Podcasts about tefillah

When Sukkot Doesn't Go as Planned Welcome to Daily Bitachon. We are currently celebrating Sukkos, and it is a very different kind of Sukkos this year due to the heavy rain brought on by a nor'easter. Many people were fortunate enough to get some of their meals in, while very few managed to eat all of them in the sukkah. Most people could not sleep inside, and some even had their sukkahs blown away. So, what should we be feeling right now? What emotion should be in our hearts and minds? Should we feel sad? Should we feel frustrated? Or should we simply tell ourselves, "Well, we just have to be happy because it's Yom Tov— ושמחת בחגך (and you shall rejoice on your festival)" ? What is our attitude truly supposed to be? The Sun, the Sukkah, and the Kick To understand this, we turn to the famous Gemara in Masechet Avodah Zarah (3b). The Gemara describes Hashem judging the nations of the world at the end of days, systematically refuting every argument they present. Finally, Hashem says, "You know what? I will make it easy. I will give you an accessible, inexpensive mitzvah: make a sukkah, and let us see how you do." Everyone goes up to their roofs and builds a sukkah. Hashem then brings out an intensely hot sun, making conditions unbearable. In response, they kick their sukkahs and storm off. The Gemara asks: "Wait a moment— מצטער פטור מן הסוכה (someone who is in distress is exempt from sitting in the sukkah). Why are they faulted?" The Gemara answers: "True, they were exempt, but you do not kick the sukkah on your way out." Kicking signifies anger, irritation, and frustration that things did not go according to plan. That is not the Jewish way. The Jewish approach is: "I walk out with humility. I tried, but my service was not accepted." As the Gemara in Masechet Sukkah teaches, when it rains on Sukkos, it is compared to a servant coming to pour a cup for his master, only for the master to splash the pitcher back in his face. What does the servant feel at that moment? He is humbled: "I wanted to serve my master, but I am unworthy. For reasons known to Him, it was rejected." When you internalize that lesson, you grasp the true essence of Sukkos—humility. You can acquire humility by dwelling in the sukkah, and you can acquire humility by having to leave the sukkah. The objective is to walk away without frustration or resentment, fully humbled, hoping to serve the Master in whichever way He truly desires. Tamar vs. Eishes Potifar: Pure Intentions Under Pressure Rav Wolbe explores this theme through the contrast between Tamar and the wife of Potifar (Eishes Potifar). As Rashi notes, both women acted with what they believed were holy intentions: both foresaw through prophecy or astrology that great lineages would emerge from them. Tamar saw Mashiach ben David, while Eishes Potifar saw Mashiach ben Yosef. Rav Wolbe asks: where, then, lies the difference? The difference emerges when the plan falls apart. Tamar made extraordinary sacrifices. She married Yehudah's first son, and he died. She married the second, and he died. She waited for the third, but was put off. Finally, she devised a discreet, desperate plan: she disguised herself as a harlot so she could bear children through Yehudah himself to build the royal lineage. It worked, and she became pregnant. Yet, after all that effort, just as she was on the verge of fulfilling her holy mission, she was accused of adultery and sentenced to death. She possessed the evidence to clear her name by exposing Yehudah, but she knew that publicly embarrassing someone is forbidden. Rather than forcing her mission through by violating Hashem's will, she remained silent and gave Yehudah the space to step forward on his own. At that critical juncture, she faced an immense test. Human nature would say: "I worked so hard for this holy outcome; I must reveal him to save the mission!" Instead, she recognized that she had reached a boundary. She was willing to perish rather than break the rules, humbly thinking: "I tried my best, it didn't work, and I will submit to Hashem's will." Because her dedication was completely selfless and solely for Hashem's honor, she merited becoming the matriarch of the Davidic dynasty. Eishes Potifar, by contrast, also foresaw that she was destined to bring forth descendants through Yosef who would lead to Mashiach ben Yosef. However, she was unaware of the principle that raising an orphan is considered equivalent to giving birth to them. Seeing no children of her own, she concluded, "It must come through me directly." In reality, that lineage was destined to arrive through her adopted daughter, Asnat bat Potifera. She pursued Yosef relentlessly, but when her plan failed, she did not step back with humility. She grew resentful, became furious that Yosef was thwarting her designs, and threw him into prison. That is the litmus test: how do you react when you are patur (exempted or stopped)? That moment reveals whether you are pursuing Hashem's will or your own agenda. The Meaning of Patur: It Is Not About You Rav Dov Landau shares a moving story about the Chafetz Chaim in his nineties. He was frail and sickly, requiring constant care. One afternoon, his caregivers stepped away and left him unattended so they could catch Mincha. When the Chafetz Chaim found out, he was dismayed: "What are you doing? You are patur! That is not what Hashem wants from you—to abandon a vulnerable person just to say Mincha. Tefillah is not an ego trip; you are halachically exempt right now. Accept that and care for the person, because עוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה (one engaged in a mitzvah is exempt from another mitzvah)." Rabbi Ades offered the exact same guidance to mothers overwhelmed with raising young children and managing their homes who feel guilty when they miss formal prayer: "You are not falling short. You are immersed in a primary mitzvah, and עוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה applies to you. This is what Hashem asks of you right now. Accept your mission with joy." The Chazon Ish addresses this directly in Sefer Emunah u'Bitachon : What is the real engine behind our actions? Is it our personal satisfaction, or is it seeing Hashem's will fulfilled? The answer becomes obvious when we are declared patur . He tells the story of a host who loved having guests for Shabbat. Every Friday night, he would eagerly bring home visitors from shul who needed a meal. One week, the coordinator inadvertently assigned his expected guest to someone else. The host walked home empty-handed. His family was crestfallen, asking, "Where is our guest? Why don't we have one tonight?" The man gently reminded them: "A guest is a human being in need, not a prop for our spiritual fulfillment. The person needed a warm meal, and he received one. That is all that matters. It is not about our satisfaction or fanfare." A similar sentiment is found in the story of a prominent sage visiting another sage who was ill. Sensing that the visitor was treating the visit like a mechanical checklist item, the sick sage wryly observed: "Excuse me, but I am not your etrog." When we perform acts of lovingkindness, the recipient is not merely an object for our personal merits; we are there to serve their genuine needs. If the need is met elsewhere or we are prevented from helping, we step back peacefully. This lesson applies broadly. Consider someone who runs a vital charitable initiative. If another organization arises and performs that service more effectively, the original founder should not harbor resentment or cling to a monopoly on kindness. If the need is met, the mission is achieved. It is not about us. Similarly, as individuals age and can no longer carry the responsibilities they once shouldered, they can take comfort in knowing they have fulfilled their part and are now exempt. Reward for Stepping Aside Returning to Sukkos: this is the mindset we must carry when rain disrupts our holiday. We designed our sukkahs, prepared delicious meals, and hoped to dwell in them fully—yet Hashem decreed otherwise. We became patur . Passing the test of performing a mitzvah is essential, but passing the test of letting go when exempted is equally vital. The Gemara tells of Shimon HaAmsoni, who spent years deriving practical laws from every occurrence of the word et ( את ) in the Torah, which generally serves to amplify or include additional applications. For instance, in "Honor your father and your mother" ( כבד את אביך ואת אמך ), the word et includes one's older brother. Eventually, he arrived at Devarim 10:20: " את ה' אלקיך תירא (You shall fear Hashem your God)." He paused. There is no one who can be equated with the reverence owed to the Almighty. Faced with this theological reality, he abandoned his entire life's thesis on the spot. His students asked, "What will become of all your previous teachings?" He replied: "Just as I received reward for the inquiry ( כשם שקיבלתי שכר על הדרישה ), so too I receive reward for stepping back ( כך אני מקבל שכר על הפרישה )." The same principle was applied to the Netziv when the Russian authorities demanded the inclusion of secular studies in the famed Volozhin Yeshiva. Believing it would compromise the integrity of Torah study, he made the agonizing decision to close the yeshiva's doors. He understood that when Hashem closes a path, standing down is the required service. Finally, when Rav Matisyahu Salomon organized the historic gathering on technology at Citi Field, rain was predicted. When asked if he was worried, he answered simply: "I am not doing this for myself; I am doing this for Hashem. If He desires rain, let there be rain." That is the hallmark of true servitude: throwing yourself fully into your responsibilities, yet stepping aside with deep humility the moment Hashem indicates that the plan belongs to Him.

