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Poetic Inspiration for the Day of Judgment from Nechumelle Jacobs: "SUPER SENSITIVITY"

13/9/2020

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Here's another poem from Nechumelle Jacobs.

You can see her previous poem here:
"WE ARE HERE TO GROW" – An Inspiring Poem by Nechumelle Jacobs

The following poem features Chana, the Mother of Shmuel Hanavi & a Prophetess in her own right, plus an important lesson learned from her struggles:
SUPER SENSITIVITY

On Rosh Hashonah about Chana’s prayer we read
And how Eli Hakohein assumed she was drunk indeed

He apologised for his harsh words and misinterpretation
He consoled her, for he hurt her in her painful situation

Chana’s heartfelt prayers were accepted Above
And Hashem granted her a special child to love

But why did Chana go to the Mishkon in tears,
For her rival Penina tormented her for years

Penina was granted with children galore
And specially hurt Chana at the very core

Penina did this thinking she had a kind heart
To encourage Chana, her davening to start

But Penina was punished severely for her lack of tact
For this is not the way Hashem wants one to act

Elkona saw his wife Chana childless, her pain so raw
And assured her, compared to ten sons, he loved her more

In the end, Chana was granted a special son, Shmuel was his name
He became a Novi who anointed Dovid, all from his mother’s pain

There is a strong lesson to learn from Chana’s painful ordeal
We must be extremely careful with people in pain – so real

Hashem wants people to be sensitive to others’ pain
The more compassionate we are, the greater the gain
​
©Nechumelle Jacobs – 13th September 2020

(Used with permission)
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How Hashem Helps Scrub the Slate before the Day of Judgment

8/9/2020

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Around 6 months ago, my teenage sons found a pair of 6-kilo (13-pound) barbells in their old clubhouse.

Apparently quality barbells, they clearly cost a lot of money.

Yet neither they nor their friends had any idea to whom the barbells belonged.

At first, they left them in the clubhouse for the owner's return.

But every day my sons checked, the barbells remained in the same place.

Finally, we took the barbells into our home to preserve them from the elements or possible theft.

​We tacked a sign on the clubhouse (which stood next to a popular walkway) stating the presence of the barbells, plus our address & phone number, but no one called or came.

When the wind blew the sign down, we tacked it back on.

​The sign remained up for months, but no one came.

We didn't place an ad in the lost-and-found section of our neighborhood publications because it seemed that someone wanted to hide the barbells and the clubhouse seemed a convenient place for them.

Some communities frown on body-building, unless a specific health issue demands it. They consider regular exercise (like walking) a positive habit, but reject the culture of pumping up extra muscle for no reason.

(And I discovered how insightful that attitude is when I saw that frum boys who started muscle-building exercises indeed became obsessed with their muscles & physique.)

So we didn't place an ad because we figured the owner, by discreetly placing them in a corner of the clubhouse, wished to keep the barbells a secret.

Late last night, one of my teenagers happened to glance out the window and saw a couple of young men stealthily entering the clubhouse.

He called out to them, asking them what they were doing.

One answered, "My friend forgot something here...uh, barbells."

His "friend," eh?

My son immediately understood.

"Six kilos?" said my son.

"Yes," said the young man.

"Green?"

"Yes."

"We have them here at our home. Come on up and take them."

With guarded expressions, they came to the door and my son cheerfully handed them the barbells.

​As we'd guessed, the pair looked like they came from a community that frowned on body-building.

Then they asked for a bag strong enough to hold the barbells, and we gave them one.

Because I didn't want them to think that we'd stolen the barbells, I explained to them how happy we were they'd come to collect the barbells, and how we put up a sign on the clubhouse to direct the owners to our home.

Then we asked for forgiveness for any inconvenience caused and with smiles, they said it was fine.

​And they left.

Hashem is on Our Side

Despite the countless kindnesses & mercies Hashem does for us throughout each day for our entire lives, it was this incident that made me feel like Hashem really cares.

​With Rosh Hashanah coming up fast and all the slate-cleaning necessary to prepare for a renewed lease on life, Hashem's orchestration of the return of the barbells prevented us from holding onto something that did not belong to us.

Returning a lost object is a huge mitzvah and one can transgress the prohibition against theft if one is not careful about making sure that the property of others stays with others.

How fortunate that the owner came by not only when we were home, but that in the darkness, Hashem caused my son to notice them at exactly that moment.

It's the kind of situation you can't create on your own and it made me feel like Hashem really cares about us, that He's helping us clean up our act prior to judgment.

In other words, Hashem Himself WANTS us to come out with a happy verdict.

God is not a petty tyrant looking to punish — He WANTS us to succeed!

​He WANTS to reward us!

Also, the above is a lot like another incident in which I davened for Hashem to help me apologize to & ask forgiveness of a boy I'd inadvertently hurt, but wasn't even in the country.

Hashem brought him right to my door on the first night of Rosh Hashanah.

