יום שבת, י״ט תמוז תשפ״וSaturday, July 4, 2026
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The Talmud (Brachos, 20a) discusses the reality that the earlier generations were wholly dedicated to the sanctification of the Name of Hashem, unlike the later generations.
Words don’t just leave our mouth and evaporate into thin air. They create a reality. They are keys that open the doors of blessing or can, G-d forbid, close them. A good word brings good.
It is a fact that when someone envies another’s wealth or property he is tormented until he is able to attain that level of materialism.
The question still remains: How can we equate slandering Moshe Rabbeinu, the greatest prophet alive, to maligning Eretz Yisrael, an inanimate object? Why would they take a lesson from Miriam’s fate?
It is explained that before we received the Torah, we were comparable to animals, so we bring the offering from barley.
When we fulfill the mitzvah of hachnosas orchim it doesn’t make a difference who the guests are. The halacha is to treat them like royalty.
What benefit was there then to all the miracles of Matan Torah, if everything returned shortly to the way it had been?
When the Satan intercedes, he is only successful when there is conflict, when everyone is confused and doesn’t know his place.
When the Jewish people received the Torah, they had risen to a very elevated level of emunah in Hashem. Hashem revealed Himself and opened the Seven Heavens, and everyone saw that “Hashem is G-d and there is no one but Him.”
In addition to the opportunity we have of doing teshuvah when we know we have sinned – by acknowledging the transgression, regretting having sinned, admitting that we have sinned, making a commitment not to repeat the sin in the future, prayer and charity – we are fortunate to be able to attain atonement even when we are unaware that we have sinned.
One who foregoes his calculations with others for injustices done to him, the Heavenly Court, in turn, foregoes punishment for all his sins.
In fact, man is not exceptional to all of creation. His superiority exists only in his knowledge and intellect, and his ability to make a choice between bad and good.
According to each individual’s level of emunah, the blessing increased his ability to become a proper vessel in which the beracha could come to fruition.
Greater is the Kiddush Hashem of that day than all of the chillul Hashem of the Egyptian exile. Not only were the Jewish people redeemed physically; they were also spiritually redeemed.
The Sefer HaChinuch cites the Ramban who expounds that the individual must appreciate the fact that the animal being sacrificed is really in place of the sinner. That awareness will inspire and compel the person to do complete teshuvah.
The blessing of an ordinary person should never be considered lightly in your eyes.
A person who lives in this world has not been privileged to see everything from the beginning of time. When he observes certain events, he doesn’t understand why one person has various challenges in life, or why one is successful while the other is not.
The Chofetz Chaim compares the rebuker to a merchant who is trying to sell his goods. Would the shopkeeper ever think that if he is hostile to the customers they would more readily agree to make a purchase?
The Chofetz Chaim compares the rebuker to a merchant who is trying to sell his goods. Would the shopkeeper ever think that if he is hostile to the customers they would more readily agree to make a purchase?
In assessing the potential of every Jew, Rabbeinu Yonah writes that even an individual who does not show great promise can achieve exalted heights and become a tzaddik. The simplest and most humble person can merit the Divine presence.
When a person is belittled and disparaged, his spirit is broken. He loses any hope of being able to atone for his wrongdoings.
One who finds it difficult to daven all the tefillos in the morning – from the berachos through Aleinu – if he can manage to recite the Shema that would be sufficient. If he cannot say all of the Shema, even the recitation of the first paragraph would be good, or at least the first two lines of the Shema could still be powerful.
An integral component of the exile from Egypt included an unmatched zeal and enthusiasm to flee, so much so that there was not sufficient time for the dough to rise. So too must eagerness and ardor be essential elements in our fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos.
A person who can feel the pain of others is more suited to be a leader. For that reason, Hashem first tested Moshe to verify that he had the sensitivity to be able to share in the distress of his brethren.
He was not a child crying about his own pain; he was crying for the pain of his nation.
They ignored the pleas for mercy from their younger brother and sold their own flesh and blood.
When one commits murder, the killer realizes that he has sinned and he can do teshuvah. But when someone causes another person to be embarrassed, he often doesn’t realize he has done anything wrong. He may never do teshuvah and will die guilty of this sin.
This power to bring about change, that can transform an individual’s status from one minute to the next, precisely defines the energy of Chanukah as well.
We learn a very interesting principle with regard to Yiddishkeit. The reward for those who learn Torah amid difficulty and challenges is incomparably greater than one who has a relatively easy life and does not have to worry about his weekly expenses.
The greatest danger is not the hand of Eisav’s sword, but the hand of his friendship.
Moshe Rabbeinu was exceedingly humble, and consistent with his humility he was raised to one of the highest levels that a human can reach.
If Yitzchak would distance himself from Eisav and display his dislike, Eisav would surely not be influenced to improve his ways.
Curiously, although Avraham Avinu completely trusted Eliezer as his administrator with regard to his estate and his wealth, when it came to finding a wife for Yitzchak, he made Eliezer take an oath to assure that he would carefully adhere to Avraham’s guidelines in choosing a wife for Yitzchak. Why?
We live among people who espouse diverse philosophies. We are undoubtedly different, but it is that very disparity that empowers us to bring people closer to Hashem.