After Yom Kippur is over and a person's judgment has been sealed, he may find it a little more difficult to pray with the same intensity. He may think, whatever is going to happen this year has already been decided. In the past, we've spoken about how even after the judgment has been sealed, tefillah is still necessary. Even the berachot that Hashem has already decreed for a person require tefillah to bring them down. Furthermore, tefillah is powerful all year long. Even decrees that have already been made can be changed through tefillah. But there's another aspect of tefillah that's even more important. Tefillah is not just a means to get what we need. Tefillah is a great avodah that elevates us. The Me'iri writes that through deep, heartfelt tefillah, a person can achieve טהרת הלב , purification of his heart. In fact, the Torah describes tefillah as an avodah of the heart: " וּלְעָבְדוֹ בְּכָל לְבַבְכֶם — to serve Hashem with all your heart." Rabbi Menashe Reizman asked, how does asking Hashem for our needs purify our hearts? If I need parnassah and I ask Hashem for it, or I need a refuah and I ask Hashem for it, why should that make my heart pure? He brings from the Rishonim that one of the main aspects of the avodah of tefillah is coming to the clear recognition that everything we need is completely dependent upon Hashem. I cannot help myself without Hashem, and nobody else can help me without Hashem. Whatever I need—my health, my parnassah, my family, my success, my protection—is entirely in His hands. When a person stands before Hashem with that recognition and truly humbles himself, that tefillah becomes a tremendous avodah shebalev, and that purifies his heart. The Torah tells us regarding the widow and orphan that when they cry out to Hashem, He listens to their cry. The Ramban asks why Hashem specifically pays such careful attention to the cries of the widow and orphan. He answers that they He answers that the widow and orphan have no reliance upon themselves and therefore they truly turn to Hashem when they pray. Furthermore, when someone is being hurt, he may feel that perhaps his father will help him or another relative will come to his aid. But the widow and orphan know they have no one else to turn to, and therefore when they cry out to Hashem, it is with complete reliance upon Him. Hashem says, so to speak, that cry I pay very careful attention to. A person doesn't have to be a widow or orphan to pray that way. Everyone can recognize how completely dependent he is upon Hashem. A person may have family, money, connections, intelligence and all different kinds of abilities, but none of those things can do anything for him unless Hashem enables them to. David HaMelech was a king. He had wealth, armies and power, yet he said to Hashem, " כִּי עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן אָנִי — I am poor and destitute." David HaMelech understood that all of his power meant nothing without Hashem. When he stood in tefillah, he stood like a pauper who had nothing of his own and needed everything from Hashem. That is an avodah that we can perform every single day of the year, before Yom Kippur and after Yom Kippur. Every time we stand before Hashem, we have another opportunity to ingrain in our hearts: I need You. I can't do anything without You. Everything I have comes from You, and everything I will ever need will only come from You. That kind of tefillah does much more than just bring us what we are asking for. It brings us closer to Hashem. It humbles us before Hashem. It strengthens our bitachon, and it purifies our hearts.