(You can read that story here: When It's Hard to Say You're Sorry)

​​"One who comes to be purified — they [Hashem's agents] assist him." 
הבא לטהר, מסייעין אותו
(Shabbat 104b)

May we always merit Heavenly assistance in our striving to be better.

UPDATE 10/9/2021: You can read another story of how it worked when I wasn't sure about the other party's feelings, and how after turning to Hashem for help, He gave me confirmed signs of the other party's feelings:
to-apologize-or-not-apologize-when-youre-not-sure-if-youre-reading-the-situation-accurately.html

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The Kli Yakar on Parshas Noach: Why Did Hashem Destroy the World with Water? And What is the Connection to Hurricanes?

31/10/2019

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The Kli Yakar on Parshat Noach (Beresheit 6:17) explains why a flood of water was the fitting consequence for Dor HaMabul.

And it all has to do with boundaries.

Without a Sanhedrin and Torah-mandated executions (which hardly ever happened), Hashem executes by strangulation those who deserve it – and one of those ways is by drowning.

So here are why the Generation of the Flood suffered torrents of water:

1) First of all, strangulation is the halachic execution for those who indulge in relations with a married woman. The Generation of the Flood was really into this particular sin. Such a sin is an invasion of the boundaries of marriage & family. It also affects the children's lineage, since people can't know who is the child's real father, which was also a huge problem during Dor HaMabul.


2) Secondly, the sin of theft is another invasion of boundaries. So middah k'neged middah, the water overrides its boundaries into flooding (or into lungs, invading the air that is supposed to be there instead). The Generation of the Flood was hopelessly steeped in theft and all kinds of deception – "deception" is referred to as geneivat hadaat (theft of mind/knowledge) in Hebrew.


3) Third, avodah zarah is another breach of boundaries. Everything originates from One Creator. There is only ever One God. Scattering one's prayers among other entities is a terrible breach. So even though the official execution for avodah zarah is stoning for an individual and the sword for an entire city of idolaters, Hashem sent a flood instead.

Furthermore, Yirmeyahu 2:13 mentions the people who forsook Hashem, "the source of fresh water," and who instead dug "cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." Radak interprets this as abandoning Hashem to worship idols. So that's another aspect of this theme of water. 

Furthermore, because Dor HaMabul worshiped the luminaries & constellations, Hashem spread an opaque density of clouds to block out all sight & light of the astronomical bodies.

(Note: Rabbi Elihu Levine's English-rendering of the Kli Yakar proved invaluable to understanding the above points.)

The Kli Yakar & Hurricanes

In places with severe, and especially unnatural flooding, we can see the above breaches are rampant in those societies.

In addition, Netivot Shalom explains that the Rosh Hashanah idea of everything passing in judgement before Hashem is actually metaphor for Hashem's scrutiny of every living creature to see whether its existence is necessary for the coming year.

I couldn't help thinking that Hashem decided that certain islands in the Caribbean are no longer necessary, and that He decided so for the reasons stated above – all based on how they were mostly wiped out by the flooding of ferocious hurricanes.

If you know anything about that part of the world, the above breaches are part & parcel of those societies.

​May we all merit to remain joyfully entrenched within our Torah boundaries.


For more on Parshat Noach:
  • The Kli Yakar on Parshat Noach
  • ​The Malbim in English on Parshat Noach
  • The Hidden Sin of the Flood Generation & What We can Learn from It Today
  • The Invasion of 3 Ancient Generations: How to Explain the Current Chaos & Corruption of the Modern World​
  • The Nations Established by the Sons of Noach: Where are They Now?
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What is the Point of Doing Teshuvah Yet Again When You've Already Failed So Many Times - And Maybe Your Sin Really is Too Much This Time?

7/10/2019

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Here is Netivot Shalom in the section Bein Keseh L'Asor, Ma'amar 5, Shuva Yisrael:
...the yetzer hara especially overwhelms a Jew so that he won't do teshuvah because it knows how great is the power of teshuvah and therefore it stands itself before a Jew as if he can't do teshuvah.

Because he has already done teshuvah so many times and he wasn't able to keep up his teshuvah and he went back to whatever he was and what is the point now if he does teshuvah again?

And [the yeter hara] paints him a picture of how his transgression is too great to bear and teshuvah will not be effective for him. 

The solution is the verse:
"Shuva Yisrael ad Hashem Elokecha — Return in repentance, Jew, until Hashem Your God."

A part of Hashem is always with you.

Likewise, a Jew is one part of Above, in the words of Netivot Shalom. Therefore:
And in any case, there is no place for all these cheshbonot (considerations) that hold him back from doing teshuvah....All the natural chesbonot do not apply to a Jew, that he has done teshuvah so many times, and it hasn't been effective for him and what is the point of him doing teshuvah again?

​And anyway, what with his transgression being too great to bear.

All these cheshbonot do not grasp the elevated level of a Jew that he is one part of Above.

