“Thou Shall Not Covet”

Many people try to go to the most inspiring davening they can during the yomim noraim. Some make it their business to daven with their yeshivah or at least a yeshivah. Others go to their rebbe or an especially inspiring congregation.
One Rosh Hashanah, a certain man davened in a very worthy minyan and wished to purchase an aliyah. He bid a respectable price for it but his friend outbid him.
After Rosh Hashanah he was shocked to find that he still harbored a feeling of jealousy toward his friend who had procured the aliyah. He immediately wrote to Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a, to ascertain if he had violated the prohibition against coveting.
“It depends,” Rav Kanievsky replied. “If you are jealous because of the spiritual advantage that your friend attained by getting the aliyah on Rosh Hashanah, you did not violate the prohibition. But if you are jealous of the honor that was bestowed on your friend, it is quite possible that you have violated the lav.”
The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, warned against a circumstance in which many people violate this prohibition. “This prohibition is often violated by chasanim who impose on their unwilling prospective in-laws by asking for material goods that were not agreed upon during the tanaim. Even though the in-laws give these articles as a gift to the new couple, the chasan still violates the lav of לא תחמוד when he employs pressure to secure material benefits for himself that were not part of their original agreement.”

The Thief of Time

The Ahavas Yisrael of Vizhnitz, zt”l, was known to be a very diligent scholar who never wasted a moment of his time. During every available instant he was occupied with either Torah or avodah. This characteristic was so ingrained within his very nature that he actually felt pained by wasted time. The rebbe would often say, “The most difficult avodah for me is wasting time! Since even the smallest unit of time is an irretrievable segment of one’s life span, why let it slip away without any positive use?

On Yom Tov in his beis medrash there was a break between minchah and ma’ariv during which everyone went home. Since everyone cleared out to rest after a very fully packed day, the gabai would lock all the doors so he could also go home for a rest.

Once, just before such a break, a certain chassid fell asleep in a corner of the beis medrash. Understandably, the gabbai figured that the shul was empty and locked up. After a short time this chassid woke up and found that everyone had left and he was locked in. He frantically checked all the doors, and finally found that the gabbai had left the key on the inside of one of the doors. He opened the door and took the key with him with the intention of returning it to the gabbai that night.

When the gabbai arrived, he found that the key to the door on that side of the shul was missing and the door on that side of the shul remained locked. Understandably, the gabbai searched thoroughly all over the shul but could not locate the key. When the chassid finally retuned the key to the anguished gabbai, he was relieved but a bit annoyed. After all, this man knew his address. Why hadn’t he returned the key immediately?

After the chassid went his way, the Ahavas Yisrael, said to the gabbai, “Now I understand why chazal say a person who borrows without permission is a thief. It seems troubling why this should be so. After all, he intends to return it later. But now it is easy to comprehend. Borrowing without permission causes the owner to waste time for absolutely nothing. This borrower is a thief of the innocent man’s time, and a thief of time is also a thief!”[1]

Absolute Honesty

Rav Shalom Shwardron, zt”l, was known around the world for his absolute integrity. When he was first starting out as a maggid, he developed a very scathing but hilarious routine making fun of the methods employed by the Zionist establishment to entice religious Jews away from Torah observance. Even though the speech definitely drove his point home, it was also received with an unusual amount of laughter at his mockery of the “progressives” who had distanced themselves and others from Torah.
After one such shmuess, someone pointed out to the young maggid that the lecture smacked of leitzanus to him. Rav Shalom was very dismayed and decided then and there to consult with the Chazon Ish, zt”l, regarding this question.
The Chazon Ish, zt”l, pointed out that he could hardly tell if the speech was problematic without hearing what he said. Rav Shalom gave over his entire routine and the Chazon Ish gave his hearty approval. “That’s not forbidden leitzonus—that’s exactly how one should speak about the subject!”
Because he was so honest in everything, Rav Raphael Meyerson was shocked when Rav Shalom asked a ridiculous price for a sefer he was selling.
It was on one of Rav Shalom’s many trips to London. As usual, Rav Shalom sold the most recent volumes of the Maharsham that he himself had annotated and reprinted. But the price was truly exorbitant. Nevertheless, Rav Meyerson decided that he would just have to trust Rav Shalom. If that was what he asked, it was clearly necessary money and would go to a worthy cause.
A few days later, Rav Raphael received a letter from Rav Shalom with a huge refund enclosed. “I had such pain when I realized how much you paid me that I could not sleep without righting the matter. I am used to Israeli currency and did not understand the huge difference between our lirot and the true British lira, which I now know to be pounds sterling. Please forgive me for mistakenly overcharging you. I hope you will understand my error and accept my apology.”

A Doctor's Obligation

A certain doctor was having a rather difficult time. People would come to his house at all hours and expect him to be available to treat them. Very often this interfered with his personal life and he wondered if he could possibly refuse to treat a patient unless it was a real emergency. There were no others doctors in his neighborhood but he was tired of being everyone’s “korban.”

It is rather well known that when the Satmar Rav, zt”l, was a resident in Yerushalayim many people came to him for advice. This doctor too approached the Satmar Rav for help. The hapless physician asked, “Perhaps I can refuse, since the language of the gemara is that a doctor has permission to treat. If so, I have no obligation to treat unless it’s a case of pikuach nefesh.”

The Satmar Rav disagreed. “A doctor is obligated to heal any sick Jew that approaches him. This obligation is included in the mitzvah of hashavas aveidah…”

When a certain talmid chacham heard about this exchange he was very amused. The next day he went to Zichron Moshe to daven and while there he recounted the “Rebbishe chiddush” he had heard from the Satmar Rav. When he was finished he began to chuckle.