The presence of both the engraved Tablets and the written Torah scroll in the Holy of Holies illustrates how the transcendent, beyond-logic self-nullification of Rosh Hashanah bridges into our daily, rational lives to draw spiritual blessings down into tangible, material reality. The words Teshuvah (return to one's core essence), Tefillah (connection and attachment), and Tzedakah (justice as Hashem's entrusted custodian) simply cannot be translated as repentance, prayer, and charity. Every individual must balance active material contribution (the Kohen Gadol's golden vestments) with pure, unpretentious inward devotion (the simple white linen) to enter their own internal Holy of Holies. This class, taught by Rabbi Shais Taub, is based on Vayelech in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2.

What makes tefillah different from a bracha? A bracha draws down something that already exists Above, like water that is already in a pool and simply needs to be brought somewhere else. Tefillah can accomplish something far greater — “Yehi ratzon,” creating a new Divine will and changing a reality that seemed impossible. This is why Chana's prayer teaches us the true meaning and power of tefillah.Chana was barren, yet she prayed not only for a child, but for a child who would be a tzaddik — even though “Hakol bidei Shamayim chutz miyiras Shamayim.” Her tefillah broke through the barriers of nature and even the normal limitations of Torah. On Rosh Hashanah, when we ask Hashem to renew His Kingship and the world for another year, Chana teaches us how: through kavana, deep devotion, and bitul — opening ourselves completely to Hashem and bringing forth a new ratzon from Above.לקו״ש כט

My apologies for the weak sounding audio. The better voice recorder died in the middle and this is what we have! But Baruch Hashem it was recorded because this one was a fascinating Shiur! We explore the depths on Judging ourselves and others and bring out an incredible lesson from the Tomer Devorah & Tefillah of Mussaf how to have a great judgment this year. K'tiva V'chatima Tovah to all.

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This episode is a speech given by a pre-Selichos Melava Malka discussing the power of Tefillah.

The Living Emunah series has become a treasured source of chizuk for readers around the world, bringing the timeless truths of emunah into everyday life through Torah wisdom, unforgettable stories, and practical guidance. In this episode of Inside ArtScroll, Rabbi Shlomo Landau sits down with Rabbi David Ashear to discuss his newest release, Living Emunah on Tefillah, and the extraordinary gift Hashem has given us through prayer. Rabbi Ashear explores what it means to truly believe in the power of tefillah — to turn to Hashem with our needs, our challenges, and our hopes, knowing that every sincere prayer matters. But the conversation goes even deeper: tefillah is not only about changing our circumstances; it is about changing ourselves. Discover how meaningful davening can strengthen our emunah, deepen our relationship with Hashem, and remind us, in every situation, that we are never alone.

Click this link for the new Living Emunah from Artscroll on Tefillah https://www.artscroll.com/Books/lemtfh.html The month of Elul is a tremendous gift from Hashem. It's an opportunity for us to prepare for a new beginning and attain teshuvah for our past wrongdoings. Hashem does not expect a person to become perfect overnight, but we do have to show that we care. We have to show that we want to grow. And besides for the will, we have to put forth effort. When a person truly wants something in avodat Hashem and does what he can to achieve it, he will often see Hashem giving him siyata d'Shmaya to accomplish things he never would have been able to accomplish otherwise. A young man recently went with his family on vacation to a place he really did not want to go. He never missed a minyan, but where they were staying, the nearest minyan was about a half hour away. Renting a car there wasn't an option, Uber didn't really work, and the only way to get to shul was by taxi. Each ride was going to cost about $60, which meant that to go to Shacharit and back and then Minchah and Arbit and back every day would cost him $240 a day. He tried contacting the local Chabad rabbi to see if maybe there were other Jews staying near him with whom they could make a minyan, but nothing worked out. Finally, he decided, "I'm going to minyan no matter what it costs." A few days into the trip, he received a phone call from a man who said, "I deal in Rolex watches, and I have one at the front desk of the hotel you're staying in. Can you bring it back with you to New York? I'll pay you a few hundred dollars." The young man asked, "How did you even know to call me?" He replied, "The Chabad rabbi gave me your number. He said you're a good guy." The young man agreed and then told the man, "I want you to know, every dollar you're giving me is going toward a mitzvah." He explained how much he was spending every day just to get back and forth to minyan. The man couldn't believe it. He said, "If that's what you're using the money for, then it would be my zechut to pay for every single day." And with that, the young man's taxi expenses to minyan were paid for the entire trip. First, he showed Hashem how much he wanted to do the mitzvah. Then he was willing to sacrifice for it, and Hashem took care of the rest. Another man told me that he took it upon himself to make sure people in shul were wearing their tefillin properly. He noticed that so many people had their tefillin falling below the proper place on the hairline, so he learned how to adjust the straps. Over the course of a year, he fixed between 200 and 300 pairs of tefillin. A few months ago, he started feeling different when he would pray. Day after day, he felt something was missing. He didn't feel the same connection to Hashem, and it was spilling over into the rest of his day. This continued for weeks. One day, he didn't have his tefillin with him and borrowed a pair from his friend. That day, suddenly, he felt so much better. The next day, he went back to his own tefillin, and once again things didn't feel right. It occurred to him that maybe there was something wrong with his tefillin. He brought them to his sofer, and indeed, it was discovered that his tefillin were pasul. He said, "I could have gone my entire life without ever knowing my tefillin were pasul." But he went out of his way to help hundreds of other Jews with the mitzvah of tefillin, and then Hashem gave him the extraordinary siyata d'Shmaya to discover the problem with his own. Another man said he went away with his family for a couple of weeks this summer. When they arrived, they discovered that the local shul prayed much later than they were accustomed to, and on Shabbat they would reach the Amidah only after the zman tefillah. This bothered the man very much because he was always careful to pray within the proper zman. He spent the first several days of his vacation searching for another minyan. The possibilities were miles away, but it was so important to him that he kept trying to find a solution. That Friday morning, he was sitting in the shul near his house when suddenly a man walked in and asked, "By any chance, could you join us for a minyan tomorrow morning that will be praying within the zman?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The man explained that six of them had just arrived from out of town and were looking to put together an early minyan. Suddenly, the minyan this man had been searching for was right down the block from his house. The following Shabbat, those people had left, and once again he had the same problem. He prayed to Hashem and hoped that somehow he would be able to make the zman again. Amazingly, that next Friday, another group arrived in town, staying in a different house—again, six people. Together with some people from his own family and a neighbor, they were once again able to make a minyan within the zman. This is a powerful lesson for the month of Elul. We may look at ourselves and see that a lot needs improving. Sometimes we may wonder, how am I going to change? It's too hard. But Hashem doesn't ask us to do everything ourselves. He wants us to show Him that we truly want to grow, and He wants us to put forth our best effort. When someone says, "Hashem, I want to do this. I'm going to try. I'm going to sacrifice. I'm going to do what I can," then hopefully Hashem will give him the siyata d'Shmaya he needs to accomplish it in the best way.