***
...and when a Jew sins — even intentionally — including the times he cannot overcome his inclination, his heart rips within him at the moment of the deed due to the greatness of his distance from Hashem Yitbarach...in a sin like this, that even at the hour of sin, Hashem his God is with him.

Pretty heady stuff.

Netivot Shalom goes on to explain that if even at the time of a sin, you can remember Hashem and think in your heart "Behold, I'm disconnecting myself from the root" — And Hashem? He'll fulfill the verse: "Lo hibit aven b'Yaakov — He does not look at evil in Yaakov" (Badmidbar 23:21).

Simply put, Hashem considers all sin as stumbling. You're not evil or hopeless, you just tripped up. Your yetzer overcame you.

YOU are GOOD. You are holy.
For a Jew is one part from Above and his essence is that he wants only good — only the evil inclination provokes us.

(Please notice how the Slonimer Rebbe ztz"l describes the yetzer hara as provoking us. He includes himself — ​as if! But really, he was a big tzaddik.)

He goes on to explain that if we could really feel how much Hashem loves us, we could connect to him and not WANT to sin out of our great love for Him.

The main part of teshuvah, states Netivot Shalom, is to return to Hashem and not feel yourself so far or disconnected from Hashem. Just return to him and feel that Hashem is YOUR God.

Because He really is.
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The Netivot Shalom on Doing Deep-Rooted Teshuvah by Utilizing Shabbat as the Day of Love

6/10/2019

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For a couple of years now, I've been wanting to take a look at the famous collection of volumes called Netivot Shalom by the late Slonimer Rebbe Rabbi Sholom Noach Berezovsky ztz"l.

Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller gave a lecture series on it and Rebbetzin Esther Baila Schwartz called Netivot Shalom her "best friend," plus Rav Itamar Schwartz named it as one of his recommended mussar sefarim for women to learn. 

I don't know how much I can get through it at this point, but I figured it would help me out during the 10 Days of Teshuvah between Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur.

And it has!

I haven't completed its section for these 10 Days of Teshuvah (called Bein Keseh L'Asor), but here is the little bit I've gotten out of it and found so helpful.

(It's mostly from Ma'amar 4, Shabbat Shuva is the Root of Teshuvah.)

First of all, Rosh Hashanah renewed us all.

Literally.

We are totally new creations, the Universe is new, everything is new.

This is what enables you to do teshuvah right now and transform yourself deep within.

You literally are NOT the same "you" you were last year — which was only a few days ago.

You are different and NEW. So you can do different stuff than you did even just last week.

And with this new & improved you, we cruise into Yom Kippur. 

The 2 Most Powerful Aspects of Shabbat

Shabbat is the most amazing way to do teshuvah.

Shabbat can even forgive a Jew who "worshiped idols like the generation of Enosh."

How is that remotely possible?

Shabbat does 2 incredibly powerful things:
  1. Shabbat effects a deep-cleaning; it cleanses & rectifies your very neshamah.
  2. Shabbat is a day of love; you are the zivug of Hashem on Shabbat.

When you keep Shabbat, you are completely nullifying yourself to Hashem, which is what cleanses you from avodah zarah and other frightfully yucky stuff.

Netivot Shalom enthuses a lot about doing teshuvah on Shabbat.

But how can you really do teshuvah on Shabbat?

After all, thinking about your sins makes you depressed — a big no-no on Shabbat.

There is no vidui on Shabbat, and the sections of confession don't appear in the Shabbat Amidah.

It seems that Netivot Shalom mentions teshuvah as coming close to Hashem.

FEELING close to Hashem. Thinking about Him whenever you can on Shabbat.

​If you imagine that Hashem is your zivug, like the most loving & cherishing spouse you could imagine, then you should speak & relate to Hashem in that way.

Go to Where Your Heart is

There's a famous verse in Shir HaShirim:
Ani yeshena v'libi er — I am asleep, and my heart is awake.

The mundane flawed you is the "I am asleep."

Shabbat is the "my heart is awake."

You might be asleep, so to speak, but Shabbat is your aroused heart; it's the neshamah that clings to Hashem.

Now, Shabbat Shuva (the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur) is the most powerful Shabbat for neshamah-cleansing and deep-rooted teshuvah.

But hey, I missed it too because I didn't get to this part of the sefer before then.

Still, it's good to know that ALL Shabbatot produce this wonderful cleansing & forgiving effect.

​As Netivot Shalom states:
The teshuvah of Shabbat is not teshuvah on sins and deeds.

Rather it is the Day of the Neshamah.

The teshuvah that you do on that day is regarding however you distanced from Hashem Yitbarach, and through Shabbat you can return until [the level of] "Hashem Elokecha."
But what if you're just not feeling it? What if your 10 Days of Teshuvah seem to be the 10 Days of Blah-Blah?

But What If You're Just Not Feeling It?

Don't despair if you're not feeling it during this special time.

It simply means that you haven't succeeded in completely rectifying your distance from Hashem.