Although even from his tone it was clear that he felt this psak was shoddy scholarship at the very least, one of the many erudite scholars present put an end to his fun. “Please don’t laugh at the one who knows better than you. Instead, just listen to the words of the Rambam’s commentary on the mishnah.”[1]

This scholar then proceeded to read the golden words of the Rambam: “A doctor is obligated from the Torah to treat sick Jews. This is included in the verse, והשיבו לו—‘And he shall restore it to him’—which teaches that when we see another Jew is ill, we must help him with our bodies, money, or knowledge.”[2]

The Power of Tears

Today the Belzer Beis Medrash is very well known for its vast beauty and majesty. But many are unaware that the Sar Shalom of Belz, zt”l, also built a famously majestic shul in the city of Belz.
When the shul was almost complete people requested permission from the rebbe to make a chanukas habayis. “After all,” they insisted, “The only part not yet built is the women’s section. That is surely not a reason to hold off on making the celebration.”
But to their surprise the Sar Shalom absolutely refused to allow the chanukas habayis until the women’s section was complete. ”We find in Bava Metzia 60 that ever since the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed the gates of prayer have been locked. But the gates of tears have not been sealed. So even if we daven here it is not worth too much since our prayers will not ascend through the gate of tears, which is the only path that is still open.
“But it is well known that women often daven tearfully. So if we lack a woman’s section and they have nowhere to daven in our shul, whose tearful davening will elevate all of our prayers on high? Clearly this is not yet a shul until we have a women’s section through which all of our prayers will ascend through the gates of tears!”[1]
The Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz, zt”l, would say, “We find that although the gates of prayer are sealed the gates of tears are not sealed. It comes out of this that when someone davens with such intensity that he actually sheds a tear, this is more efficacious than several fasts!”[2]
But Rav Simcha Bunim of Peshischa commented, “If tears are so effective, why do we need ‘gates of tears’ at all?”
He then answered his own question, “There are gates to prevent some fool from crying painfully to Hashem to do what is not fitting. These prayers are rejected, despite their accompanying tears!”[3]

[1] אמרי דבש, ע' ק"ן
[2] בטאון ויז'ניץ, אלול תשס"ה, ע' 6
[3] שפתי צדיקים, ע' צ"ז

The Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth

A certain person asked Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky, zt”l, for a favor. “I am sick and need a very expensive operation. Although I can not possibly afford the medical treatment that I need, the government will not pay for it because I own a house and am considered to be in the category of one who has assets to pay for the operation and hospitalization. So I would like to ask the Rav a favor. I want to write up a document stating that I owe the Rav a giant sum of money. If I can show the government that my house is not free and clear, the entire procedure won’t cost me a dime! After the procedure, we will nullify the document. I am asking the Rav because I trust him not to take unfair advantage of me.”
Rav Yaakov replied gently but firmly, “I cannot possibly comply with your wishes in this matter. I never say a lie, and I certainly will not commit one to writing. This is a serious prohibition and in addition it goes against my grain.
He concluded, “If I would not do this for my own benefit, how can I be expected to do so for anyone else’s?”

“It is Forbidden to Lie!”

The Chazon Ish, zt”l, was very careful never to promise anything to ensure that he didn’t go back on a promise if for some reason he could not fulfill it.
Even when Rav Wolbe, zt”l, asked him if he would be able to make it to the out-of-town bris of his newborn son, the Chazon Ish merely said, “I would very much like to come see the yeshiva…”
Rav Tzvi Oberlander, shlit”a, recounted how the Chazon Ish helped him in a tricky situation that seemed to require that he promise what he really could not deliver. “My elderly uncle was childless and he wanted a ben Torah to say kaddish for him. It was natural that he should try to designate me to say the kaddish. But I really did not wish to do this. As a yeshiva bochur it would be distinctly uncomfortable to be saying kaddish even for my uncle when the time came. In addition, my mother was still alive at that point and I did not know how she would feel about such an obligation. I was willing to learn mishnayos for him, however.
“I went to the Chazon Ish and explained that I wanted my cousin, who was not a ben Torah, to say the kaddish, while I would learn mishnayos for his neshamah.”
“‘So tell him you will learn mishnayos for him,’ said the Chazon Ish decisively.
“I explained that my uncle was a simple person who would not understand the importance of mishnayos. To his understanding, the main thing is kaddish. If I tell him that I will merely learn mishnayos for him, this will likely pain him…
“The Chazon Ish had been lying in bed as I asked my question, but at this he stood up and spoke in a very strong tone of voice. ‘It is forbidden to lie! It is forbidden to lie!’
“He made this statement three times and besides causing me to lose all interest in promising my uncle what I had no intention of fulfilling, this also imparted powerful yiras shamayim that lasted me for months!”

Honesty, the Only Policy

The Chavas Da’as, zt”l, was experienced in business from his youth. He knew all the tricks and equivocations people did, without any regard for the truth, often violating clear halachos for a small gain. It is no wonder that that in his long will he warned his children against such sharp business practices.
He wrote, “I also warn you, if you have some business to conduct with a person who you feel does not fully understand what he is getting himself into, you must explain to him all the details of the transaction before he obligates himself. You must not say to yourselves, ‘What difference does his lack of comprehension make to me if he is clearly willing to sign?’
“Such thoughts should not even enter your head since you can violate לא תונו with the greatest of ease. And even if technically you do not violate this prohibition, what about the often quoted, yet more often ignored verse: ואהבת לרעך כמוך?
“Instead of tricking someone into doing what he may not wish to do, act with honesty and integrity… Be very careful never to borrow more than money than you have since Hashem can help you earn a profit whether you have a large sum of money to invest or a small sum. Even if you see with your own eyes that your capital is so small that you cannot possibly make a profit, you should not borrow. Better to take a partner who invests his money and receives half all profits then to borrow money in the hopes of making it back.”

The Importance of Integrity

Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, zt”l, waged war on those who were careful regarding mitzvos between man and Hashem while disregarding mitzvos between man and his friend. As a matter of fact, he felt that one should work the most on mitzvos that deal with his fellow man.
Not only did he believe that such mitzvos are paramount, he also held that one who is exceedingly careful in these mitzvos can reach the highest spiritual levels. He would bring many proofs to this from chazal and the entire expanse of Torah. “As is well known, Chanoch was a shoe maker. We find that while he would sew his shoes he would say, ‘Boruch shem k’vod malchuso l’olam v’ed,’ over every stitch, since with every act he sanctified himself and the entire world.
“Don’t think this ma’amar refers to some kind of kabbalistic mediation,” Rav Yisrael would explain. “It means quite simply that Chanoch would carefully check that each strip of hide he used was in good condition and that every single stitch was stitched carefully. Through the very act of taking care to be honest in all of one’s dealings in money matters, he declares Hashem’s Kingship and sanctifies himself and the entire world!”
Rav Yisrael would warn the rabbanim of various cities to be alert regarding the level of honesty and integrity in business matters in their communities. “One is required to follow the halachah in money matters just like he must eat kosher food. Everyone understands that it is a rav’s responsibility to ensure that the shochet in his city slaughters properly by checking his chalef for blemishes, since the rav’s job is to ensure that people follow the halachah. Yet many are unaware that a rav is also obligated to walk from store to store in his jurisdiction to check the scales and measuring devices of those under his authority and ensure that they are not violating the prohibition of ona’ah!”