Click this link for the new Living Emunah from Artscroll on Tefillah https://www.artscroll.com/ Books/lemtfh.html The process of Shidduchim can be very difficult. There could be long periods of waiting, suggestions that seem to go nowhere, and times when a person wonders how the right Shidduch will ever come about. But there is something very comforting to always remember. The Yad Hashem is so prevalent when it comes to Shidduchim. Hashem is involved not only in bringing the right people together, but also in making sure that it happens at exactly the right time. A young man got married at the age of 30 to a girl in her 20s. They came from completely different backgrounds, to the point that one would have never imagined such a match being made. Yet when they finally met, things progressed very quickly, and Baruch Hashem, they got married and are very happy together. It turned out that this same Shidduch had been suggested two years earlier, and at that time the boy's mother was so taken aback by the difference in backgrounds that she immediately said no. A year after the wedding, the young man was sitting together with his wife and mother when the subject came up. He said, "Ma, why did you say no two years ago? You caused me two extra years of agony. We could have been married that entire time." His wife immediately interjected. "No, you don't understand," she said. "If this would have been suggested to me two years ago, I never would have agreed to it. So many things happened to me during those two years that completely changed my perspective. Only when the Shidduch was suggested at this time was I ready to consider someone from such a different background." What appeared to be a missed opportunity was actually Hashem's perfect timing. The Shidduch was there all along, but it had to wait until the perfect moment when both sides were ready for it. Hashem also has endless ways of bringing two people together, even people whose paths would seemingly never cross. There's a rabbi in a girls' school who started exercising a couple of years ago because his doctor said he needed to stay in shape. Someone helping the rabbi got him a trainer, and this trainer sometimes works with two people at once. For more than a year, the rabbi regularly trained alongside a certain young man. Over that time, he had an opportunity to see this boy up close. He saw his fine middot, his character, and that he was a true ben Torah. Eventually, when one of the girls from his school was ready for Shidduchim, the rabbi thought of this boy. Based on their different backgrounds and circles, it was a match that ordinarily would never have been suggested. But because Hashem arranged for this rabbi to exercise alongside this young man for more than a year, he knew who the boy really was. He suggested the Shidduch, and Baruch Hashem, the two were perfect for each other and are now happily married. Sometimes Hashem will even use a mistake to bring couples together. A boy was suggested to a girl who was just starting out in Shidduchim. She found out that the boy was a few months younger and was hesitant to proceed. She wanted someone older and more mature. But she was encouraged not to reject such a good suggestion over a couple of months. So she agreed to go out, and Baruch Hashem, they saw that they were perfect for each other and eventually got engaged. Only afterward did the families discover something amazing. The boy wasn't a few months younger. He was almost a full year younger. How did everyone get the age wrong? The Shadchan who suggested it was Israeli, and the date of the boy's birthday was misunderstood because dates are written differently in Israel and America. For example, imagine the girl's birthday was December 15, 2002, and the boy's was December 3, 2003. In Israel, his birthday would be written 3-12-03, meaning December 3. But read the American way, that same date means March 12, 2003. Instead of knowing that the boy was almost a year younger, the Shadchan thought he was less than three months younger. By the time they discovered the mistake, the girl already knew that this boy was perfect for her and that the concerns she had were not concerns at all. Hashem made it that the Shadchan for this particular couple had to be Israeli because He knew exactly what was necessary to bring the Shidduch about. When it comes to Shidduchim, we never have to figure out how it's going to happen. We don't have to worry that maybe the right person won't be suggested or maybe an opportunity will be missed. Hashem knows exactly how to bring people together. He knows when to bring them together. And when the time is right, He makes it happen. And if a person needs to wait, that's also Yad Hashem. Knowing that Hashem is involved in every single detail can give us a calmer feeling, even though the process itself may be difficult.