​You may have rectified some of it, but not completely.

So what should you do?

Take upon yourself this idea of Shabbat Kodesh.

As Netivot Shalom says:
And when a Jew does his cheshbon nefesh, when he already passed his days of teshuvah, the month of Elul and the 10 Days of Teshuvah and all the great days within that time. 

And he is already about to enter the holy day of Yom Kippur...and he doesn't feel any change in himself at all, so much so that he finds himself about to enter Yom Kippur with empty hands.

The advice for him is that he should take himself to Shabbat Kodesh.
...
One moment from Shabbat is more important than many, many hours of the weekday.

Shabbat is the time to get back in touch with your soul-root. It's the time to really cleave to Hashem.

Right now, you can think about Hashem or talk to Hashem as there is "no curtain" between you.

You can also think about how to improve your future Shabbatot.

Bringing Shabbat in a little earlier, adding a special food, setting some time aside to think about Hashem, to focus on that emotion of closeness & deveikut, to just feel happy even for a few moments...

These are all ideas that effect powerful transformation at the soul level.

And if you haven't been keeping Shabbat?

Now is the time to decide to keep whatever you can throughout Shabbat, whatever you know about keeping Shabbat.

And try your best to get that feeling in there too, even if it's only for a moment.

Shabbat is all about the deepest, purest kind of love there is.

And that is exactly what rectifies your neshamah and brings the real you back to your soul-root.

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The 2 Most Important Ideas to Remember for Rosh Hashanah

29/9/2019

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There are 2 vital ideas to remember for Rosh Hashanah (these also apply to the time period throughout Yom Kippur & Sukkot).

And the second is merely an aspect of the first.

The first is as Rav Avigdor Miller emphasized in his Rosh Hashanah shuirim:

Rosh Hashanah is the time to focus on & internalized EIN OD MILVADO —​ THERE IS NOTHING IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE EXCEPT HASHEM.

Internalizing this all-important emuna is the intrinsic focus of Rosh Hashanah.

If you do nothing else Rosh Hashanah, you must at least do that.

Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky used to recommend that people say "Ein od milvado" with all the heartfelt kavanah they could muster as a segula for being saved from whatever troubles they suffered.

From Rav Chaim Volozhin's book, Nefesh Hachaim:
When a person determines in his heart to say that Hashem surely is the True God, and there is none other than Him Yitbarach, no power in the world and in any of the worlds at all, and all is filled only with His Simple Oneness Yitbarach Shemo, and nullifies within his heart complete nullification that he [the person] doesn't supervise at all any power and will in the world, and subserviates and cleaves the purity of his thought only to the Unique Master Blessed be He — then He Yitbarach will satisfy his hand and will automatically nullify from upon him [the person] all the powers and wills that exist in the world, so they cannot do anything at all to him.

And everything that he [the person] decrees will be fulfilled for him, to activate matters and wondrous miracles in contradiction to the natural order...

In the siddur Ahuvah L'Tzaddik, it explains that accepting upon oneself Hashem's Total Mastery over the entire Universe will remove & nullify from a person all judgement and other wills, so that nothing else can overpower him or control him at all.

​(This siddur is also from where I copied the above passage from Nefesh Hachaim. Any mistakes in translation are mine.)

​This brings us to Vital Ideal #2...

Stay Sweet When Things Have Soured! A True Story

The famed mekubal Rav Yehudah Petiyah sat at the table one Rosh Hashanah with his family and guests.

The rav wore pure white garments in honor of the special day.

A candelabra lit in honor of the chag stood on the table.

Everything was set up according to his profound knowledge of holy standards.

The rabbanit was just bringing out a whole tray of fish to start the main meal when someone bumped the table in a way that overturned the lights, plunging the entire room into darkness.

(In our times, it's hard for us to imagine the depth of darkness without electric lights in the home and without electric streetlights along the road outside.)

The rabbanit could not see where she was going or where to put the heavy unwieldy tray, plus the sudden turn of events startled her, and the tray slipped from her hands, plunging all the specially prepared fish to the ground.

The rav rose to assist and fix the problem, but he slipped in the all the fish jelly and sauces, falling smack to the ground, which soiled his special white garments.

You can imagine what this all meant, and how hard it is to get the fish smell out of things and how bad fish smells when it hangs around for too long.

Furthermore, I don't know whether the Petiyahs had indoor plumbing.

And were they still in Baghdad or had they already arrived in Eretz Yisrael?

​It doesn't say, but the clean-up of both the floor and the rav using pump-water must have been difficult, particularly in the dark (though they likely had some light from the stove). 

Rosh Hashanah is 2 days and that meant that the rav likely had no more special white garments for the rest of the chag. Not to mention the loss of the fish...

Yet Rav Yehudah Petiyah did not get angry.

Interestingly, that year ended up being a splendid year for Rav Yehudah Petiyah.

He experienced success with everything he attempted. He found increased success in his Torah, producing new & wonderful chiddushim.

