Podcasts about Shem Mishmuel

Finding a shidduch is compared to Kriyat Yam Suf. Many explanations have been offered to clarify this connection. The road leading to finding the right match can be exceedingly difficult, but when that day finally comes, the feeling is exhilarating. It seems that the Torah's depiction of the shidduch process unfolded very smoothly . Avraham sent Eliezer to find a girl for Yitzchak. Eliezer prayed to Hashem. He was answered immediately. Rivka returned with him and married Yitzchak. Yet we see from Chazal that it was not simple at all. Lavan and Betuel did not want the shidduch to happen and they were not going to allow Rivka to go. Eliezer had to make dozens of changes in describing to them the details of what actually happened when he met Rivka. Even after all of that, Betuel still objected to Rivka going, until Hashem Himself had to remove him from the picture. Avraham Avinu, the father of the chatan, was considered a prince in the eyes of the world. He was extremely wealthy. The chatan himself was the best shidduch in the entire world at that time, yet it was still so difficult to bring the shidduch to fruition. This is because getting married and establishing a family of shomrei Torah and Mitzvot is an enormous zechut, especially in this instance in which it was going to be the home that began the entire Klal Yisrael. The negative forces in Shamayim will do everything possible to stop such Kedusha from entering the world. How does one overcome these negative forces? The Shem MiShmuel shares a beautiful insight into how it happened here and how perhaps we could accomplish the same with our own Shidduchim. We know Eliezer was the one charged with the mission of finding a wife for Yitzchak. Chazal tell us Eliezer himself had a daughter of marriageable age. Eliezer was Avraham's top student who helped him bring back thousands of people to Hashem. He was hoping that Avraham would let Yitzchak marry his own daughter, but when he offered it, he was rejected. Not only that, he was then asked to be the one to go find a wife for the same person he wanted for his daughter. He could have easily given up after encountering his first obstacle, thinking to himself, maybe if this doesn't work out Avraham will reconsider. Yet he did everything in his power to bring the girl that Avraham wanted. He understood he was doing the will of Hashem and did it to the best of his ability. He even prayed for it to happen and thanked Hashem when he saw it was going to happen. This was a tremendous act of self-sacrifice He surrendered his own desires to fulfill the will of Hashem . The Gemara says that the previous generations merited miracles because of their mesirut nefesh in sacrificing their own will to do the will of Hashem. The Shem MiShmuel continued and asked why did Hashem orchestrate that Eliezer had a daughter of marriageable age exactly when he was asked to do this job? Why did Hashem present him with such a difficult test? He answered that in order to bring the shidduch to fruition, they needed to bypass all the negative forces in Shamayim trying to stop it. Only a heroic act of mesirut nefesh had the power to overcome them. The zechut of mesirut nefesh can overcome any obstacle. It was specifically Eliezer that was going to be able to get this job done because he would be doing it with mesirut nefesh. The same can be said, b'ezrat Hashem, in all marriages. If there are a lot of roadblocks along the way, it could be because the marriage is going to be so holy, and the kelipot in Shamayim are trying to stop it. An act of mesirut nefesh can overcome them. This, perhaps, is another explanation of how shidduchim are likened to Kriyat Yam Suf. When the Jewish people stood with the water up to their noses, and the midat hadin would not allow the waters to split, it was the great act of mesirut nefesh of Nachshon ben Aminadav that overcame that midat hadin and brought about the wondrous miracle of Kriyat Yam Suf. May we merit to see all those trying to establish a home of Kedusha fulfill their goal very soon.

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 16 (Vayeira) - Bnos Lot And Their Husbands by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 15 (Lekh Lekha) - Torah VeKorbanos by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 14 (Sukkot): דירת ארעי דירת קבע by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 13 (Yom Kippur): Kapparot by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 12 (Nitzavim - Vayeilech): The Torah Written On The Heart by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 11 (Ki Tavo): Elul Absorbtion Bikurim Amaleik by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 10: Achdus & Milchama by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 09: Achdus, The King, And #6 by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 08: 10 Nations 10 Kochos of a Person by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 07: The Tikkun of ערי מקלט The Tikkun Krias Shma by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 06: The Meaning Of The Musafim by Shapell's Rabbeim