Oneg Shabbos

On today’s daf we see the importance of oneg Shabbos.
A close student once invited Rav Yisrael Salanter, zt”l, join him leil Shabbos.
“I never go to anyone for Shabbos until I find out their custom during the meal I shall be attending,” answered Rav Yisrael Salanter.
This student very proudly recounted that his table was filled with both physical and spiritual oneg shabbos of the very best kind. “We only procure our meats b’tachlis ha’hidur. The cook in our house is a G-dfearing woman, the widow of a renowned talmid chacham. Our table is resplendent with the best foods, yet we are very careful to sing and say an abundance of Torah between each course. We even have a regular seder in Shulchan Aruch. Understandably, our table ends only very late into the night.”
Rav Yisrael accepted his student’s invitation, but with a surprising condition. “I will come, but only if you cut two hours off the meal.”
The student complied with his mentor’s strange request and the meal from start to finish took slightly under an hour. At the very end, right when they were preparing to wash mayim achronim, the student could not contain his curiosity, “Please teach me what is wrong with my regular meal that the Rav would not come until I cut it to such an extent.”
Instead of replying, Rav Yisrael merely asked that the cook be brought the table. When the modest woman arrived, Rav Yisrael apologized to her. “Please forgive me for rushing you this evening since on my account you were forced to serve course after course with no break between them.”
“Hashem should bless the Rav with all the brochos!” replied the gratified widow. “I only wish that he came to us every Friday night. My boss usually has a very lengthy meal, and after a hard day working on my feet in the kitchen, I am so weak that I can hardly stand. But, thanks to the Rav, I can get some much needed rest.”
Rav Yisrael turned his student and said, “In this poor widow’s reply you have an answer to your question. It is true that the way you set up your table is very meritorious...but only if your tzidkus isn’t attained at the expense of another!”

The Spiritual Shot of Whiskey

Rav Naftoli of Ropshitz, zt”l, once traveled to a certain town with Rav Feivel of Zebruzh. After a fiery intense davening, the two sat down for coffee. Before partaking, Rav Naftoli sat for a moment and recounted his yichus all the way back to the Shelah HaKadosh.

Rav Feivel looked at Rav Naftoli and said, “I can only assume that you list your yichus so that the merit of your holy ancestors will help your tefillos ascend on high. But does your honor really stand in need the merit of his ancestors after such an intense davening?”

Rav Naftoli smiled and said, “Since you, my respected friend, have asked, I will explain why I list my ancestors. You got up at midnight and recited Tikkun Chatzos to mourn over the exile of the Shechinah and the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. You then immersed in a cold mikveh and learned until the morning. At dawn you started preparing yourself in earnest for Shacharis by saying Tehillim, learning Mishnayos, and generously giving tzedakah. When it came time to daven, you joined the tzibur for a davening full of intense deveikus. After davening, you sip a cup of coffee and feel fulfilled, knowing that you have outstripped your ancestors who never served Hashem as you have.

Like you, I also get up for Chatzos sometimes and learn a little. I can also daven what seems to be a nice davening. But when I have my coffee after davening, my innards churn as I think how inadequate my avodah is. How does my davening compare to that of my ancestors before me? Have I come to a small fraction of the avodah of the holy Shelah? Now you will understand that I list my forefathers as a way of stimulating myself to start to truly serve Hashem. Think of it as a spiritual shot of whiskey to warm me up!”

The Intensity of Learning Halachah

Chazal tell us that Yosef warned his brothers not to learn halachah on the road to their father. Rashi there explains that their intense concentration on clarifying the law would very likely cause them to err on the way home. Someone who is deeply absorbed in his learning might fail to notice any number of landmarks along the way.

Reb Yaakov Rosenwasser was once privileged to travel with the Imrei Emes, zt”l, by train. At that time, the Imrei Emes was still a relatively unknown young man, but since Reb Yaakov had heard that he was the son of the illustrious Sefas Emes, zt”l, he decided to observe him closely during the course of the lengthy journey.

“I noticed that he learned the whole time. At one point, we had an unpleasant surprise. The train was derailed! No one was hurt and we waited outside for the technicians to come with the proper equipment to get the train back on track. Everyone was conversing or relaxing, some were sauntering around and others were enjoying the pleasant scenery. I was still observing the young prodigy. I noticed that although he got off the train like the rest of the passengers, he immediately made his way to a nearby tree and continued learning as if nothing had happened.”

Fixing the problem on the rails and getting the train back on track took several hours, but the Imrei Emes kept learning with the same fiery devotion all the while. Even when they brought a crane to place the train back on the rails and everyone else stood there watching in curious amazement, he did not even look up from his Gemara once! When the repair was finally done, one of the young men accompanying the Rebbe walked over to him and tugged on his sleeve. The Rebbe followed the young man back onto the train.

Reb Yaakov concluded, “It was then that I calculated that the Rebbe had been standing there learning with intense concentration for six straight hours. And he looked as fresh as before he started!”

“The Torah Was Not Given to Angels...”

