden pen and a computer-like mind and the greatest diligence imaginable. Hashem gave him what he needed. Hashem wants all types of people serving Him in all types of ways. Some people need to excel in chesed , some in Yirat Shamayim , some in Talmud Torah and so on. Everyone needs to use the strengths that Hashem gave him to become the person that Hashem wants him to become. A person is supposed to feel good in his avodat Hashem and usually the area he is drawn to is the area that he needs to perfect to fulfill his mission. Of course, we have to follow every halacha , but regarding where we excel, it should be in an area that we feel drawn towards. So on the one hand, we need to hear about how great this Gadol HaDor was, we have to know what we had and what we are missing, but at the same time, we have to use that knowledge to improve ourselves and become the best we can be with what Hashem gave us. We don't have to know Shas baal peh , but we should know the Gemara that we are learning. Everyone can always improve, and now is a great time to do it. May Hashem give us the siyata d'Shamaya to grow more and fulfill the roles that He wants each of us to fulfill. Shabbat Shalom.

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

The Meshech Chochma writes in his sefer Pirkei Machshava that there's a mitzvah called ולדבקה בו – to cling to Hashem, and the way a person fulfills this mitzvah is by fearing nothing other than Hashem. Which means we are to have no fear of man whatsoever because Hashem is the only One in charge of anything and no one else in the world has any say at all. No matter how powerful, wealthy or successful an individual seems to be, we are to know he is powerless. He can have no effect on our lives on his own. He is only able to act as a messenger of Hashem. There is a tendency of people to be in awe of the wealthy. They feel that these wealthy people have the ability to help them with their needs and maybe one day they actually will. Because of that attitude, the wealthy are treated differently. They are given more respect and privileges, and sometimes when they don't act properly it gets brushed aside.( As a side note, a wealthy individual who is humble and uses his money for good things, indeed, should be respected more.) Someone who is a bote'ach b'Hashem and fulfills this mitzvah of ולדבקה בו properly will treat all individuals with the same respect, not playing favorites because of what someone has. Rav Chaim Kanievsky זצ"ל, exemplified this mida . He did not fear anyone other than Hashem. He did not need to play favorites or worry about what someone might or might not give to him, because he did not need anything from anyone. He lived only with Hashem and he acted accordingly. The heads of a group of institutions in Israel were once anticipating the arrival of a very wealthy man from a different country. They were hoping he was going to give them a large donation. They were trying to think of ways to make his visit as pleasant as possible and someone suggested that they bring him to meet Rav Chaim and get a beracha . Everyone was excited with that idea. They spoke to Rav Chaim's assistants and explained the importance of the visit. They also mentioned that this wealthy man was capable of supporting all of their institutions practically by himself. The day arrived and they brought the man into Rav Chaim. They were hoping Rav Chaim might say some words of praise about their institutions that would encourage this wealthy visitor to give generously to them. They had already worked hard on softening the man up. When the man was introduced to Rav Chaim, the Rabbi said, “The mitzvah of learning Torah is the most important one there is. Do you have time to learn?” The wealthy man was no less surprised with that question than the men who had accompanied him there. He was ready to hear compliments about his great work on behalf of Torah institutions, but instead it seemed like he was being rebuked. The man cleared his throat and said, “Me? I'm so busy, I don't have that kind of time.” Rav Chaim replied, “It's not possible for a Jew not to set aside time to learn Torah. You must find the time as well.” The heads of the institutions shifted uncomfortably in their seats. They feared that the man would no longer donate anything to them at this point. But their fears turned out to be groundless. Later, he told these heads of the institutions that the most enjoyable part of his entire trip was meeting Rav Chaim Kanievsky. The Rabbi knew how to influence people for the better and he never got fazed by the amount of money that anyone had. Many times he was offered by wealthy people to get a larger house for him and his family, but they never accepted. They were truly happy with exactly what Hashem had given them. We could all try to improve on this great mitzvah of ו לדבקה בו and learn to fear only Hashem. That means respecting everyone the way Hashem wants us to and not worrying about impressing anyone other than Him.