This evening we discuss the message Pinchas' actions are supposed to teach us, quoting from Ernest Becker, Dr. Phillip Zimbardo, Fredrik Backman, and Jodie Picoult. I share a characteristically brilliant story about Rav Nota Greenblatt, Z"L, and an esoteric but critical understanding of the incomplete "Vav" in our Torah portion, partially based on Shem MiShmuel and Maharal, and dramatically expressed in a poem by Tehila Siani, and a dramatic post by David Sherez. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman (rabbi@adath.ca) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 05: The Nation That Celebrates Three Regalim by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 04: The Shira and the Cheshbon by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 03: Korach And Kayin by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 02: The Meraglim, Moshe, and Kedushas Haaretz by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Schoonmaker - Shem MiShmuel 01 by Shapell's Rabbeim

Rabbi Menashe Reisman asked, "How could it be that the Jewish people sang the אז ישיר after Kiryat Yam Suf with so much joy, being that the Chazal told us that 80% of the Jews died out during מכת חושך ?" That means so many of their relatives and loved ones had just passed away. There were so many orphans and widows, and so many of them lost children when the Mitzriyim threw their babies in the Nile. Yet, we say every day that they sang בשמחה רבה with great jubilation! How do we understand such a thing? It was the first Shabbat after the Belzer rebbe was freed from the nightmares of the Holocaust. He was in Haifa, and he said, "How could we possibly sing and praise HaShem when our families and friends have all perished?" When Miriam brought out the instruments for the ladies to sing with, they could have easily said to Miriam, "Now is not the time to sing. We lost so many of our family members." Yet, they too, sang with great jubilation. How is that possible? The Rabbi brought from the Shem MiShmuel as well as others who expounded upon a fundamental taught by the Zohar Hakadosh that the ים (sea)is a mashal for something being hidden. The world as we know it, with so many things that we don't understand, is also called the ים . When HaShem split the sea, it was not just a physical sea that He split. He also split open the covering of the world, which prevents us from fully understanding His ways. Every single person who passed through the Yam Suf was able to see with such clarity, the secrets of the world. When it says the maidservants saw more than the prophets of the later generations, it doesn't mean the maidservants were on a higher level than them. It means they were able to see things in a light that even the greatest Nevi'im were not זוכה to see. They did not only understand the present, they were able to see the past and the future as well. They understood at that moment why they had to be in Mitzrayim for so many years. They understood how every brick was coming to make a tikkun for דור הפלגה that sinned with bricks. They understood why the babies had to be thrown in the Ye'or as a tikkun for what took place during the generation of the mabul( השׁחית כּל בּשׂר את דרכּו ). And when they looked into the future, they were able to understand the tikkun that the people who died in Makkat Choshech needed to make. The Maharshak said, at the end of days, all those people who died in Choshech are going to come back and live again, and we believe we are living in the final generation. They saw their loved ones sitting at a seder table telling over the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim. They saw them celebrating and greeting the mashiach, and they had no questions. They were able to sing with the greatest joy because they had so much clarity. The Ramban explains that shirah applies to past, present, and future. The midrash says, from the day the world was created, nobody ever sang shirah to Hashem until the Jewish people at Yam Suf. Although many people thanked and praised Hashem throughout the generations, no one was able to sing shirah because they did not have the full understanding of everything that was taking place in their lives. When Hashem reveals himself in the future, we are going to sing the greatest shirah of all because then the entire plan of the world will be understood, even the persecutions of the Jews throughout the generations, including the Holocaust, and Lo aleinu, the massacre that we have witnessed. We anticipate that glorious day when we will all sing the greatest shirah and we hope it will come bekarov .

Rabbi Dunner dissects T'ruah's letter to President Biden, expressing his strong disapproval of their call for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. He argues that T'ruah's stance, while seemingly rooted in humanitarian concerns, overlooks the complex realities on the ground and the strategic necessity of Israel's war against Hamas. He invokes the Shem Mishmuel's commentary on Vayikra, in which the purity of words is underscored in the context of Moses' contribution to the Mishkan.

In this episode, we speak to Rav Daniel Korobkin, who shares his Desert Island Torah, looking at Torah from Shem MiShmuel, the Zohar and Sod Yesharim.