One must always be exceedingly vigilant to avoid embarrassing any human being. Chazal compare doing so to murder, and they proscribed that one cast himself into a fiery furnace rather than fall into this prohibition. Although some Rishomin write that this is merely a middas chassidus, Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurebach, zt”l, rules like most Rishonim who take this at face value.[1]
This is one reason why Rav Fischer, zt”l, refused to test children while their teachers were present. Not only that, but he would test each student separately, lest one who was less prepared be shamed in front of his friends. When the melamed would naturally ask after their performance, Dayan Fischer would invariably reply, “They knew the material.”
He would immediately add, “Some knew more and some less, but they all knew…”
A certain father was very proud of his unmarried son who was studying for the first chelek of Yoreh Deiah in the hopes of becoming a rav. When the young man finished the first one hundred and eleven simanim—the customary test for a rav in those days—his father took him to the famous Rav Aizel of Slonim, zt”l, to be tested for semichah.
However, although the young man had covered all of the material, his method had hardly been thorough. Sadly, his “good answers” proved that he was not nearly ready for the rigorous test which was the only way to obtain semichah from Rav Aizel.
The test had not been given in a public place, but there were several scholars waiting to speak with Rav Aizel there who witnessed the young man’s performance. They wondered how Rav Aizel would manage to reject him without shaming him or his father. But they could never have guessed what the Rav response would actually be. He turned to the father and said, “Although I cannot give your son semichah now, you should know that he is a malach, an angel.”
The father was thrilled with this approbation, and floated from the room.
Afterward, one puzzled scholar asked Rav Aizel, “Whatever did you mean? The boy is clearly an am ha’aretz!”
Rav Aizel replied with a twinkle in his eye, “Does it not say in Kiddushin 54 that the Torah was not given to malachei hashares, to the ministering angels?”[2]

[1] עיין שו"ת מנחת שלמה, א'
[2] גן יוסף, עמוד קצ"ג

Man or Angel?

Someone once asked the Ben Ish Chai, “According to tradition, Eliyahu Hanavi occasionally comes down to this world and appears as a person to learn with the chachamim. Does he have the halachah of a human being when he is here or not? Can he be the tenth man in a minyan, for example?”
The Ben Ish Chai replied, “Although he sometimes appears to select few in human form, he definitely has the halachah of an angel. We can learn this from the halachah of tum’as hatehom, a completely unknown and hidden source of tumah that only came to light later on. Even if a nazir came in contact with such a source of tumah, it doesn’t disqualify him if he only found out about it after he completed his nezirus and shaved. The Rambam rules like the beraisa brought in Nazir 63 that if anyone in the entire world knows about this impurity, it is not a tum’as hatehom and the nazir is defiled from when he came into contact with it even if he only found out later.
The Ben Ish Chai continued, “Eliyahu Hanavi surely knows about all tumah in the world. If he really has the halachic status of a person, then there could never be a tumas hatehom from the time he went up to heaven in a fiery chariot. Since he sometimes comes to this world and he knows about all tumah, it must be that he has the halacha of an angel and not a person.
The Ben Ish Chai concluded, “May it be the will of Hashem that his merit guard us, Amen kein yehi ratzon!”

The Image of a Jew

When the Nodah B’Yehudah, zt”l, was first appointed Rav and Av Beis Din of Prague, the portion of the week was Parshas Vayikra. His very first drasha was a fiery sermon against shaving. This seems a little difficult to understand in light of some of his teshuvos.

For example, someone once asked if a person who shaves regularly is permitted to do so on chol hamoed. The Nodah B’Yehudah replied, “We find that Rabbeinu Tam permitted one who shaved erev Yom Tov to do so on chol hamoed. The Hagahos Ha’ashrei asks that if this were correct, why don’t we find this among the examples listed in the Mishnah in Moed Katan 14a of those who may shave on chol hamoed?

The Noda Biyehuda went on to explain, “Although shaving is a melachah, it should be permitted on chol hamoed. Chazal only prohibited it to prevent people from deferring shaving until chol hamoed purposefully.”

The Chasam Sofer zt”l, disagreed with the Nodah B’Yehudah, and there are several sources that claim that he changed his mind toward the end of his life. The Sdei Chemed, zt”l, argues this point straightforwardly. “The posthumous section of the Nodah B’Yehudah also contains a teshuvah that permits this. If the Nodah B’Yehudah had changed his mind, then at the very least this those responsible for the publication would have removed this particular teshuvah!”

One can resolve this apparent contradiction very simply. When the Chazon Ish, zt”l, was asked about shaving, he said, “The way of Jews everywhere, always, has been to have a beard. This is the image of a Jew!”

While the Nodah B’Yehudah apparently felt similarly, he also answered the queries about shaving not in terms of the ideal, but according to the strict letter of the halachah. As he once wrote to a Rav who vehemently opposed his leniency in this area, “Why should I not be matzdik the tzaddik Rabbeinu Tam when I agree with his words?”

Shame and Chinuch

It is well known that the Chazon Ish, zt”l, was very careful to avoid causing even the slightest embarrassment to any person. As the Ramak, zt”l, writes, “One must respect all of Hashem’s creatures since they are formed with great understanding. Every creature should be very honored in his eyes, since if he embarrasses a creature this is disrespectful to their Creator.”[1]

Yet there were some exceptions. Sadly, there are times when someone acts in such a despicable manner that one is obligated to publicly shame him. One important example of this is chinuch. It is sometimes impossible for a mechanech to educate a child without shaming him.

At other times, one may not actively shame him but one may set a trap so that the person humiliates himself. This is similar to the halachah that one need not mark orla and the like for a thief since he may, “give it to the wicked one and let him die.”

Since embarrassing another is compared to killing him in the opinion of the poskim,[2] one must be very vigilant to never embarrass another without first asking a posek; this issur is a matter of life and death.

One time, the Chazon Ish, zt”l, noticed that someone was pilfering money from his wallet which was not kept on his person. It could only be one of those who were very close to him, but who? He certainly could not accuse anyone of this crime.

He ordered someone to smear his wallet with a very pervasive ink so that whoever touched his wallet would be easily discerned. This was done and the young man who had done the deed suddenly had very black hands.