And he traced back all that success to not getting angry over the disaster of that first night of Rosh Hashanah.

The REAL Segula for a Sweet Year — ​And It's Not the Apples Dipped in Honey...It's YOU.

The above story is found in Rav Elimelech Biderman's Be'er Haparsha.

He emphasizes that the most powerful segulah on Rosh Hashanah for having a sweet year is...BE A YEHUDI MATOK — BE A SWEET JEW.

​If we turn around Rav Petiyah's situation, we see that in Heaven, he already had a sweet year decreed for him...he just needed to earn it.

And the way he was meant to earn it was by having someone knock over his Rosh Hashanah lights, ruin his fish, fall down (which must have hurt at least a little), and get soaked in a big fishy mess that ruined his special white garments -- all without getting angry.

And that could be the dynamic for any of us.

If you're reading this after Rosh Hashanah, don't despair.

I've noticed that Hashem gives us our final chances to get things right during Sukkot, before the din is decided in its finality. Lots of challenges still pop up throughout this time.

The main thing is to resist getting angry about them. (And here, I'm writing this for myself as much as for anyone else.)

​They're from Hashem & possibly the key to giving you a wonderfully sweet year.

So to sum it all up:
  1. Do everything you can to internalize the idea that there is nothing other than Hashem.
  2. Don't get angry no matter what.

May we all be sweet Jews who merit a very sweet year!
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For more on the holy Rav Yehudah Petiyah, please see the blog posts under the category Minchat Yehudah.
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Rav Avigdor Miller Discusses the Truth behind the Good Stuff of This World in Parshat Netzavim

25/9/2019

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In Rav Avigdor Miller's dvar Torah Parshas Netzavim – The purpose of worldly reward, we get a powerful lesson in avodat halev — service of the heart.

The parsha opens up by talking about someone who is technically frum (looks frum, acts frum)...but inside, this Jew's "heart turns today from being with Hashem to go and serve the gods of other nations" (Devarim 29:17).

And despite hearing the frightening curses, this Jew will quietly bless himself (or herself!) and say, "Peace will be with me though I go with however my heart sees fit" (Devarim 29:18).

Despite this Jew's outer service and mitzvah observance, just this inner turn off the good path causes Hashem to label him (or her!) as "a root flourishing with gall and wormwood." 

​Pretty heavy stuff.

Eretz Yisrael: The Pipeline to Olam Haba, Not Olam Hazeh

In part, the above contains a very stern warning not to misuse tuv ha'Aretz — the goodness of the Land.

While we need to attend to our physical and material needs, Eretz Yisrael is for our spiritual benefit.

We cannot become materialists in Eretz Yisrael.

The material abundance is only here to enable us to greater spiritual heights.

I believe this one of the reasons why material accomplishments now come so much harder in Eretz Yisrael — or don't come at all, despite all the material abundance lurking just beneath the surface.

Look at what happened and is happening to those who use Eretz Yisrael's gifts for material pursuits.

Yet spiritual accomplishments are so much easier to reach in Eretz Yisrael. For example, it's so much easier to daven in Eretz Yisrael than anywhere else.

And to facilitate our davening we have the place of the Shechinah, the Kotel. And we also have some of the most powerful gravesites in the world as a conduit for fruitful prayers.

As a British friend of mine once declared in a fit of angst prior to a visit outside of Eretz Yisrael: "I can't PRAY in England!"

And I know exactly what she means.

(Disclaimer: I realize that many people pray very well in chutz l'Aretz and have developed tremendous spiritual greatness there. I'm just not one of them and neither is my British acquaintance, that's all.)

However, there are many people today who try to utilize tuv ha'Aretz for material goals only.

​Again, that's NOT what this Land is for.

"The Most Perfect Land!"

Here, Rav Miller gives a luxuriant description of the abundance found in Eretz Yisrael (pg. 4):
Luscious and productive fields, beautiful orchards of various fruit, flowing streams of fresh water, and actual rivers of sweet date honey, mixed with fresh goat milk dotted the beautiful land. [Eretz zevat chalav u'devash], a land flowing with milk and honey, was not only a literal description of the land, but a symbol for a land that was filled with all forms of good.

The Jews in the Midbar were promised a Land bountiful in also sorts of fruits and the most desirable grain crops.

Fresh-water springs and high-quality water-wells, the choicest of oils, bread without poverty, plus quality metals like iron & copper — these were the promises of Hashem regarding Eretz Yisrael. 

And we see Eretz Yisrael coming alive again in our days.

​In this small strip of Land, we have impressive deserts with their awe-inspiring night skies, beautiful forests, lovely beaches with azure water, snow-capped mountains, rolling hills in muted rainbow colors, the Dead Sea, beautiful flowers, and so much more. 

Yet among all that goodness lay the devastated cities of Sedom.