The deep idea of the Shem Mishmuel. Source Sheet: https://res.cloudinary.com/ouinternal/image/upload/outorah pdf/cmsjtuf24e3rrub4prky.pdf --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yechezkel-hartman/support

This morning we start with a great story from the inimitable Rav Nota Greenblatt, saving all the Torah Scrolls in a small Texas shul. We describe, as best we can from Shem MiShmuel, the mysterious taking of letters of a name, to hold in escrow until a mission is fulfilled, and we show how this applies to both Eliyahu and Pinchas. And we identify the pain, loss, and mourning of this period of the Three Weeks as suffering from the missing or incomplete "Vav", the fractured peace - dramatically and tragically on view in Israel today - and the unrealized redemption. This is our job now, our responsibility, each of us in our own way, during these Three Weeks, to complete the "Vav" of Shalom, and return the Vav" to Eliyahu so he can announce our complete redemption. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1 Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3 Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4 Please contact Rabbi Whitman (rabbi@adath.ca) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

Beautiful explanation of the Shem Mishmuel who explains: 1) Why the Ben Sorer Umorer can be forgiven by his parents and not killed; 2) Why a Jew can do Teshuva as opposed to a non-Jew; 3) The value of accepting other people's imperfections. An amazing story with Rabbi Simon Jacobson and a physically challenged student who was reunited with his parents

From the sefer Shem MiShmuel, Purim Perek 4

From the sefer Shem MiShmuel, Purim Perek 4

Parshat VaYikra - Insights into the various Korbanot from the Shem MiShmuel and Rav Kook

The fascinating explanation of the Shem MiShmuel regarding the Ma'alah of the Kohen Gadol. Source Sheet: https://res.cloudinary.com/ouinternal/image/upload/outorah pdf/jnt8rcfccwqmslkpgztt.pdf --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yechezkel-hartman/support

Codex Leningrad 1008 We explore the orthography of Gen 33:4 (those pesty dots over the word "and he kissed him") and the history of interpretation of the strange puncta extraordinaria either as an ancient "nota bene" begging for a reverse meaning or an actual cancellation of the word due to scribale error. Both the Rabbis and Origen! struggle to decide betwween the two choices, whereas more mystically inclined readers demand we hold the paradox of both (Shelah and Shem Mishmuel). Culturally it affects the self identity of the descendants of Esau (Rome/Christianity) and Jacob/Israel and how to approach our ancient brother by either avoiding or placating.

The Shem MiShmuel asks how Avraham could plead for mercy on behalf of the people of Sodom when they were so cruel to others. Isn't kindness to the Sodomites actually cruelty to their victims?

The Shem MiShmuel asks how Avraham could plead for mercy on behalf of the people of Sodom when they were so cruel to others. Isn't kindness to the Sodomites actually cruelty to their victims?

Parsha Tidbits with Rav Dovid Gottlieb, Vayelech-Ha'azinu-Special Yom Kippur Vort Vayelech #1 - Sparks of Chassidus - An Inspiring Teaching from R. Tzadok Hakohen - Connecting the Parsha to the Yamim Noraim Haazinu #1 - Contemporary Commentators - R. Soloveitchik's Approach to Reward and Punishment #2 - Sparks of Chassidus - Historical Sensitivity as a Catalyst for Teshuva - The Remarkable Insight of the Shem MiShmuel #3 - Sparks of Mussar - Is Success in Torah Study a Gift or a Result of Hard Work? Special Yom Kippur: The Culmination of 40 Days of Transformation

“TWiSTED Parenting” is a method developed by Avi Fishoff to guide parents of children in severe crisis. Avi personally trains and guides parents from all over the world. All parents must have their own Daas Torah involved to pasken any shailos that may arise. Avi has many haskamos of leading Gedolim. All services are FREE OF CHARGE. Lessons from this podcast should not be applied across the board or without proper individual guidance from a leading expert in the field of crisis. To SUBSCRIBE the Whatsapp broadcast and receive LOTS of Chizuk: Whatsapp a request to: 718-902-6666 To SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AviFishoffTWiSTEDPARENTiNG/videos

“TWiSTED Parenting” is a method developed by Avi Fishoff to guide parents of children in severe crisis. Avi personally trains and guides parents from all over the world. All parents must have their own Daas Torah involved to pasken any shailos that may arise. Avi has many haskamos of leading Gedolim. All services are FREE OF CHARGE. Lessons from this podcast should not be applied across the board or without proper individual guidance from a leading expert in the field of crisis. To SUBSCRIBE the Whatsapp broadcast and receive LOTS of Chizuk: Whatsapp a request to: 718-902-6666 To SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AviFishoffTWiSTEDPARENTiNG/videos