He was exceedingly shamed when he saw those from the Rav’s household who knew of the theft staring at his hands, which where very obviously black.... But he never stole again![3]

Safe Investments

Years ago, a certain Jewish investment broker went out of business. Sadly, he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars of other people’s money, often their entire life’s savings. Unfortunately, some avreichim also invested every cent they had based on this man’s assurances and became destitute with the loss. Many people felt pained by the predicament of these bnei Torah, since some had large families and absolutely no means of supporting them.
But when Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, heard about this he was very upset at their foolishness. “Chazal in Bava Metzia 42 tell us what we should do with any capital we have. A third of the money should be left liquid, a third in land, and a third in an investment. Clearly, one should never sink it all into one place for this very reason.
“Although one who violates a rabbinical prohibition is a sinner, it is definitely possible that one who stubbornly refuses to listen to chazal’s advice is worse. How could they have felt they were smarter than chazal? These people are learned and surely knew chazal’s advice. It would be a good idea to check into their ideological leanings!”
Rav Elchonon Wasserman, zt”l, would say from the Chofetz Chaim, zt”l: “If a person is in a quandary regarding what to do he may be shocked to hear that he can ask Hashem. ‘What? How is that possible?’ the astounded person would likely reply. But you can tell him that in addition to the mitzvos and aveiros recorded and explained in the Torah, we also find advice regarding all the important issues of life.
“For example, regarding money chazal tell us to split what one has to invest into three portions. One is not obligated to do this, since it is just advice, but it is the tried and tested advice of chazal to ensure that one does not lose everything he has.”
Rav Elchonon would add, “If one person tells his fried that his face is dirty and another person says that his face is really clean, the confused man would surely seek out a mirror to see for himself. The Torah is our mirror. When one has questions the first thing he should do is look at what the Torah says!”

Visiting the "Sick"

A certain maggid once arrived in a city which a number of well known “characters” lived. One was a wealthy man who was something of a scholar but never gave any money to the many poor people who approached him. This man had been so absolutely immovable in this regard for such a long time that everyone figured he may well stay that way until the day he died.
Which is why people were surprised when this maggid declared with confidence that he would successfully solicit a donation from the notoriously miserly man. When someone tried to discourage the maggid from attempting what so many had proven to be a waste of time, the maggid merely said, “You’ll see. I will definitely convince him, with Hashem’s help.”
When the maggid showed up at the wealthy man’s house, he was invited in. After all, the gentleman appeared to be a worthy individual and it was definitely possible that he was visiting for a valid reason.
As they were sitting together, the wealthy man asked, “To what do I owe the honor of this visit?”
“I heard you were sick and came to be mevaker cholim,” was the man’s strange reply.
“But I’m healthy as can be!” replied the flummoxed man.
The visitor demurred. “I am sorry to inform you that you actually are quite ill. Does it not clearly state in the verse, ‘A man to whom Hashem gives riches, wealth, and honor, so that he wants nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet Hashem does not give him the power to eat of it...this is an evil disease?’”
The wealthy man didn’t really have an answer to that, so he remained silent and so did the maggid.
After a few minutes of introspection the somewhat uncomfortable man invited the maggid to leave. “Well, you have surely discharged your mitzvah of bikur cholim, so why are you lingering?”
“But I have not yet fulfilled my obligation,” replied the maggid. “In Bava Metzia 30 we find that each visitor to a sick person takes away one sixtieth of the sickness. So I need to remain here until you donate a sixtieth of your wealth to a worthy cause!”
There words spoken in a warm manner made such a good impression on the wealthy man that he gave a large donation for the first time in anyone’s living memory!

Reading the Megillah

A few reasons why we read Rus on Shavuos:

1)Yalkut Shimoni: the Megillah describes people suffering and enduring difficulty and displaying great self sacrifice. This teaches that one can acquire Torah only through much toil and self sacrifice.

2)Chidah: Rus demonstrates the punishment for selfishness and the importance of kindness. This teaches us that one can only accept the Torah if he does kind acts. A selfish person cannot learn truly learn Torah.

3)Likutei Halahchos: Rus was the ancestor of Dovid Hamelech. He was the paradigm of tefilah and humility, two absolute essentials without which one cannot learn Torah.

Only Dairy on Shavuos?

Chazal learned from the verse, “And you shall rejoice on your festival,” that one discharges his obligation of simchas Yom Tov by eating from the flesh of all sorts of offerings. Mar in Pesachim 109, states that there is no rejoicing without the enjoyment of meat, and that one can eat the meat of any dedicated offering for this.

Someone once asked Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, “If one doesn’t eat meat on Yom Tov, has he neglected the mitzvah of ‘v’samachta b’chagecha?’”

The Gadol answered, “Nowadays, one who doesn’t eat meat on Yom Tov isn’t entirely neglecting the mitzvah of simchas Yom Tov since he anyway cannot eat from the meat of the shelamim with which the Jewish people used to discharge their obligation when the Beis HaMikdash still stood. However, a person who abstains has not done the mitzvah b’hidur, in a really befitting fashion.”

Someone once asked a similar question to Rav Moshe Halberstam, zt”l. “Is it an absolute duty to eat meat on Yom Tov?”

The Posek responded, “Many halachic authorities like the Rambam, the Bach, and the Magen Avrohom, zt”l, hold that it is. But even those who disagree maintain that there is nevertheless a mitzvah to eat meat nowadays even in the absence of a chiyuv.”

Although the Shaagas Aryeh, zt”l, wrote that one can fulfill this mitzvah by eating anything that one enjoys, the Divrei Chaim of Tsanz, zt”l, rejected this out of hand. “His words are not necessarily true. One must eat meat!”

For this reason, the Darkei Teshuva, zt”l, held that one may not eat exclusively dairy on Shavuos. “We find that the Maharshal, zt”l, wrote that it is obvious that one must eat meat to since it is impossible to feel truly satisfied and content without eating meat at the mealI saw by my teachers that on Shavuos by day they would eat dairy at Kiddush and then wash their mouths out and wait a while before they continued to eat the meat meal. This is the proper way to celebrate Shavuos!”

. [Note: They are discussing a person who enjoys eating meat but prefers to eat only dairy or Pareve for whatever reason. If one would not enjoy eating the meat then doing so despite this is a violation of the mitzvah to enjoy Yom Tov.]