We learn that if one successfully persuades a disenfranchised Jew to do even one mitzvah, that individual is rewarded in this world, for his entire life, each and every time the Jew performs that mitzvah.
The Chofetz Chaim writes how important it is for a person to reinforce his middah (character trait) of judging others favorably, because it will facilitate his own advancement in attaining the level of a tzaddik, a righteous person.
Kayin understood that if Hashem would not help him, he had no hope of remaining alive.
Not only is the sukkah a sign of our emunah in Hashem, but when we hold the lulav and esrog in our hand and shake them back and forth we are declaring, Just as the species cannot exist without You, Hashem, so too we are totally dependent on You.
The Baal HaTanya writes that on Rosh Hashanah all the Heavenly Hosts sit in Shamayim and wait longingly to hear one Yid praise another. Why? Because in that moment when he does so, the angels take those good words and place them on his scale of merits.
Did Mar Ukva crave the cheese so much that he couldn’t wait until the next day? On the other hand, there is no obligation to wait 24 hours before eating dairy. Why did Mar Ukva compare himself to vinegar, i.e. wine that has spoiled and has lost its value?
Before the recitation of the berachos preceding the blowing of the shofar, the shofar is placed on the bimah and covered with a tallis. If the ba’al tokei’a has more than one shofar, and/or other congregants have brought their own shofaros, they too are covered with the tallis on the bimah.
If a person keeps in mind that everything belongs to Hashem, and knows the money is only entrusted to him, it is easier for him to tithe.
On a spiritual level the rebbe is greater than the father, therefore his property is returned first. But with regard to the transgression itself, obviously that it is more egregious to hit or curse one’s own parent than the rebbe, and therefore the punishment is harsher.
Although one may protest that he would never take a bribe the Mishna in Avos (2:4) states, “Do not believe in yourself until the day you die.”
The Talmud (Shabbos 151b) expounds that anyone who has compassion on Hashem’s creatures will receive compassion from Hashem, and one who does not have compassion will not receive compassion from Heaven...
The Chazon Ish answered him that Torah is not wisdom; it’s a neshama, a soul.
The baal habayis could not understand why he merited a visit from R’ Avraham and his son. He waited for the Rav to eat from the delicacies that had been prepared, but R’ Avraham just sat and didn’t do anything.
How was Yonasan allowed to rebuke his own father, Shaul?
The person who sinned and has now repented had to fight harder to conquer his Evil Inclination than the righteous individual.
His father told him: You decide which yeshiva you want to go to. Don’t tell me your decision. When the day comes to leave to yeshiva, take your suitcase, go to the yeshiva, and I don’t want to know where you are going.
When one makes peace in his home, the Torah considers it as if he established peace among the entire Jewish Nation.
A humble person does not take credit for his power, his riches, or his intelligence, because he knows it is all from Hashem.
The aveirah of the meraglim was their own lack of faith, and their determination to weaken the faith of the Jewish nation.
Know Hashem in all your ways – serious or inconsequential – for every ounce of success comes from Hashem.
With regard to the Birkas Kohanim, the Zohar comments that actions performed in this earthly world inspire astounding conduct in Heaven. When the Kohanim spread their fingers to bless the Jewish people, it rouses the Divine Presence to dwell upon His people.
R’ Elazar states that all agree, though, that on the holiday of Shavuos, we are obligated to eat and drink because it is the day on which the Torah was given. R’ Shimshon Nachmani, the renowned Zera Shimshon, notes that this conclusion seems paradoxical. We would think that the day commemorating the giving of the Torah would be dedicated solely to spirituality, to Torah study.
When a person appears before the Heavenly Court, he is asked whether he properly fulfilled the mitzvah of you shall strengthen him.
Based on one’s Torah stature in the community [one] must conduct himself beyond the measure of the law.
The Talmud states that when a tzaddik does not pray for another person who needs to do teshuva, then the tzaddik becomes partially responsible for the sinner’s actions and liable for punishment.
Why was it preferable, then, for Hashem to penalize Nadav and Avihu for their wrongdoing on this very special day during the chanukas hamishkan when it certainly detracted from the happiness of all the people gathered?
We are all believers. We believe in Hashem and all the Thirteen Principles of Faith. However, we are a work in progress, growing our emunah every moment of every day.
Hashem told Avraham Avinu: You are the root of the Jewish nation. If there is a black spot – a small lack of emunah – then the fruit that you bear will be bitter, that is to say, there will eventually be no emunah at all among the people.
With the mitzvah of tzedakah, there is the possibility of saving oneself even as the ship is beginning to sink. The mitzvah of tzedakah is especially unique in that it can protect the individual even if a Heavenly decree has already been issued to the contrary.
Mesiras nefesh does not only refer to extreme instances. It also includes acts that may require a degree of selflessness for others.
Hashem does not forgive anyone who ever shed a drop of Jewish blood. There is no question that justice will be served by Hashem Himself, as the Yalkut Shimoni states, upon anyone who participated in any way in this massacre.
Our sages teach us, Words that exit from the heart [of the one who utters them] enter into the heart [of the listener]. This suggests that if someone does not truly believe or feel that which he is saying out loud it has no effect or impact on the listener.