The pasuk says we have a mitzvah to remember Yitziyat Mitzrayim "כל ימי חייך – all the days of our lives." The Chachamim explain the words "ימי חייך" to refer to עולם הזה – This World, and the word "כל" comes to include the Days of Mashiach. The Shem MiShmuel asks: We know that in general the word כל comes to include something additional to the ikar- the main subject. It sounds like Olam Hazeh is the main thing and the Days of Mashiach are subordinate to it. How do we understand this? The Rabbi explained: Hashem in His infinite wisdom brought down our holy neshamot from beneath His Kiseh Hakavod to this lowly world called Olam Hazeh . We are placed in physical bodies, given inclinations towards evil and bad middot . And it is only here, under those conditions that we are able to achieve true closeness to Hashem. It is only by perfecting ourselves amidst the temptations and challenges of this world that we can become deemed worthy of living with Hashem for all eternity. Regarding the Days of Mashiach , however, it says they are "ימים אשר אין להם חפץ" – days in which we will no longer be involved in a battle to choose good over evil. There will no longer be challenges to overcome. That will be the time of reward. Those days are coming very soon, b’ezrat Hashem. But as for now, we still have a chance to get close to Hashem here. There are people who are going through enormous challenges and it is so difficult for them to keep their emunah strong during their difficulty. They would do anything to get out of the challenges. As strange as it sounds, after Mashiach comes, they will wish they had another opportunity to show their emunah in Hashem during a challenge. When they see the value of what it was worth, they’ll beg for another opportunity. Let us not squander it while it is here. A young man told me he had been working so hard to get a certain job. After a lot of hishtadlut and then a long interview, he was rejected. Immediately, he wanted to abandon his Torah learning and his prayers. He felt he had been doing so much to improve and all he wanted from Hashem was this one job that he didn’t get. Another young man told me he was fired from his job, but instead of wallowing in his misery, he told Hashem he’s only going to get stronger in religion, he’s only going to pray even harder to find a new job. Hearing these two episodes so close to each other made me wonder how these two people’s reactions could be so different. I asked the second individual how he was able to be so strong. He told me because he listens to emunah classes every single day. The key to success in any area comes through knowledge. The more a person learns about a subject, the better he’ll be at it. The more a person learns about emunah and the ways that Hashem deals with us in this world, the better equipped he will be to handle life’s challenges. Hashem sends us tests every single day in order for us to grow and get closer to Him and accomplish our purpose here. If we know that in advance, it will be much easier to accomplish. Challenges are opportunities for growth. We don’t ask for them, because we’re afraid we won’t react properly. But once they’re here, we need to use them to get closer to Hashem by maintaining our emunah in His goodness and accepting that whatever He is doing is for the best, while praying as hard as we can for whatever we feel is best for us. Through that, we’ll get closer and closer to Him.