Click this link for the new Living Emunah from Artscroll on Tefillah https://www.artscroll.com/ Books/lemtfh.html This week's parasha opens up with the words, "כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך – when you go out to war against your enemy." The Zohar HaKadosh writes that אויבך-your enemy is referring to the יצר הרע – our evil inclination which means the Torah is calling our struggle with the evil inclination a war. Sometimes people get down on themselves because they always have to struggle to do anything proper in religion. "Nothing is ever easy," they say, and they feel like that means that Hashem doesn't want their service. Others get down because they feel that they are so evil. "Why can't we be happy for other people's good fortune?" They think to themselves, or, "Why is it so hard for us to forgive people?" We must internalize the fact that everybody is created with an evil inclination and it is that inclination which enables us to bring glory to Hashem. The Mabit writes there would be no kavod (glory) to Hashem if we only had our pure neshama that wants to do good all the time. All of the glory comes when we subdue that evil inclination and serve Hashem despite the pull the other way. We should not feel down when we have inclinations towards evil. We should feel excited at our opportunity to bring glory to Hashem by overcoming them. The sefer Nafshi Cholat Ahavatcha uses this Mabit to give us chizuk when it comes to praying. Many times the yetzer hara gets us to not pay attention to what we're saying when we're praying. And even when we try hard and extra hard to focus our minds, our minds still manage to somehow wander and we become frustrated. The natural tendency of a person in that situation would be to just stop trying and say to himself, "It's not helping anyway so why should I bother?" And even if a person does manage to want to make an attempt after he failed, the yetzer hara tells him, "Now you're going to start concentrating? You already messed up most of the prayer. Of what value is it now to have kavana for just one paragraph?" We must think to ourselves, it's exactly the opposite. Because it has been so difficult to concentrate, that is precisely why every word that we do concentrate upon afterward is so precious. That is what brings all the glory to Hashem. Hashem has so much satisfaction when we battle this inclination and then we overcome it. There is no glory in a computer being able to know the meaning of the words, because that's what it's programmed to do. But for a person who has so many thoughts flying through his mind and still manages to focus on some of the words he's praying to Hashem, that is extremely valuable. We should never underestimate the value of concentrating on even one word of the tefila. As the Chovot HaLevavot says, what might seem to be small in our eyes is very big in the eyes of Hashem. For someone who is jealous of his friend's successes and he cries to Hashem for help because he wants to improve in his middot and he works on himself and he reads sefarim that help him with those middot and finally after months, or even years, he is able to be happy for another person, that is where all the glory is because he did battle and he overcame that terrible, evil inclination. If someone feels his inclinations are so evil, and he says to himself, "I'm such a bad person," he is not understanding it properly. It just means he has a greater opportunity to serve Hashem by overcoming it. We are in constant battle with this yetzer hara, but that's the will of Hashem for us, to go to war against it, to do our best to overcome it and if we're fighting hard, we'll merit the continuation of the pasuk, "ונתנו ה' אלוקיך בידך – Hashem will help us beat him." Don't get down, don't feel bad when you have those inclinations. Fight them. Do your best. Every victory is so precious and brings such glory to Hashem. Shabbat Shalom.

The Shofar Is a Tefillah (Elul 5786)

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Eshet Chayil 235

Moshe's Hesped for Aharon teaches us an important lesson.

Welcome to the Mikvah Prep Meditations Podcast, a three-part series exploring how Hisbonenus in Tefillah and meditative Torah concepts can infuse calm into the Mikvah experience.In this episode, Zeesy Deren, a Shlucha in South Africa and educator, discusses the intersection of Jewish mindfulness and meditation, explaining how practices rooted in Chassidus and Tanya can help women regulate their minds and bodies. She shares practical tools for incorporating intentional breathing and kavana into daily life, tefila, and the mikvah experience, arguing that this "G-dfulness" elevates everyday actions into meaningful spiritual moments

Welcome to the Mikvah Prep Meditations Podcast, a three-part series exploring how Hisbonenus in Tefillah and meditative Torah concepts can infuse calm into the Mikvah experience.Imagine if the Mikvah could be more than something to get done — if it could become a moment of meaning, calm, and connection.In this episode, Devora Goldberg, MBSR mindful coach, guides us to slow down, breathe, and rediscover the soul within the Mikvah experience. She not only shares insights but gives us a gentle taste of what mindfulness at the Mikvah can feel like.Stay until the end — it's truly beautiful. Download Devora's free pre-Mikvah meditation: Mikvah MeditationDevora Goldberg's work is endorsed by Rabbi Rotenberg  To reach Devora directly or bring her to your next Mikvah event, email deegoldberg@gmail.com.Podcast Summary: This episode of the Mikvah.org podcast, part of the Mikvah and Meditation series, features Devorah Goldberg, an MBSR-certified mindful transformation coach and founder of Release To Relax Mindful Meditations. The series aims to enhance the mikvah experience by combining Torah concepts with calming meditation, with all meditations reviewed by a rabbi to ensure alignment with Torah principles.MBSR, or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, is a practice of mindful-based techniques designed to help people rewire stress hormones and stress responses, drawing on the teachings of Dr. Joe Dispenza and Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn. The word "meditation" means "to become familiar with," and in Devorah's practice this means becoming familiar with one's inner self, or neshama. In her work, she focuses participants on something holy, noting that the Tanya itself references meditating on the greatness of Hashem. She also highlights that the Hebrew word for breath, "neshima," shares the same letters as "neshama," making breath-focused meditation spiritually meaningful. Meditations can be as short as five minutes, addressing the common objection of not having enough time.On the topic of mikvah specifically, Devorah observes that the experience often becomes mechanical, reduced to checklists and timing, and that her free mikvah meditation, called "Mindful Torah," aims to help women move beyond this and bring deeper meaning to their immersion. Mikvah.org also has a book called "Mikvah Meditations" and is developing it into a full meditation series. The broader point made is that while the mitzvah is performed regardless of one's depth of understanding, meditation brings Torah concepts not just cerebrally into the mind but somatically into the body.Regarding mikvah-related OCD and anxiety, Devorah clarifies that meditation is not a quick fix but a tool that helps in the moment and builds skills over time. OCD can manifest as intrusive thoughts, constant checking, reassurance-seeking, doubt, and avoidance behaviors. In a meditative state, the mind rests while the body enters full relaxation through activation of the pineal gland and vagus nerve, and the person is guided through a visualization offering a different reality from their OCD loop. Sessions are customized and typically 35 to 45 minutes, with clients generally needing only a few before developing their own tools. Meditation works in tandem with other therapeutic modalities and is not a replacement for them.The episode includes a live guided meditation covering breath awareness, full-body relaxation using star imagery, and releasing held pain or limiting beliefs through breath and visualization. The conversation also touches on how meditation supports women in tuning into their monthly cycle, with menstruation described as a built-in invitation to slow down and receive, aligned with the Kabbalistic concept of women as vessels. Devorah's closing message is that every person carries an inner gift that can be activated through breath to calm the nervous system and work through challenges one step at a time.