When the Kohen would light the menorah in the lower word, the menorah in the heavens was lit simultaneously, lighting up the lives of the Jewish people.
One is not promised that he will live longer than the number of years that he was destined to live. Rather, one who worships Hashem will live out his days.
Man will be disappointed when he realizes that Hashem is no longer in such close proximity as He was in this world.
In order to perform acts of kindness with each other, they would each have to overlook the deficits and defects of the other.
The Kerem Shlomo says further that if the children receive a Torah true chinuch they can recognize that their parents seek Hashem, and they are therefore galvanized to give over that same chinuch to their children.
When a person is beleaguered with problems that disrupt his avodas Hashem and his Torah learning, he may ponder why he is suffering when his friend – who is not as devout – enjoys the good life, is well-to-do and at peace.
The thought process of believing that rather than having a child murdered he would separate from his wife was incorrect. Miriam revealed the will of Heaven that the exact opposite was appropriate.
Every individual who finds himself in challenging times only needs to know how to recognize the smile of Hashem from Above.
Even when Yosef believed he was right, he considered the possibility that perhaps he had done something wrong that warranted his excommunication.
The Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel explains that the dream of the Royal Butler actually alluded to the redemption of the Jewish people. This being so, Yosef understood that the redemption could only come about if he, Yosef, would be released from prison.
Yosef was being taken away from his father’s house, sold as a slave to be taken down to Egypt, from which place no slave ever escaped. Yet Hashem grants him this great kindness that he should not be assaulted by the offensive odors of tar and petroleum? This would be comparable to indulging a person going to prison by giving him a ride there in a limousine.
In truth, Yaakov wanted to know the essence of the Satan, so that he could be better equipped to fight evil. He wanted to understand the Satan’s power that enabled him to ensnare people and bring them down.
The lesson here is very clear. Everything in life is for the good; if not now, tomorrow, and if not tomorrow then the next day.
If Eisav received the blessing there was the possibility that Torah could be propagated in the future, and he would beget descendants who were Torah scholars.
True chesed is the ability to intuit when another person is in need and to be sensitive to his deprivation.
It is at this time that the kindness of Hashem becomes evident, for Hashem will repay him many times over for all his generous acts of tzedakah in the past, corresponding to his singular deed of selflessness now.
Despite all the awesome miracles that Og observed as the world was destroyed during the flood, and later at the time of the Dor Haflagah, he nevertheless remained a villain.
Reaching out to bring others close to Hashem, and to pray for them, is an integral component of the mitzvah of loving one’s fellow Jew.
During the High Holidays we pray, Instill Your awe on all Your doings, and Your terror upon all You have created… and all of them shall be bound together to perform Your will wholeheartedly. When these prayers are answered, the entire world will, indeed, be able to dwell together, in peace, in the sukkah of the Jewish people.
On this great day of Yom Kippur, the Heavenly prosecutors stand before Hashem as well, holding the black list of the Jewish people’s transgressions which they intend to reveal before Hashem. But then they hear the Jewish nation detailing those very sins themselves. When the prosecutors hear this, they feel superfluous and abandon their mission.
The only obstacle that could impede the efficacy of this prayer is when it is not said from the heart, but rather in a perfunctory manner. It will not be beneficial then.
It means that although the individual may not have successfully completed his teshuva process, every thought of regret that he has experienced helps to lighten his punishment and gives him additional merits.
The Rambam writes in the laws of teshuva that it is customary for the Jewish people to give extra tzedakah during these days. The Mishnah Berurah writes that doing as many mitzvot as we can will tip the scales in our favor on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Our sages tell us that one of the most effective ways for man to gain Heaven’s favorable judgment is to grant merit to the community, by helping, contributing, and empathizing with those who are in need.
The Zera Shimshon asks: Why does the Torah need to state that the people will be judged. Who else is presenting before the judges?
We learn that every effort that is expended for the collective Jewish people is a merit for the individual.
Although the individual who seems to be evil, may, in fact, enjoy great success in life, when he dies, he has already received all his reward in this world. This is in contrast to the tsaddikim who will receive the lion’s share of their reward in the world-to-come.
One should not become discouraged thinking that he will not be able to master the depth and breadth of the Torah, and therefore he might as well not learn at all. Our sages teach us (Avos 2:16), You are not required to complete the task.
Even though the realm of evil may at times become stronger, one need not fear as he has hope and faith that Hashem is with us.
It was necessary to have an equal number of people going to war, as were assigned to pray. This was to highlight the awareness that it was not the strength of those fighting that determined their victory over the Midyanim, but the prayers of the other 12,000 soldiers.
How could we err and think, like the Jews of Hungary did, that the nations of the world will protect us during times of tribulation? When the inhumane policies of the evil Hitler, yemach shemo, had already affected most of the countries in Europe after four years, people still paid no attention.
Not only is our disposition and attitude critical in disquieting circumstances, but every word we utter during challenging times is significant.
Why weren’t Moshe’s prayers effective, as they were when he prayed for the frogs to be removed from Pharaoh?
July 3, 2026 