The Daf Yomi from a Psychological Perspective For Mareh Mekomos Click Below An Empty Vessel Makes a Loud Noise סְתָם גּוֹי, אִי אִיתָא דְּאוֹגַר — מִיפְעָא פָּעֵי. The Gemara answers: This is not so, as a typical gentile, if he had rented out his domain, he would chatter about it, and everyone would know. If he has not talked about it, everyone will assume that he did not rent out his domain. This is an unusual statement, made about 3 times in shas. How is this principle used amongst other meforshim and commentaries? שם משמואל חנוכה נ׳ והנה בחג הסוכות אחר שישראל יוצאין זכאין ונרצין מימי ר"ה ויוהכ"פ צריכין לתקן גם עולם העשי' ע"כ נמסר לישראל הרבה מצות מעשיות סוכה ולולב וקרבנות כ"כ מרובין עד שבשבעים פרים שהם מקריבים מתקנין נמי בצד מה את שבעים שרי האומות: ולפי האמור יובן שבשמ"ע שרומז לימות המשיח כדאיתא בספה"ק אין אז מצות מעשיות, לא סוכה ולא לולב ולא קרבנות מרובין אלא פר אחד איל אחד וגו', והוא מעין מ"ש בענין מצות בטילות לעת"ל, וע"כ בכל יום מימי הסוכות שמתקרבין לשמ"ע, והימים מתעלים והולכים, ובכל יום נכנסין בו חסדים מקיפין ופנימים יותר ויותר כידוע בכוונות, ע"כ הפרים שהם כנגד האומות מתמעטים והולכים לעומת שעולם העשי' מתקרב בכל יום יותר להפנימית והוא רמז שבפנימית אין נזקקים כ"כ למצות מעשיות: ולפי האמור יש לפרש דברי זוה"ק הנ"ל דאנן לא יהבינן אלא בחדוותא ובטוב ליבא לתקן את עולם העשי' אחר שיצאנו שמחים וזכאין בדין, וידוע דאומה"ע הם חיצונים ואין בהם ענין פנימי כלל וכבש"ס עירכין סתם גוי מיפעא פעי, ובמה שמתקנים את עולם העשי' נמשך גם להם ברכה, אבל אנן אינן מתכוונין להם אלא מחמת חדוות הלב ורעותא דליבא לתקן את עולם העשי', וזה אתהפיך להם גומרין מלהטן שהרי הם אינם נמשכים רק אחר החיצוניות והחיצוניות הרי מתקרב להפנימית ומשום הכי מתמעט יום אחר יום טובא דלהון: Shem Mishmuel is saying that the secular non-Jewish spirit represents externality without depth. This is why the Gemara states that a gentile cannot keep secrets in the same manner as the Jew. The externality is also represented by the dramatic activities of Succos, the inordinate numbers of sacrifices (70 Bulls) and all the other mitzvos represent an external repair of the world following the high holidays, that is the 70 nations of the world. However the final day, Shemini Azereth, has a single bull sacrifice, and no “noise“ with any other rituals. No Lulav, no esrog, no Succah. This is because it represents the quiet internalization and space of the inner world of the Jew, and why Shemini Azereth is a special yom Tov just for the intimate relationship of the Jews and G-d. This is reminiscent of the Talmudic adage (Bava Metzia 85b): אמר עולא היינו דאמרי אינשי אסתירא בלגינא קיש קיש קריא Ulla said: This explains the adage that people say: A small coin in an empty barrel calls: Kish, kish, i.e., it rattles loudly, whereas a coin in a barrel full of coins is not heard. It is important to meditate on the power of external and dramatic actions, but it must be complemented by deep contemplative inner work. We also can consider the way this relates to other intimate relationships such as husband and wife. At times, we need activities, grand gestures, celebrations etc, but at other times, we can have quiet intimacy with nothing going on but two people seeing each other, in heart and mind.

Parshat Ha'azinu with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Meforshim - Is Matan Torah Alluded to In Shirat Ha'azinu? #2 - Contemporary Meforshim - R. Soloveitchik's Approach to Reward and Punishment #3 - Midrash - Why Do Heaven and Earth Need to Hear What Moshe Says? #4 - Sparks of Chassidus - Historical Sensitivity as a Catalyst for Teshuva - The Remarkable Insight of the Shem MiShmuel #5 - Halacha from the Parsha - Birchos HaTorah: A Divine or Rabbinic Command?  

It would appear that God had the measure of the Jewish people. Despite choosing them to be His nation, He nevertheless recognized that without the inspired leadership and guidance of Moses they would quickly drift “off the reservation”. He said as much to Moses, and warned that He would hide His face from the Jewish people when it happened. But the commentaries all struggle to understand this idea, and particularly with why God repeated that He would hide Himself — twice in two verses, one following the other. Rabbi Dunner wades into this topic, sharing the classic commentaries’ take on this topic, such as Rashi and Ibn Ezra, as well as the slightly different ideas of Ramban and Sforno. To top it all off, Rabbi Dunner takes a look at Haketav Vehakabalah, Shem MiShmuel, and an inspiring piece from the Shela”h Hakadosh.