Welcome to the Mikvah Prep Meditations Podcast, a three-part series exploring how Hisbonenus in Tefillah and meditative Torah concepts can infuse calm into the Mikvah experience.In this episode, we are joined by Mrs. Mushka Krasnjansky, founder of Little Lights. Along with this insightful conversation, we are excited to share five guided meditation recordings by Mikvah.org for the public's use, which you can listen to directly following the episode.The Mikvah.org recordings are endorsed by Rabbi Chaikin, and Mrs. Krasnjansky's impactful work at Little Lights carries the endorsement of Rabbi Kessler, Rosh Kollel of New Haven.Enjoy the episode!

Rivkie Melamud, Teacher and Podcast host of "Tefillah, your personal Connection" discusses our personal connection to Shmona Esrei through Chassidus.Help make classes like this happen!https://livingchassidus.org/donate/

Eshet Chayil 222

One of the greatest gifts Hashem has given us is the ability to speak to Him. A person can turn to Hashem at any moment, from any place, and ask for His help. Sometimes we pray for ourselves, and sometimes we pray for others. When we pray for others, we may never get to see what our tefillot have accomplished. We say a few words, shed a few tears, and then move on with our lives. But we must know how valuable every tefillah is. Sometimes Hashem allows us to see just how powerful one heartfelt tefillah can be. A rabbi related the following story, which he heard directly from the man to whom it happened. One evening at around 7:30 in Bnei Brak, there was a knock at a man's door. Anyone with a large family can imagine what a home looks like at that hour. Children everywhere, the house bustling, everyone busy. He opened the door and saw a man standing there. "Mazal Tov," the visitor said. "I just had a baby girl." "Mazal Tov," the man replied, but he was confused. He barely knew the person standing at his door and couldn't understand why he had come. The visitor then asked if he could come in for a few minutes. After sitting down, he said, "I want to take you back about nine months, to Simchat Torah. "I had been married for eighteen years without children. Most of the time I managed, but Simchat Torah was especially painful for me. Everywhere I looked, fathers were dancing with their children. I felt I couldn't take it anymore. I decided I was not going to pray in my regular shul that day. Instead, I went to a different shul where you happened to be praying. "I was sitting by myself there, and you came over to me and asked why I was sitting. You then told me to gather up my children and go dance with everyone. "I answered you sharply. I told you that I had specifically come to this shul because I couldn't bear watching everybody celebrate with their children when I didn't have any. I felt like you had poured salt on my open wound. "You may not have realized it, but after our conversation, I watched you walk over to the Aron Kodesh. You started crying out to Hashem, saying, 'Ribbono Shel Olam, why did I just say that? Why did I speak that way? What did I do? Please help this man. Please send him a yeshuah.'" The man had no idea that anything had come from that tefillah. The visitor continued, "You didn't know my name. You didn't know my story. You knew nothing about me. You simply stood there and begged Hashem to help me, with tears streaming down your face. "Before Sukkot, we had just received results from a major specialist telling us there was virtually no chance we would ever have children. But from Motzaei Simchat Torah until now, everything changed. "Today, after eighteen years of marriage, my first child, a baby girl, was born. You are the very first person I came to tell. I wanted you to know that your tefillah helped bring this yeshuah." Look at how valuable even a short tefillah can be. A person may think that a few words spoken to Hashem cannot possibly make a difference, but they can. This man wasn't even asked to pray. He didn't know any details. He simply felt the pain of another Jew. And when he realized that he may have added to that pain, he ran to the Aron Kodesh and cried out from the depths of his heart. Nine months later, Hashem showed him what those words accomplished. We never know what one sincere tefillah can accomplish. We never know how much can be achieved when we pray for another person with genuine care. Every tefillah matters. Every tear is counted. And sometimes Hashem allows us a glimpse into the incredible power of our words.

#482> To purchase "The Making of the Siddur": https://amzn.to/4dYUdWG>Episode sponsored by Tehillim Unveiled podcast: Apple Podcasts: https://itl.ink/LechuNeranenaApple, Spotify: https://itl.ink/LechuNeranenaSpotify> For update and bonus content: https://qrl.is/Tehillim> Episode sponsored by Mordechai and Michal Neuman in memory of their parents Shimon ben Michoel, Rachel bas Avraham, Dovid ben Shmuel, and Tzirel Mindel bas Pesachya> To join the SeforimChatter WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/DZ3C2CjUeD9AGJvXeEODtK> To join the SeforimChatter WhatsApp status: https://wa.me/message/TI343XQHHMHPN1>  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

Full TorahAnytime Lecture Video or Audio More classes from R' Meir Simcha Sperling ⭐ 2,621