Converts and Kabbalas HaTorah

Rav Tzaddok HaKohen zt”l explains that both the written and oral Torah were built on the foundation of converts. Ma’amad Har Sinai is recounted in Parshas Yisro, and Yisro was the “father” of all future converts; similarly, Rabbi Akiva who was the descendant of converts is the foundation of the oral Torah. The ger personifies absolute self-sacrifice for Hashem and His Torah from pure love, for he has freely chosen to abandon a carefree worldly existence for the demands of fulfilling the Will of Hashem.
After coming into contact with the Torah and sincerely devout Jews in France, young count Pototsky, hy”d—the famous ger tzedek of Vilna— became convinced that he could no longer remain a Catholic. He studied with great devotion, and eventually went to Amsterdam and converted; in time, he assumed the name Avraham ben Avraham. After some travel, he settled outside of Vilna, but one day he was informed upon to the authorities. He had long been sought for the “crime” of conversion, and was quickly arrested and awaited the trial for his “capital crime.”
But his non-Jewish family pleaded with him to “return to the fold.” They petitioned him, claiming that he should think of the great humiliation he would cause the family if he was publicly burned to death.
The ger tzedek replied, “It seems difficult on the face of it that some non-Jews convert. Conversely, it is surely remarkable that sometimes we find a Jew who goes away from the religion of his fathers. What could be the meaning of this? We find in that Hashem went to all the nations and offered them the Torah—which they refused—before giving it to the Jewish people. Although the nations as a whole refused, do you think it likely that not one non-Jew was willing to accept the Torah? Surely there were, but Hashem went after the overwhelming majority that rejected Torah. Similarly, although there were plenty of Jews who were not willing to accept the Torah, whom the Vilna Gaon calls Eirev Rav, Hashem followed the overwhelming majority who did.
“Before the righteous moshiach arrives, all of these mixed-up souls require clarification. Why should a non-Jew who truly wanted Torah be denied, and why should a Jew who did not be allowed to keep it? For this, Hashem causes certain non Jewish souls to convert and other Jews to leave the path of their fathers.
“It comes out that although you always thought I was a gentile, you were mistaken since I am actually a Jewish soul from the time of the revelation of the Torah on Sinai. Surely you don’t think you can prevent me from living out my destiny? The only problem I have always had is that I have a body from a non-Jewish mother. What can I do with this treif body? The Torah clearly says we must take care of ourselves physically. But if you want take care of my problem and rectify this body through burning, I will bless you from the bottom of my heart. At that moment I will become a Jew in body and soul!”
After his long imprisonment and a trial for heresy, he was left to await execution. The Vilna Gaon zt”l sent a message to him secretly:
“I am prepared to save you through a mofes, a miracle brought about by manipulating the Divine Name. Will you allow me to do it for you?”
Avraham ben Avraham sent his bold response back to the Gaon: “I do not wish to be saved—I accept the Will of Hashem, and I will gladly die for the sake of His Name!” The ger tzedek of Vilna was burned at the stake on the second day of Shavuos. Like Rabbi Akiva, he left this world filled with joy to do the Will of his Creator—both living examples of the greatness of converts!
This ma’aseh moved the Rebbe of Tzanz, zt”l, so powerfully that he would exclaim several times at the high points of the third meal, “The Graf Pototski said ‘What do we do with the treif body!”

The Berditchever's Wisdom

Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, zt”l, once spotted a young man racing to and fro and shouting, “Gevald! My father-in-law entrusted me with a large sum of money to do business—how could I have lost it all? What am I going to do? He will surely throw me out of his house!”
The Rav called to the weeping young man from his window, “Please come into my house right now.”
When the young man entered, Rav Levi Yitzchak gently assured him that there was no reason to worry. “I am sure the lost money has already been found and will surely soon be in your hands again. But first you should have a little something to eat and drink to calm your shattered nerves.”
As the young man restored himself with a bite to eat, he calmed down. All of a sudden, he jumped up and raced out of the house without so much as an explanation. A short time later he returned very elated, with a broad smile on his face. He cried, “Rebbe! I have found the money! While I was eating I suddenly recalled that I left it on the shtender in the shul where I davened minchah. I rushed to the beis midrash and found it just where I had left it...”
Just then, the young man was filled with wonder at the Rav’s open nevuah. He could not contain himself from getting a confirmation of Rav Levi Yitzchak’s prescience. “How was the Rav so certain that the money would be restored to me when to all appearances it was lost, perhaps forever? What enabled the Rav to maintain such an absolute calm when I was so filled with panic?”
The Berditchever Rav immediately explained, “Don’t think that this was ruach hakodesh—it was common sense. When I saw you running around so filled with despair I noticed that you had not only lost your money, you had lost your head as well. The first thing for me to do was restore this to you as quickly as possible, since you had probably placed the large sum in an obvious place. I spoke with such conviction because I was sure that you would find the money the moment you were able to collect your thoughts!”

Bending the Truth

A certain man felt quite tired of being grilled by strangers who wished to know his name and family even though it was of no consequence to the questioner. He wondered if he was permitted to lie about his identity. When he asked Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, the Rav ruled that it is permitted.
On another occasion a certain man was at a loss to know how to deal with visitors at times when this was inconvenient for him. The easiest way to deal with such a caller would be to ask his wife to say that he is not at home, yet one would think it is forbidden because it is definitely false. When this man put his question to Rav Shlomo Zalman, he was very surprised at the answer. “It is permitted to say the husband is out since the only reason why they wish to avoid telling the visitor that the husband doesn’t want to see him is so he should not be insulted or get angry. This is definitely a case of darkei shalom, for which one may bend the truth as we find in the gemara in Yevamos.”
Rav Shlomo Zalman added a relevant anecdote. “I heard that when Rav Hoffman, zt”l, would lie down for a nap, he would tell his rebbetzin to say that he was preparing the shiur and was not to be disturbed. He reasoned that not everyone really needs to know what he is doing and in truth his sleep was also a way to prepare since he was better able to teach when well rested!”
The rav concluded with a small lesson from the “fifth section” of Shulchan Aruch. “It is obvious, though, that one should give his wife such instructions—and the mother should never tell what her child knows to be an out-and-out lie when a child could overhear her—since this is teaching the child to lie even when there is no heter.”