I have a book, The Stones Cry Out, in which the archaeologists note that the remains of Sedom's houses are burnt in a way that clearly shows the fire came from above — exactly as described in the Torah. (That's just one example; the book has a whole section on what they discovered at Sedom.)

Hashem promised this Land to the Avot because of their tremendous service & dedication to Hashem.

Eretz Yisrael is superior not only spiritually, but materially too.

"The most perfect land for the most perfect people!" Rav Miller proclaims. 

What is the Whole Point of Luxury?

But this all begs a question.

If we are meant to be and actually are such a spiritual people so concerned with serving Hashem, then why all the material abundance?

​Well, first of all: We are meant to elevate this world.

Furthermore, the more material abundance we enjoy, the more we can dedicate our hearts to serving Hashem & fulfilling the mitzvot — IF we make such avodah our focus.

As we all know, problems of disease, poor finances, war, or any other stresses distracts us from our service of Hashem.

How many times have we davened an entire Shacharit without even noticing a word we said because our minds couldn't let go of certain worries?

This is a big part of the reason why Hashem sends us problems when we don't serve Him properly.

We aren't using His Bounty as we should.

So He takes it away, chas v'shalom.

The Parable of the Office Water Cooler

Rav Miller compares it to a boss buying a nice water cooler for his employees.

He's not just doing it to be nice. Ditto when your boss doles out holiday gifts & bonuses.

He's trying to encourage your work quality.

People who feel good in their office environment want to stay. People work better with a cool refreshing drink by their side.

What would happen to the employees who chose to hang out by the water cooler all day and exchange useless banter & gossip, and even bad-mouth the boss?

You know what would happen.

​And that's a big mashal for us.

What Makes You Get Fat Can Also Make You Kick If You Don't Watch Your Use of All the God-Given Bounty

The 7 Canaanite nations exploited the bounty of Eretz Yisrael to cultivate a culture of decadence, degeneracy, and cruelty.

This is like a bum who sees the quality & abundance of the wheat & barley of Eretz Yisrael and decides to invest in producing tons of beer & vodka for alcoholic consumption.

​Rav Miller notes that many people today hunger after trouble and vices because they have too much to eat. They don't need focus on basic survival needs.

You see this throughout America and Europe.

Even though America's welfare system is nowhere near as generous as any of the European countries, America's poorest still get so much. Hardly anyone wants to admit that, but I've read accounts of grocery carts stocked with meat, seafood, and expensive bakery cakes — all paid for with government-given welfare.

So many Americans living in low-income areas and subsisting on welfare are obese.

Yes, I know that Twinkies are cheaper & more fun to eat than a package of frozen broccoli, but the point is that these people definitely have more than enough to eat.

Teens from welfare families all have "dumbphones."


The high school I attended comprised mostly working class students. The homecoming queen & head cheerleader worked after school to afford her clothes and the nice pick-up truck she drove to school. (It was a very pretty gray truck with a mauve interior & mauve lettering — very feminine for a truck.)

She was also a very decent person.

Despite being poor, a lot of the kids were fairly clean-cut. Not all of them, but many.

Their families either weren't poor enough to go on welfare or they were too proud to go on welfare. So people needed to work in order to acquire things. Oldest children couldn't go out partying or indulge in irresponsible behavior when they needed to care for younger siblings.

Many were also religious to some extent, and morality always helps whether you're rich or poor.

But the open secret is that in America, it's easy to have too much. People never feel like they have enough, but that's usually not true.

Rav Miller notes that people start ruminating over unnatural taavot "because they just have too much." (pg. 11)

And it's deceptively simple as that.

How to REALLY Drink that Fine "Wine"

Rav Miller states a big lesson:

The abundance of This World is meant as encouragement, not reward.

When we are down, we can have a drink.

A drink, not the whole vomit-inducing bottle.

Rav Miller recommended one despondent man to take a walk outside and enjoy the weather.

"Don't think about anything," Rav Miller advised. "Just enjoy it."

Then the rav prescribed the man eat a lot of ice cream and go to bed early for a good night's sleep. And to thoroughly enjoy himself!

Needless to say, a person should not do this every day or even every week.

That's taavah. That's gluttony. That's idleness.

But as an occasional pick-me-up when other methods don't work?

How is that different than taking medication for the occasional pain? 

​Also, if you really let yourself in enjoy the one-time indulgence, it gets you back to appreciating the world, which allows you to re-connect with Hashem.

Rav Miller sums up the balance here (pg. 13):
The function of good times in this world is to cheer up mourners. And that’s all of us!

Hakodosh Boruch Hu wants to give people strength and encouragement.

We want people to accomplish here in this world, and for that, life can’t be morose and morbid. You need good times to be a successful eved Hashem.

Only that some people, those who are wise,have sense enough to get along with a little sip of wine. A little bit of happiness is enough; they cheer up and get back to work, back to avodas Hashem.

And they live a happy life that way.

There are a lot of kosher ways to enjoy life; you just have to know how and when.

Hashem Never Lets a Good Deed Go Unrewarded. NEVER.