#481> To purchase "The Making of the Siddur": https://amzn.to/4dYUdWG> Episode sponsored by Tehillim Unveiled podcast: Apple Podcasts: https://itl.ink/LechuNeranenaApple, Spotify: https://itl.ink/LechuNeranenaSpotify> For update and bonus content: https://qrl.is/Tehillim> Episode sponsored by Mordechai and Michal Neuman in memory of their parents Shimon ben Michoel, Rachel bas Avraham, Dovid ben Shmuel, and Tzirel Mindel bas Pesachya> To join the SeforimChatter WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/DZ3C2CjUeD9AGJvXeEODtK> To join the SeforimChatter WhatsApp status: https://wa.me/message/TI343XQHHMHPN1>  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

One of the great ploys of the Yetzer Hara is to make people forget how powerful tefillah really is. A person prays, but deep down he may already feel trapped by his situation. He says the words, but the fire and confidence are missing. Very often, the yeshuah is already prepared and waiting. The person simply needs to awaken within himself and truly believe in the power of speaking to Hashem. Sometimes Hashem sends a person a reminder — perhaps a memory, a story, or a moment of inspiration — to reignite his belief in tefillah so that he will finally cry out properly from the depths of his heart. In the sefer He'emanti Va'asapera, there is a story about Eliezer, a man whose housewares business was collapsing. Every evening he would lower the shutters on his store feeling crushed by stress and worry. Customers were disappearing, profits were shrinking, and it was becoming painfully clear that his business was nearing its end. One night, as he prepared to close the store, something suddenly stopped him. A memory came flooding back from forty years earlier. As a young man living in London, Eliezer had desperately wanted to learn in Eretz Yisrael, but his family did not have the means to send him. One night he saw his father crying while saying Tehillim. The next day his father explained that he had been begging Hashem to somehow help him pay for his son's expenses so he could go learn Torah in Eretz Yisrael. Then something unbelievable happened. The next morning, completely out of character, his father bought a scratch-off ticket and won exactly the amount they needed. Within days, Eliezer was on his way to yeshivah in Eretz Yisrael. Now, forty years later, sitting alone in his darkened store, Eliezer suddenly understood the message. His father's salvation had come through heartfelt tefillah, and now Hashem was reminding him of that lesson for himself. He realized that sighing was not going to help him. Worrying was not going to save his business. He needed to truly pray from the depths of his heart. He took out a Tehillim and began pouring out his heart to Hashem. It was not a quick tefillah. It was not distracted words, but rather real tefillah. He sat there for over an hour crying, pleading, and speaking honestly to Hashem. Then suddenly there was a knock at the door. A stranger stood outside insisting that he urgently needed to come in. Eliezer almost sent him away, upset that someone was interrupting such a powerful moment of tefillah. But the man pleaded with him to listen. He explained that he managed a brand-new hall that was about to open. He had been planning to meet wholesalers over the coming weeks to buy dishes and silverware, but suddenly he discovered that he urgently had to fly overseas. He needed to purchase everything immediately before leaving. Eliezer showed him the merchandise that he had in his store. The man quickly chose what he wanted and ordered seven hundred complete sets of dishes, cups, and silverware — the largest order Eliezer had ever received in his life. In that one visit, he received an entire year's worth of revenue. The profits from that deal saved his business. Then it all became clear. Why had this customer arrived specifically then? Why didn't he go to another store? Because every other store was closed. Eliezer was only there because he had stayed back to pray. The salvation had already been set into motion. The customer had already been sent. The order was already waiting to be made. But Eliezer needed the reminder from his father's story to awaken him to the power of tefillah so that he would cry out the right way for the yeshuah to reach him. Sometimes people become so busy worrying, calculating, panicking, and searching everywhere else that they forget the greatest power they possess — the ability to stand before מלך מלכי המלכים and pour out their hearts. The Yetzer Hara works overtime to weaken a person's belief in tefillah because once a person truly believes that Hashem is listening, his tefillah takes on an entirely new dimension and becomes an uplifting avodah. The greatest chizuk we can have is knowing that Hashem is here. He is listening. He is arranging. He is preparing. He is orchestrating every detail. Sometimes our salvation is already waiting, and all Hashem wants is for us to remember Who we are speaking to — and to speak the right way.

Rivkie Melamud, Teacher and Podcast host of "Tefillah, your personal Connection" discusses our personal connection to Shmona Esrei through Chassidus.Help make classes like this happen!https://livingchassidus.org/donate/

Rabbi Weinreb every Sunday morning at 10am

5786Wednesday's Topic:Psalm 119אותיות של עוז: אמונה בזמן מלחמה ושלוםLetters of Strength: Faith in a Time of War and Peace

In this episode, Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe and I explore one of the deepest questions in Judaism: what is tefillah actually doing? If Hashem already knows everything, why do we need to ask? Does prayer change reality, change us, or both? We discuss why tefillah was built into creation itself, why structured prayer matters, how hishtadlus and bitachon fit together, and what it means when tefillos seem unanswered. If you've ever struggled to connect to davening or wanted a deeper understanding of what Chazal believed tefillah truly is, this conversation will fundamentally reshape how you think about prayer.Join the Conversation! Be part of our growing community—join the Shema Podcast for the Perplexed WhatsApp group to share feedback, discuss episodes, and suggest future topics. Click here to sign up.