Powerful Chizuk

Hope to Hashem

Rebbe Nachman, zt”l, explains the verse “All who hope to Hashem, strengthen and empower your hearts!” This means that anyone—even if the only thing they have going for them is that they are hoping to Hashem—should feel encouraged. Even if, G-d forbid, they are completely bereft of any other holiness or avodah, they should not give up on themselves but instead follow the direction of the verse and be encouraged!
Reb Nosson, zt”l, explains that the main mitzvah of kriyas Shema is to have true faith that everything we are going through is because Hashem wills it to be so. He is the one who is running this world from moment to moment. We draw this emunah upon ourselves from day to day when we read the Shema. As we say in the Shema itself, “And these words that I command you this day...”—“They should be new to you every day, as if you had just received the Torah.” We can feel this newness because, in reality, the Torah is given to us anew every single day.
The main point of learning Torah is to connect to Hashem through the light of the Torah. Every day offers the opportunity of a different connection, according to that particular moment in creation. Each and every day we bind all our thoughts and all our desires and yearnings and our entire awareness to this fact. The natural outgrowth of this is true connection to our loving Creator. The Shema is a reminder to keep Hashem in our minds and hearts throughout every second of the day. We renew this yearning each day as if it’s the first time—it is fresh and new for us—and we increase this focus daily. Hashem causes deliverance to sprout forth all the time—He is “matzmiach yeshuah.” Every new days brings an increase of holiness which is revealed into the world. As Rebbe Nachman said, the world is always getting “shener und shener”—better and better. This doesn’t mean that there won’t be difficulties, but that there is a plan and the closer we are to the redemption the more holiness is revealed.
This is why there are various time limits on the process of ritual purification. Some need to wait until sunset, and others have to wait seven days until their deliverance from impurity. When we left Egypt we had to count forty-nine days until we could receive the Torah.
The same is true of every person. We must know that rectifying our various problems is a spiritual process that takes time. We cannot really change in a day. While we are “hoping” and waiting for salvation, we must continue to work to achieve closeness with Hashem. The stronger we yearn the faster we break through the barriers. For some people, purity is achieved only after their sun sets entirely. This refers to one who spends his whole life yearning for holiness and seems to achieve nothing in terms of spiritual advancement. Nevertheless, he yearns as much as he can. He can sometimes be delivered only after he leaves this world. This is one way to understand the halachah of a person who has to wait for the sun to set in order to eat kodshim. This symbolizes the ability to immediately partake of one’s portion in the world to come without needing to be reincarnated or endure gehinnom. Since the person truly yearned for holiness as much as he could, he does not suffer after leaving this world. After “sunset,” he is purified and can eat from kodshim. On a person’s last day, every single good desire from every day of his whole life joins together. This is all that remains from one’s entire life—this is the power of hope.

Giving Up

The halachah is that the finder of a lost object does not acquire it if the owner does not know that his object seems irretrievably lost. The She’eris Menachem, zt’l, learns a very inspiring lesson from this. “One can explain that giving up, yei’ush, is ‘not from da’as,’ displays a lack of understanding. A true ‘bar da’as’—someone with genuine understanding—will never give up and always encourage himself to serve Hashem, no mater what!”
The Kotzker Rebbe, zt”l, adds, “The reason why one can acquire another’s property only after despair is because one really has no right to give up at all. He should trust that Hashem will help him recover what was taken from him. Therefore, if he gives up, he loses his right to his property. One must never give up!”
Someone once asked the Maharal, zt”l, “Why should one acquire what is not his property? Why does the Torah make a distinction if the one who lost the object gave up or not?”
The Maharal explains, “We must know that our money is not like our body or soul. Our body and intellect are ours for our entire stay in this world and they are the primary means through which we fulfill Hashem’s will in this world. With our possessions, there is a difference; sometimes people have ample money, and at other times they hardly get by. However, since we must usually work to make money it is easy to fool ourselves into thinking that one’s money is also a part of him like his own body. We must learn that it is only Torah and mitzvos that have real lasting value. If money remained in one’s possession no matter what, it would be that much easier to mistakenly attribute more value to it than it really has.
He concludes, “And if one will claim that it is still only proper for the finder to return the lost object, that is actually the halachah. It really is fitting to return any lost object, even that which lacks an identifying mark. Yet the Torah refrains from obligating us to do so in order to teach us to distance ourselves from too much attachment to money since you can’t take it with you!”

Keeping Hashem in Mind

When the Sar Shalom of Belz, zt”l, was just seventeen and was already an accomplished scholar, he would spend time at the court of the Chozeh of Lublin, zt”l. Of course, there were many chassidim there and such a young man was rarely afforded much time with the rebbe. When it was time for the Sar Shalom of Belz to go home, he went to take leave of the rebbe, as is customary. To his great surprise he found that the Chozeh of Lublin had not yet davened. This was a departure from the rebbe’s usual schedule to daven in his beis midrash on time. When the Sar Shalom approached the Chozeh’s room he noticed that the Yehudi Hakadosh, zt”l—a close chassid of the Chozeh—was standing at the door.
“I would like to give shalom to the Chozeh before I leave town for now,” the Sar Shalom said to the Yehudi Hakadosh.
“I am afraid that is not possible at this time,” replied the Yehudi. “The rebbe has not yet davened since he has a question that is occupying his full attention and he does not give shalom before davening,.”
“What is his question?” inquired the Sar Shalom.
“As you know, it is a constant mitzvah to always remember Hashem. Yet it is virtually impossible for the vast majority of people to think of Hashem at all times. The rebbe is bothered that apparently most people violate this positive commandment, and wishes to find a way to justify this apparent blemish.”
“I believe I have an answer,” replied the Sar Shalom without missing a beat. “The gemara in Bava Metzia 11 brings the Mishnah in Pe’ah: ‘What is as yet in front of the harvester is not called shik’chah—is not a forgotten leaving that is free for the poor. Shik’chah only applies to that which was left behind the harvester. The reason for this is that the verse, ‘Do not return to take it,’ applies only to what he does not plan to go back to.
The Sar Shalom continued, “That is your answer. Since the Jewish people plans to immediately return to remembering Hashem, it is not called shik’chah, so even if they forget they do not violate this positive commandment. It is only one who leaves thoughts of Hashem ‘behind him’ without interest in returning to it that violates this mitzvah!”
When the Chozeh heard this answer he was overjoyed. From that day on he gave more honor to the Sar Shalom then many of his much older chassidim.