Another reason for the pleasures of this world is to grant reward to the wicked people. (This is in the Gemara.)

In His Infinite Compassion, Hashem grants even the worst people reward for the minuscule good they've done.

This should encourage the rest of us who aren't actually evil and have done a lot more than a teaspoon of good in the world.

If those really awful people get their reward, then all the more so with the rest of us!

The Massive Challenge in Our Times: Avoid Slurping Up All Your Merits!

Rav Miller stresses the importance of not "eating up" your merits in This World.

It's a massive challenge today.

What do you really need to give up in the MATERIAL world to become frum?

Not much. (The sacrifice today tends to pertain more to the nefesh than the physical.)

We have a "kosher" version of almost everything. Okay, sometimes the kosher version isn't as good as the original, but even the poorer imitations are still good enough.

Even the catchy song that took Israel by storm, Shevet Achim V'Achayot, got recorded immediately after the original release by 2 frum guys, who also changed one of the lyrics "from the parties of Tel Aviv" to "the sunsets (shkiyot) of Tel Aviv."

(Initially, I thought it was "the nonsense/shtuyot of Tel Aviv" until I was corrected.)

So you can even enjoy a hit song cleansed from kol ishah and unwholesome references.

That's just one example.

So that's what we need to focus on during Rosh Hashanah:

​Give us good stuff, Hashem, so that we can serve you better; so that we can serve You in real joy with a peaceful & happy heart!

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Beautiful flowers of Eretz Yisrael
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How to Become Exceptional in 10 Minutes: Rav Avigdor Miller's Rosh Hashanah Advice

24/9/2019

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In Words of Faith, Rav Levi Yitzchak Bender cautions us against falling into the trap of the "frum" yetzer hara.

The "frum" yetzer hara seems very pious in his negative evaluations of any mitzvah we do.

Nothing is ever good enough.

And while it's true that maybe we didn't daven with so much kavanah, this oh-so pious yetzer hara sucks any joy we feel out of the mitzvah.

Furthermore, he makes us feel like Torah & mitzvot are too hard, that we'll never perform any mitzvah "well enough," and then he convinces us...why bother? It's not worth even trying.

And that's the killer clause of the pious yetzer hara.

When 5+5 equals 1 in 10,000

So we must defeat this oh-so seemingly pious yetzer hara by listening to what our real talmidei chachamim say about baby steps.

They for sure know better than even your frummest yetzer hara.

In a recently transcribed lecture Rav Avigdor Miller on 10 Minutes to Make You Great, Rav Miller tells us to spend 10 minutes in preparation for the New Year, for Rosh Hashanah.

And what do we do in those 10 minutes?

  • Spend 5 minutes thinking about all the good Hashem did for you over this past year.
  • Spend 5 minutes creating resolutions for the coming year.

If you do this, then Rav Miller considers you "great;" you're head and shoulders above the rest.
Those ten minutes will be a great accomplishment.

If after sitting here...you’ll go out and think for five minutes, you should know that you’re an exception. You’re a dagul mei’rivavah – you’re one out of ten thousand. 

There’s nobody like you.

Who thinks for five whole minutes about gratitude for Hashem for the past year?!

And who thinks for five minutes about making resolutions for improving himself in the coming year?! People talk about it. But that’s all.

That’s why I said in the beginning of our talk, that if you do this on a small scale, then you shoot up and your head is way above everybody else.


TAPE #138 (September 1976)
Toras Avigdor

If you've been visiting Toras Avigdor or listening to Rav Miller's shiurim, then you know that here's a Jew who does not mince words.

Especially when it comes to avodat Hashem, Rav Miller is straight as they come.

And while I think the whole frum awakening toward gratitude and thanking Hashem has picked up since 1976, there are, tragically, enough assimilated Jews and enough by-rote Jews that you really stand out with those 10 minutes.

And the more of us who take these 10 minutes to thank Hashem for all the good of the past year while making specific resolutions for the coming year, the more we can sweeten din and reap blessing for ourselves and others.
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The #1 Thing You Can Do to Cancel Negative Decrees

16/9/2018

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​Rav Levi Yitzchak Bender lived as a humble tzaddik in the Ukraine despite targeted Communist persecution. Because of their dedication to mitzvah observance, he and Rav Eliyahu Chaim Rosen even spent several weeks in a KGB prison, not knowing until the moment of release whether they would be murdered and discarded in an unknown grave.
 
In the book of his lectures, Words of Faith, Rav Bender stresses the importance of knowing that your prayers and words of Torah are of tremendous significance to Hashem.
 
ANY mitzvah or holy act is significant in the eyes of God.
 