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Dedicated in Loving Memory of Cliff Drazen- צדוק בן ראובן   Would you like to sponsor an episode? A series? We'd love to hear from you : podcasts@ohr.edu https://podcasts.ohr.edu/ Visit us @ ohr.edu    00:00 How do you convey a positive connection to intimacy if it's something we avoid before marriage and also how do we counteract society's influence toward it?   03:42 When someone speak lashon hara about you, you accrue their mitzvos?   14:00 Why are there so many differences in sefardi and Ashkenazic Halacha? Is it based on Minhag? At what point does minhag become Halacha? What is the soul effect?   34:34 Is there a strong background of Mizrachi being related to ashkenazim?   36:10 Are all nusachs inclusive of the Arizal's Kabbalah?   42:43 Why did Rav Moshe speak against Rav Steinzaltz's translation of the Gemara?   49:20 Should we hold back on talking about ourselves as to avoid jealousy from others and does Hashgscha Pratis have an effect of preventing that?   57:50 If someone never knew or connected to Rav Chaim z”l, should they still mourn for him, or any tzadik in general?   1:04:40 How do we respond to the comment that Yeshiva is a brainwashing operation?   1:07:50 What are the origins of dressing up and eating hamentashen on Purim?   1:10:12 If the majority of nations agree to it, does International Law like the UN conventions, Geneva Convention, etc. fulfil Dinim to the point that NATO and other countries would be obligated to enforce violations under Torah law?   1:14:45 Where is the Torah source for Shadchans and why are there mechizas for events that don't have to do with tefilla?   1:21:50 What is the logic behind the reasoning that certain mezonos could be bread, especially concerning matza?   1:24:49 Does the Gemara define romance at any point?   1:28:05 How are principles (eg Tznius or Shalom Bayis) defined in Halacha?—How can a principle be enough to outweigh a mitzva like women's zimmun?   1:32:13 In regards to increasing a cooking flame on Yom Tov, can one use a boiling pot to extinguish the flame? (see amplification below)   1:34:18 Should we be abstaining or partaking in Judaism (asceticism)?   1:37:41 Could one be Yotzei Matanos Leevnyonim on both days of Purim?   1:40:08 What happened to Moshe Rabbeinu's kids and why are they seemingly not mentioned very much in Tanach?   1:41:59 How literally should we take the fact that Rav Chaim Kanievsky was the last gadol hador?   1:44:00 What is the general controversy between Rav Moshe Feinstein and the Satmar Rebbe?    1:46:40 How does the Rav censor himself on camera versus off camera?   1:49:17 Outside of tzinus reasoning, are there permissibilities in movies and gaming if they are going to increase someone's learning?    1:51:24 What is it about Aramaic that we find such deep inyanim?   1:52:50 Amplificatons on R' Steinzatlz and Hilchos Shabbos   Produced by: Cedar Media Studios  

Shmini Women's Class: This weekly women's class waspresented on Tuesday, Parshas Shmini,19 Adar II, 5782, March 22, 2022, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY. The class was dedicated to the recent passing of HaGaon Reb Chaim Kanievsky (1928-2022), on Friday, Shushan Purim, 5782, March 18, 2022, at his home in Bnei Brak, at the age of 94. The funeral on Sunday brought together some 750,000 mourners from all over the Holy Land.

