Two Sides to Every “Thank You”
Two Sides to Every “Thank You” וַיַּעַן אַבְרָהָם, וַיֹּאמַר: הִנֵּה-נָא הוֹאַלְתִּי לְדַבֵּר אֶל-אֲדֹנָי, וְאָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר. (בְּרֵאשִׁית יח:כז) 27 And Abraham answered and said: 'Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD, who am but dust and ashes. Many times somebody does something for you and in [...]
A Wake up Call From A Friend
וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָם, כִּי נִשְׁבָּה אָחִיו; וַיָּרֶק אֶת-חֲנִיכָיו יְלִידֵי בֵיתוֹ, שְׁמֹנָה עָשָׂר וּשְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת, וַיִּרְדֹּף, עַד-דָּן. (בְּרֵאשִׁית יד:יד) And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan. (Bereishis 14:14) The [...]
No Pain, No Gain
בְּרֵאשִׁית ו:יט וּמִכָּל-הָחַי מִכָּל-בָּשָׂר שְׁנַיִם מִכֹּל, תָּבִיא אֶל הַתֵּבָה לְהַחֲיֹת אִתָּךְ... בְּרֵאשִׁית ז:ב מִכֹּל הַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּהוֹרָה, תִּקַּח-לְךָ... Bereishis 6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shall be brought into the ark, to keep them alive with you... 7:2 Of every clean beast you shall take [...]
Resolve or Dissolve
Regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Hashem commanded Adam Harishon “...not to eat of it; for on the day you eat of it, you shall surely die.” To me, this seems to indicate that this would be an immediate punishment—Adam would take a bite and would [...]
The Power Of Belief
The Medrash tells us that immediately after Yom Kippur we are supposed to be in a festive mode and that we are to eat with simcha because we can be certain that the process of teshuva was successful. Obviously we understand that there is no guarantee, and there have been [...]
The Power Of Belief
The Power Of Belief The Medrash tells us that immediately after Yom Kippur we are supposed to be in a festive mode and that we are to eat with simcha because we can be certain that the process of teshuva was successful. Obviously we understand that there is no guarantee, [...]
Empowerment by G-d is Truly Humbling
Rabbeinu Yona in Shaarei Teshuva (paragraphs 24 and 25) discusses the components necessary for teshuva (repentance): One must have hachna’a (submissiveness) and shiflus (humility), and must serve Hashem “b’tznaya” (modesty) - and then he explains this in detail. The question is, what does modesty have to do with repentance? When [...]
You Are Standing
You Are Standing today (Devarim 29:9) Chazal ask why is it necessary to mention the obvious that “you are standing here today…”? They answer that being that Klal Yisrael just heard the awesome responsibility of their obligation to keep the mitzvos, Moshe Rabbeinu pointed out “Don’t worry! You are doing [...]
אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם
אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם (דְּבָרִים כט:ט) מפני מה הוצרך משה רבינו להצהיר לבני ישראל את המובן מאליו, שהם עומדים היום מול הקב"ה ? עונים חז"ל, שמטרתו היתה לחזק אותם בפרט לאור המשימה הכבירה שעכשיו קיבלו (שמירת כל המצוות). בעמדינו לפני יום הדין, יש מאיתנו שחשים באימת הדין וגודל האחריות המוצבת מולינו. אולי [...]
First Things First
The Medrash Tanchuma says that Moshe Rabbeinu saw that bikurim would cease to be brought because of the chorbon Beis Hamikdash, and therefore he instituted davening Shacharis, Mincha and Maariv. The obvious question is: What is the connection between bikurim and davening?! There are those who answer as the Mishneh [...]
…אבל לפני שנתחיל
במדרש תנחומא מצאנו רעיון מענין. מובא שם שמשה רבינו צפה ברוח הקודש שעתיד בית המקדש להיחרב, וכתוצאה מכך ייפסקו הביכורים. לשם כך, אומר המדרש, תיקן משה רבינו את שלשת התפילות של היום. אפילו אם נשים בצד את הגמרא בברכות שמתלבטת גם למקורם של התפילות – ומסיקה שנתקנו כנגד הקרבנות שבטלו [...]
A Punch in the Stomach vs. Punch in the Stomach
...a Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of Hashem...because of the fact that they did not greet you with bread and water on the road when you were leaving Egypt; and because he hired against you Bilaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Aram-naharaim, to curse you. (Devarim [...]
שיקולים בתקציב
לֹא-יָבֹא עַמּוֹנִי וּמוֹאָבִי, בִּקְהַל ה'...עַל-דְּבַר אֲשֶׁר לֹא-קִדְּמוּ אֶתְכֶם, בַּלֶּחֶם וּבַמַּיִם, בַּדֶּרֶךְ, בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרָיִם; וַאֲשֶׁר שָׂכַר עָלֶיךָ אֶת-בִּלְעָם בֶּן-בְּעוֹר, מִפְּתוֹר אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם--לְקַלְלֶךָּ. (דברים כג:ד-ה) הפסוק מביא שתי סיבות לסירוב קבלתם של מואבים ועמונים לתוך קהל ד'. המגיד מדובנא שואל את הקושיה המתבקשת על שני חסרונות אלו. למה מתחיל הפסוק עם "חטא" [...]
Unquestionable Faith, Unquestionable Uncertainty
תָּמִים תִּהְיֶה, עִם ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ (דברים יח:יג) Thou shalt be whole-hearted with the LORD thy G-d (Devarim 18:13) The Torah demands of us to have simple faith in what HaKadosh Baruch Hu does. We live in a time when people find it difficult to trust one another in all matters [...]
Reliving Our History
When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying: 'What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? (Devarim 6:20) Rav Shamshon Rafael Hirsch explains the word “eidos” as ”mitzvos that are testimonies,” meaning that they signify to us something [...]
Your Level—and Better
And you approached me, all of you...and the matter was good in my eyes… (Dev. 1:22-23) Rashi tells us that when the people asked Moshe to send spies into Eretz Canaan, they did so as a rabble, with everyone pushing in front of the other, and not in a proper [...]
במצב הנוכחי – ומעבר לו
וַתִּקְרְבוּן אֵלַי, כֻּלְּכֶם... וַיִּיטַב בְּעֵינַי, הַדָּבָר ... (דְּבָרִים א:כב-כג) רש"י מלמד אותנו שהאופן בו נגשו בני ישראל אל משה רבינו לא היה מסודר והולם, אלא בדוחק ובאי-סדר. משה רבינו פירש את ה"ערבוביא" הזו כעדות לכך שכל המאמץ לא נבע מתוך שיקול דעת, אלא מתוך פחד אנושי וחוסר ביטחון בד'. הרב יעקב [...]
Don’t Be Tripped Up by the Trip
There is something peculiar about our bodies with which we familiar: A person can toss and turn at night, until he finally finds a comfortable sleeping position. But soon after settling into that position, that exact position causes him discomfort, and he is forced to change to a new position. [...]