Someone once told me when her husband was sick in the hospital, he felt so bad that he wasn’t able to serve Hashem the way he was used to. He couldn’t teach, he couldn’t learn, he couldn’t even pray. He was in great need of chizuk to keep his spirits up. There are other people who are sick at home or disabled and they also feel so unaccomplished. They used to be active in chesed or in spreading Torah, helping the masses, and now they are at the mercy of other people helping them. They feel useless. What could we say to give them chizuk ? At one time in his life, the Shem MiShmuel became sick and he was very weak. The doctors told him he was forbidden to learn Torah during that time because the mental energy exerted in his learning would put him in danger. He wrote a letter to his father the Avnei Nezer telling him about his situation. His father replied that at one time in his life the exact same thing happened to him and at that time his father-in-law, the Kotzker Rebbe, gave him tremendous chizuk. He told him it says in parashat Matot, after the Jewish People won the war against Midian, there was a command by Hashem to count up the spoils of war and divide them amongst the people. They were commanded to count sheep, cattle and the little Midianite prisoner girls that were captured in the war. There ended up being 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 32,000 Midianite children. Who was commanded to do the seemingly trivial job of counting flock and little Midianite girls? A job that probably took days, if not weeks, to complete! The pasuk says Hashem commanded Moshe Rabbenu, Elazar HaKohen and the Rosheh Matot HaEdah to do it. And the Torah testifies, ויעש משה ואלעזר ככל אשר צוה 'ה – That Moshe and Elazar followed exactly the instructions they were given by Hashem. This is the same Moshe Rabbenu who was in Shamayim for 40 days and 40 nights like an angel, learning torah directly from Hashem, without eating, without sleeping and now he had to spend hours upon hours counting cattle and little Midianite children. Perhaps Moshe Rabbenu could have said to Hashem, Maybe we should get one of the lower class citizens to do this job? But no, Moshe Rabbenu knows whatever Hashem commands him to do is considered Kodesh Kodeshim , the Holy of Holies. It doesn’t matter if it appears to be less lofty than other services. We are in this world to do whatever Hashem wants us to do, not what we feel is a holy endeavor. Who knows what brings Hashem more satisfaction -listening to him to count animals or listening to Him to do one of the other mitzvot ? Moshe was given the greatest title possible, an Eved Hashem – a servant of Hashem, because a servant does whatever his master asks of him The message to the Avnei Nezer and the Shem MiShmuel was clear. If Hashem wants you to abstain from learning for a certain time, it’s because He knows there are other services required of you now. If Hashem sends a sickness, he wants a person to do his part in becoming healed and if that entails him withholding from certain activities that he was accustomed to doing, then so be it. For a person to accept with love the way Hashem is dealing with him and do whatever he is capable of doing in his avodat Hashem with joy is the greatest thing he could do. In a few moments of serving Hashem with joy when a person is amidst pain, he could accomplish more than hours of avodah when everything is going smoothly. A true Eved Hashem looks at every situation Hashem puts him in and says, “At the moment, this is the way I am meant to serve Hashem and I will make every effort possible to do what I can the best way I know how.”

At the beginning of Parshat Va’etchanan Moses recalls how he prayed to God to allow him entry into the Promised Land, although — sadly — to no avail. Rashi points out that the word Moses uses to describe his prayers — va’etchanan — has its root in the Hebrew word chinam — ‘free’, indicating that rather than relying on his merits and their due as the reason for God to heed his request, Moses asked for an ex gratia gift from God, in Hebrew referred to as ‘matnat chinam’. Rabbi Dunner explores the whole idea of matnat chinam, both with reference to Moses, and in general terms, and shares an insightful piece from the Shem Mishmuel, as well as a delightful story about one of Sir Moses Montefiore’s many visits to the Holy Land, to illustrate how prayer and God’s munificence are intricately bound up with each other, but not necessarily in the way one might expect. https://rabbidunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/PARSHAT-VA%E2%80%99ETCHANAN-2020-%E2%80%93-SOURCE-SHEET.pdf

The Sochatchov Chassidic dynasty holds a special place in Jewish history. As flag bearers of the legacy of Kotzk, they were the elite of Polish Chassidus. In addition, led by the Rebbes of the dynasty, they strove to create a scholarly atmosphere through the building of elite Yeshivas as part of the chassidus. The Avnei Nezer, the Shem Mishmuel and Rav Dovid of Sochatchov were leaders of Polish Jewry and great teachers of Torah at the same time. Their influence reached far beyond the confines of their own followers.  Subscribe To Our Podcast on: Apple: tinyurl.com/yy8gaody Google Play: tinyurl.com/yxwv8tpc Spotify: tinyurl.com/y54wemxs Stitcher: bit.ly/2GxiKTJ Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites You can email Yehuda at YGebss@Gmail.com

This is a rebroadcast of Mishpatim 5778. A powerful teaching from the Shem Mishmuel a favorite teacher of this podcast.