I will not attempt to give a hesped for the Sar HaTorah , our Gadol HaDor Rav Chaim, zatzal, in a five minute lesson, especially since I have no understanding of how great the Rabbi actually was. I will, however, relate a few stories on emunah about the Rabbi and the chizuk we get should be l'ilui nishmato . There are dozens of stories that I have read and heard where the Rabbi has told things to people as if he got a nevua directly from Shamayim on what the people needed to do to get the yeshua they were so desperately seeking. Each one of those stories is miraculous and each one is a lesson on its own. Today, I will tell the smaller hashgacha pratit stories, the ones that we can relate to more, some of which have come from the book A Gadol in Our Times from Artscroll. Because the Rabbi was so dedicated to the Torah, Hashem gave him extraordinary siyata d'Shamaya in his learning. Rabbi Zilberstein told at the funeral the story of when Rav Chaim was writing a sefer on grasshoppers and he needed to see one to get a better understanding of it. He asked his daughter to go find one but there were none to be found. Right after that, a grasshopper came hopping through his window and landed directly on his Gemara. When the story was told to his father-in-law Rav Eliashiv, zatzal, he was astounded. He exclaimed, “Those things only happened to the Rishonim and here we have someone in our generation whom Hashem is so openly communicating with.” The Rabbi learned the entire Shas, Bavli and Yerushalmi, as well as the Midrash, the Zohar , the four chalakim of Shulchan Aruch and the Rambam every single year. He needed to wake up in the middle of the night, every night, in order to be able to finish his quota for the day. It was a 12 month schedule, so on a leap year he had an extra month to write sefarim . Rabbi Menashe Reizman pointed out that when Rav Chaim had to sit shiva for his father and was unable to learn Torah the entire week, that year was a leap year so he was still able to finish his quota by the end of the year. And the exact same thing happened in the year that his mother passed away. Again, Hashem worked it out that her passing happened in a leap year and he did not have to forgo his annual siyum on erev Pesach. I read a couple of stories that Rav Chaim told about himself in how he experienced the hashgacha of Hashem when it came to finances. After he got married, he ran a cash gemach to help kollel men with their basic needs. One day, a young Rabbi asked for a loan of 750 lirot, a very large sum in those days. Rav Chaim gave him the full amount, but just hours later, on the same day, along came a man who had once deposited 750 lirot into this gemach and now he came to take it back. The gemach was empty and Rav Chaim didn't know what to do. Amazingly, out of nowhere, another man came and told Rav Chaim he wanted to lend some money to the gemach . What was the sum that he wanted to lend? Exactly 750 lirot. Rav Chaim said, “It's these stories that teach us that in every matter and at every moment, Hashem is watching over us with precise hashgacha pratit.” From time to time anxious fathers would come to Rav Chaim to share their worries about finding the money they needed to marry off their children. Rav Chaim would assure them that Hashem looks out for every single person to help him with his needs. He would speak about the hashgacha pratit involved in his marrying off his own children. When his oldest daughter was getting married, his mother took the responsibility of covering most of the financial burden, but after that she was no longer able to do so. The Rabbi said, “Hashem sent me a different source for the money for every single wedding”, and he gave one example. One year, he was asked to write a commentary on the sefer HaRokeach . Although he was told he would be compensated for the job, there was no dollar amount discussed. He spent a full year on the project, dedicating time each night towards it. At the end of the year he presented the work but did not receive any compensation for it. Months and years passed and nothing was sent. Finally, five years later, the Rabbi's daughter became engaged and then, out of the blue, the payment for that job was sent. It was the exact amount of money that Rav Chaim had just committed to paying for the shidduch . Such precise hashgacha . One one occasion, a plumber came to fix one of Rav Chaim's pipes. After he finished, Rav Chaim quoted the pasuk which tells us to pay our workers on time and happily paid the plumber for his service. Then he gave him a lesson. He asked the plumber how he prays for his parnasa, does he ask that other Jews should have plumbing problems so that he could have money? The plumber was silent. Rav Chaim told him, let me teach you how to pray for parnasa. You should say, “Hashem, if it has been decreed that someone must suffer, let it not be either physical or spiritual suffering, but only with a burst pipe or something of the sort. This way everyone will benefit, it's good for them and it's good for you.” Rav Chaim helped our entire generation on a daily basis with his Torah learning, and his presence in the world was a protection for us. It is up to everyone to do a little more in the area of Torah learning to try to compensate somewhat for the huge void that has been created. May Hashem console Klal Yisrael on this enormous loss, have mercy upon us and protect us and bring the Geula Shelemah bikarov . Amen.