The Mahari"l writes that when a person prays at the kever of a tzadik, since it is a place of holiness and spiritual purity, the tefillot there are more readily accepted. The Mateh Ephraim adds that even a Kohen, who is not permitted to approach the kever, can still connect to that holiness by standing at a distance from where he can see it and pray from there. Tefillah is always powerful, but there are times and places where it has an added strength. The day of the yahrzeit of a tzadik at his kever is especially מסוגל for tefillah. The Midrash says in Parashat Vezot HaBerachah that if we had known the burial place of Moshe Rabbeinu, we would have prevented the destruction of the first Bet HaMikdash through our tefillot there. The Ben Ish Chai explains that when a person goes to a kever of a tzadik, there are two proper ways to pray. He can ask Hashem to help him in the merit of the tzadik, or he can ask that the neshama of the tzadik should pray to Hashem on his behalf. But the tefillah is always directed only to Hashem, because He alone has the power to fulfill our requests. The tzadik is not the source of the yeshuah—he is a מליץ יושר , an advocate. Throughout the generations, people have received incredible yeshuot through their tefillot at kivrei tzadikim. But the foundation of it all is still tefillah—pouring out one's heart to Hashem. I heard a remarkable story from Rabbi Heller, told to his mother by the daughter of the man it happened to. Her father fought in the Yom Kippur War, and at one point it seemed certain that he would not survive. At that moment, he made a neder to Hashem that if his life would be spared, he would move his family to the north of Israel and build up a place of Torah and mitzvot. Miraculously, he survived. After the war, he realized how difficult that commitment would be and went to his rabbi to perform hatarat nedarim. The rabbi told him that perhaps it was in the merit of that very neder that Hashem had saved him, and it would not be proper to undo it. The man accepted this and moved his family—his wife and three daughters—to the north. They settled in an abandoned home on Moshav Meron, high above the kever of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Life there was extremely simple. They bought a cow and lived off its milk, trading it for eggs and other necessities. The man would go often to the kever of Rabbi Shimon and pour out his heart in tefillah. In those days, few people came, and he would spend long periods there alone, feeling a deep connection as he spoke to Hashem in that holy place. One day, his wife became very ill with typhus, and he brought her to a hospital in Tiveria. She remained there for months. The man faced a painful challenge—he wanted to be with his wife, but he also had daughters at home. Travel was extremely difficult, yet every day he made the journey back and forth to be there for both. The hospital staff was amazed at his devotion. One morning, after sending his daughters to school, he went to a phone booth to call the hospital. He sensed something was wrong. The doctor came on the line and told him the truth—his wife was in her final moments. There was no point in rushing, he said, because he would not make it in time. The man hung up the phone and burst into tears. He walked up the road and saw the kever of Rabbi Shimon. He stopped and cried out, "Please, Rabbi Shimon, pray to Hashem to save my wife." He begged and then said, "If there is a harsh decree on our family, please ask Hashem to take our cow instead." With that, he ran to catch transportation to the hospital, but on the way someone stopped him and told him that his cow had just died. The man was elated. When he got to the hospital, the doctor hugged him and said, "It's a miracle—your wife is alive." He then told him something astonishing. At the time of the phone call, his wife had already passed—there was no pulse. They were about to cover her with a sheet, but the nurse said they should wait until he arrived. A couple of minutes later, they heard her coughing, and then she called out for a cup of water. This is a modern-day story of techiyat hametim in the merit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Tefillah is always wondrous and at Kivrei Tzadikim, it's even better.

We cannot begin to imagine how great and powerful our tefillot are. It says in the Tanna D'Bei Eliyahu Zutah, Perek Vav, that Hashem told Moshe, "You will not be able to understand My ways, but I will tell you something about Me." When I see a person stand up to pray before Me, say words of praise, and then beg for help—even if that person does not have good deeds, and his parents do not have good deeds, and even his grandparents do not have good deeds—just because he asked Me properly, I will help him. And if a person prays with true kavanah, the tefillah becomes infinitely greater. The Ya'avetz writes that a person must know how his tefillah can find favor in Hashem's eyes. The main focus should be on the Amidah. If a person says it with the simple meaning of the words in mind, it is more pleasing to Hashem than any type of korban. And the more a person's heart is in it, the more powerful the tefillah becomes. He writes further that tefillah with kavanah has the power to silence all of the prosecuting angels. The Shelah HaKadosh explains that having kavanah means not thinking about anything else while we are praying, and to feel happiness that we are connecting to Hashem as we speak to Him. When a person reaches that level, it is considered such a great avodah that it is beyond what we can even describe. And all of this is speaking about tefillah during regular times. A tefillah made during an et ratzon—a special time of favor—is even more powerful. A certain man once came to the holy Rabbi Moshe of Rozvodov, asking for a yeshuah for something he needed very badly. The Rabbi told him to come back on Lag B'omer, because then it would be an et ratzon—a time of great favor before Hashem—and it would be more fitting to receive salvation in the merit of the Tanna Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. He brought a hint from a pasuk: " לבי ובשרי ירננו אל א-ל חי ." לבי —after thirty-two days, which brings us to the thirty-third day. ובשרי —stands for Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. ירננו —referring to tefillah. אל א-ל חי —to the living Hashem. On this day, the Zohar writes, the heavenly gates are wide open. The Arizal teaches that on this day, judgments are sweetened—din turns into rachamim. It is a day of great divine favor. On this day, the lights in Shamayim begin to shine in preparation for the awesome day of Matan Torah. The Chatam Sofer says that on this day, the Jewish people began eating the mann, the heavenly food that elevated them and prepared them to receive the Torah. One of the reasons we light fires on this day is to show that the lights in Shamayim are beginning to shine—seventeen days( טוב ) before Matan Torah. In the Sefirot, Lag BaOmer is Hod she'b'Hod, which has a connection to the holiness of Yom Kippur. Throughout the generations, people have received great salvations on this day. Tefillah is always powerful, but on days of et ratzon, it is even more powerful. Let us take advantage of this special time and pray with more kavanah, understanding that Hashem is right in front of us, listening to every word. He can help us with any need that we have, and we do not need anyone but Him. Let us feel calm, knowing we are standing before the only One who can help us, and He is giving us His full attention, waiting for us to ask Him for all of our needs.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.

Rabbi Gordon studies one chapter a day from Maimonides' classic legal work of Mishneh Torah. The original Hebrew text is read and then translated and clearly explained in English.