The medieval commentator, Rashi, explains that when Moses saw the Red Sea split, and the Jewish nation saved while the Egyptian army drowned, he made the decision that he would sing a song of gratitude, the first-ever song recorded in Jewish history. Rabbi Avraham Bornstein of Sochatchov, in his Shem Mishmuel commentary, is puzzled by the need for the Torah to say that Moshe made the decision that he ‘would’ do something — it is obvious no one does anything without first deciding to do it. It could therefore quite easily have said: “Az Shar Moshe” – “then Moshe sang”, as opposed to “Yashir”. Rabbi Dunner uses the Shem Mishmuel to explore the concept of prophecy, touching upon the miraculous nature of Moses’ prophetic powers, and how on this occasion those powers extended to the entire nation. Rabbi Dunner also shares some wonderful lessons we can draw from this seemingly meaningless word differential, lessons we can take on in our day-to-day lives.

How Leah inserted herself into a marriage in which she didn't belong, according to the perspective of the Shem MiShmuel.

Why does Balaak bless Israel - and then later in the Torah Moses rebukes Israel?  A midrash and the Shem Mishmuel have a pretty powerful insight.  

A quick deep dive into the weekly sedra parshas Pinchas. Exploring the personality of Pinchas and the connection to Kayin based on the teaching of the Shem MiShmuel. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ahron-wohlgelernter/support

Aaron, the Israelites, Rashi, Midrash Tanchuma, the Shem Mishmuel and the Kotzker teach a lesson about drawing on who you are not in order to be who you are.

Parshat Bechukotai contains the first intensive discussion in the Torah of what appears to be God’s scheme of reward and punishment for those who observe or reject the His commandments. But the first verse of the portion contains a superfluous phrase which Rashi struggles to explain, while the Talmud struggles with the whole notion of reward and punishment during one’s mortal lifetime, suggesting that the benefits of mitzvot only become relevant in the “world to come”. Rabbi Dunner highlights the most significant sources, and shares an enlightening piece from the Shem MiShmuel commentary, which is itself based on a confounding Midrash.

The Shem Mishmuel contrasts the behavior of the priests and the metzora in order to shed light on the spiritual focus of each.

A teaching from the Shem Mishmuel's commentary on the Haggadah. 

The Shem Mishmuel shares a very deep teaching (in the name of the Kotzker Rebbe) that reveals the inner meaning of the opening of Parshat Pekudei.

The Shem Mishmuel compares two terms connected with prophecy and discovers in one of them the essence of spiritual life and commitment - a teaching for the ages. 

Rabbi Shimon makes a comment in the Mishnah that the SHem Mishmuel connects to our Torah portion.  He uses it to explain the inner meaning of the three 'crowns' of the central objects in the sanctuary.  

How can it be that Mishpatim opens by permitting (though limiting) servitude to a people that is just leaving slavery?  The Shem Mishmuel finds in this problematic a very deep teaching that can change how we see one another.  

The Shem Mishmuel takes a redundant clause in the Torah portion and opens it up to find a beautiful insight into living life with purpose.  

The Midrash tells us that Pharaoh escorted the Israelites as they left Egypt.  How could it be that Pharaoh showed them this respect after all the years of enslavement?  The Shem Mishmuel encourages us not to be deceived by Pharaoh's actions, and not to be deceived in our own lives as we pursue spiritual consciousness. 

The Shem Mishmuel has beautiful and life-affirming advice for us. We have to make sure that our hearts are not so covered up with negativity and impurity that we stop feeling.  How do we respond to life's challenges and a world that doesn't seem to care?  What should be our first step? 

The Shem Mishmuel explores the idea that the Israelites could not listen/hear Moses' message of redemption.  What is the spiritual challenge that the Israelites - and we - have to overcome?

In this guest lecture, Rabbi Reichman of Yeshiva University's RIETS, a disciple of Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, ztl, weaves together thoughts by the Shem Mishmuel and Baal Hatanya about negating one's self and being independent, about constancy and variation, about prayer, learning, chesed, and marriage..