On page 325, Vol I, Rav Bender exhorts you to have faith in yourself, explaining that you must say to yourself and to your yetzer hara:
​“Even my actions, however they may be, are significant. Even my prayer is important in the eyes of Hashem Yitbarach.”
​He defines this as “ ‘faith in oneself,’ which is imperative to advance in serving Hashem…”

​Rav Bender explains the power of speaking to Hashem in your own words in a focused manner:
​“If you merit to say words that come from peace of mind—words of hitbodedut between you and your Maker—they are definitely significant. Moreover, they smash through heavens! They are able to nullify decrees.”
(I’m assuming that “peace of mind” is “yishuv hadaas” in the original Yiddish.)

When a person focuses himself to speak out loud to Hashem, Hashem figuratively turns away from all His preoccupations and listens.
 
And because Hashem turns away from all His “Business” and all the matters “occupying” Him, He is NOT making decrees.
 
“Automatically, all decrees are nullified.”

So according to Rav Bender, you need to:
  • ​Have faith in yourself & the power of your prayers.
  • Know that your heartfelt words and good deeds (however imperfect they may be) are of tremendous significance.
  • Clear your mind of other distractions.
  • Focus your heart & mind toward Hashem.
  • Speak to Hashem as you'd speak to a close & genuinely caring friend.​

Rav Bender emphasizes that this is the far-reaching power of ANYONE who “speaks words before Hashem Yitbarach.”

“But,” he concludes, “you need to know this and believe in it.”

May we all merit to speak words that smash through the heavens & nullify all negative decrees.
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How to Read Tehillim according to Your Individual Needs

12/9/2018

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Kavanah for the Different Words of Tehillim

In the Pele Yoetz's chapter on Rosh Hashanah, he provides recommendations for reading Tehillim:
  • Every place that mentions enemies (oyavim), haters (sonim), oppressors (tzarim), etc., you should have in mind the Heavenly prosecutors (mekatrigim), who are are the true enemies: enemies of our souls.
 
  • Every place that mentions misfortune (tzarah), distress (tzukah), etc., you should have in mind your own personal distress.
​
Every place that mentions "life," you should have in mind 2 things:
1) your spiritual existence:
  • that you should be alive
  • that you should feel the love of God all your days
  • that you should feel the fear of God all your days
2) your physical existence:
  • You should want to live in order to serve your Creator.
  • You should not be the cause of any anger or grief for Hashem or the Shechinah.
  • You should complete the rectification (tikkun) of your body, spirit, and soul.

If it helps to know, the Malbim defines the above words as follows:
  • Oyev (enemy) – a hidden enemy, one who hates in his heart and wishes one evil
  • Soneh (hater) – hates without wishing one evil
  • Tzar (oppressor) – actively torments
  • Metzukah, tzukah (distress) – emotional, internal troubles and suffering
  • Tzarot, tzarah (misfortune) – outer troubles, troubles that come upon a person

In addition to the above kavanot, the Pele Yoetz encourages you to keep in mind that there are deep secrets in the words of Tehillim, so your intent should also be according to the intent of David Hamelech.

As the ​Pele Yoetz explains [Vol. II, pg. 289]:
When a person says Tehillim with humility, from the depths of his heart and his intention is for the desires of Heaven, the words are ancient, words of the living God that were said by the holy Divinely inspired mouth of David Hamelech, whose merit should protect us.

​They will certainly bear "fruit" and he will thus find his redemption, and he will be written the Book of Good Life, which refers to the life of the soul.

How to Read Tehillim according to Your Individual Ability

The Pele Yoetz repeats the well-known recommendation to read all of Tehillim twice because there are 150 chapters of Psalms and 150+150=300, which is the numeric equivalent of kaper (atone).

He recommends doing this over Rosh Hashanah (read all of Tehillim each day for those 2 days), but I've heard others recommend doing this over the 10 Days of Teshuvah, which comes out to a book day.

(Tehillim is split up into 5 books containing around 30-40 chapters each.)

While the Pele Yoetz lauds the recitation containing proper understanding of the meaning of the words, he adds that if one doesn't know the actual meaning, one should at least read them carefully letter by letter, word by word.

(I'm assuming there was no Bulgarian translation of Tehillim available at that time because he doesn't mention reading Tehillim in another language for those who can't understand the Hebrew, which is admittedly very hard Hebrew, harder than the Hebrew of Chumash. In Israel, they sell Tehillim with the modern Hebrew "translation" underneath each word because the syntax and vocabulary of Tehillim can be so challenging even for Hebrew-speakers until one learns it well enough.)

Needless to say, translations of Tehillim exist in almost every language, so you can use that too.

I personally know of illiterate women who cannot even read the words. Instead, they place their finger on each word and look at it. And in this way, they can participate in saying Tehillim, even as they technically remain completely silent.

It's the heart and the intention that counts.

At the same time, the Pele Yoetz repeats a well-known statement of the Sages in Tur, Orach Chaim, Siman 1:
"A small amount with proper intent is better than a large amount without proper intent."

"Tov me'at b'kavanah m'harbot b'lo kavanah."

​So each person needs to know his or her own heart and capabilities.

And again, more than anything else, it's the heart that counts.
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