Shiduch with a Ben Torah

Rav Yissachar Dov Ba’abad, zt”l, lamented the pitiful state of shidduchim during his times. “In Chulin 124 we find that Rav Nachman was the son-in-law of the Reish Galusa, yet in Bava Metziah 16 we see that Rav Nachman’s father was a court scribe, surely not a lucrative occupation. We can draw a very important lesson when we juxtapose these two facts. It shows how klal Yisrael used to relate to shidduchim. For them, the most important advantage of a shidduch was kavod HaTorah. So much so that they did what in our times would be virtually inconceivable: the daughter of the Reish Galusa married a talmid chacham who was the son of a simple court scribe!
“Today, in our great sins, almost no wealthy man would be willing to take such a lowly shidduch. Even someone with exceptional lineage thinks nothing of rejecting a proposal with the son of a melamed or a sofer, even if the prospective bochur is unquestionably good.”
Rav Tzvi Yavrov, shlit”a, pointed out that this has changed in many communities. “Although it used to be that whenever people heard of a person in learning getting engaged they would immediately rush to see the poor guy who was lowly enough to marry a ben Torah, nowadays, this is no longer the case at all. Quite the contrary!”
Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a, explained that the Chazon Ish, zt”l, was very instrumental in changing people’s attitude in this regard. A certain bochur once approached the Chazon Ish, zt”l, regarding a prospective shidduch. The boy described the situation, “The girl’s family has exceptional lineage and her father sings her praises that she is willing to sacrifice by marrying a ben Torah, despite the material difficulties that often come along with this lifestyle.”
The Chazon Ish immediately advised him to avoid this match. “If the girl sees a life of Torah as a sacrifice and fails to grasp the fortune that such a life offers, she is not worthy of marrying a ben Torah!”

To Tell the Truth...

The Shelah Hakadosh, zt”l, writes that one who wishes to be certain that his children will follow in the way of Torah will do his utmost to inculcate in them the importance of being truthful. He tells of a certain man, with whom he often spent time. “He was one of the noble and pious Sefardim who would not tell even the smallest lie for any price. When I asked him how he had attained this precious trait, he explained that this was all due to his father. He would reward his children with many coins for every truthful word. At the same time, any falsehood uttered would be severely punished. In this manner, he inculcated in his children the importance of truth to such an extent that truthfulness entered his blood and soul.”
The Midrash recounts the power of always being truthful with the following inspiring story:
A certain young man had a natural propensity to steal. After he acted on this impulse numerous times, he felt so bad about himself that he decided that he would do anything to enable him to stop such sinful behavior. But he did not know what to do or how to rectify this character defect. He went before Rav Shimon ben Shetach and begged the Rav to tell him how to do a true teshuvah.
The Rav recommended that the young man accept upon himself never to lie under any circumstances. “This is a small thing!” the young man commented. He immediately took upon himself never to speak a false word no matter what.
A short time went by and this young man was once again assailed by an inner desire to steal. He broke into a stranger’s house and took everything of value. As he was ready to leave with his ill gotten gains, he was struck with a sudden thought. “What will I do if I am accused of emptying this house of its valuables? I cannot deny that I am guilty as charged since that would be a lie!”
He immediately returned everything he had taken and became a complete ba’al teshuvah!

Spirit of the Law: #15: Shabbos Clothes

Spirit of the Law: Shabbos #16

(Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 72:16) “One should make an effort to procure nice clothing and a tallis in honor of Shabbos. We interpret the word, ‘And you shall honor it,’ to mean that one should honor the Shabbos by having especially nice clothing set aside for it.” [Note: Rabbi Yochanan called his garments ‘mechabdusei’—that which gives honor. ]
Rav Nosson, zt”l, writes that all labor results in a finished product. We are able to create things and achieve things only by taking the abilities with which Hashem has gifted us and imbuing G-dliness in the work of our hands. The truth is that during the week most cannot come to grasp Hashem without doing these mundane acts which channel G-dliness into the realm of action. It is only by living life in the physical world that we can experience the Divine. Most people cannot sit all day and focus on Torah and holy matters, especially since this requires a high level of trust in Hashem. It is easier to work and exist in the physical world and spend the remainder of one’s time focusing on Hashem. For such a person, working makes them feel their spiritual lack and yearn for spirituality so that they then use their free time to serve Hashem.
There are many ways to spiritualize one’s material endeavors. A certain Breslover carpenter would apply each of his labors with the wood to himself and ask the Creator for help to merit this level. When he was cleaning the wood, he would beg to be cleansed from all spiritual impurity. When he was cutting the wood, he would plead with the Creator to mold him in the best way, trimming off anything not completely spiritual. Rebbe Nachman teaches another way to spiritualize one’s work. While at work, one should focus on the charity he will give from his earnings.
The sages tell us that one who works should learn more on Shabbos. Even one who spends his whole day serving Hashem during the week still has a certain involvement in the mundane, as Rebbe Nachman explains in Likutei Moharan. One must have a relationship with the material world in order to experience holiness. In the ultimate future, we will all be able to experience closeness to Hashem all the time without needing the divider of engaging in physical labor. Similarly, on Shabbos we can connect to Hashem without any filter. This is because Shabbos is a microcosm of the next world so one can focus on G-dliness without the need for creative labor in the material realm.
This is why we have special clothing for Shabbos. We experience the Divine in an entirely different level on Shabbos. The Divine is “garbed” differently on Shabbos than during the week. Of course, one must do his utmost to repent before putting on his Shabbos finery.
The Komarna Rebbe, zt”l, once asked his uncle, Rav Tzvi Hirsch from Zitochov, zt”l, “You taught that the moment a person puts on his Shabbos garb he merits atonement for all his sins. Yet I saw you today at Minchah crying when you said, ‘Forgive us...’ What were you asking Hashem to forgive you for? All your sins were already forgiven when you put on your Shabbos garments!
The tzaddik responded, “What can I do? As I was raised up from level to level, my new awareness of Hashem made old sins for which I had already been forgiven seem to require another teshuvah!”

Spirit of the Law: Shabbos #15: Teshuvah is Easy!

(Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 72:15) “Every erev Shabbos one should search his deeds and repent what he has done wrong during the six days of the week, since erev Shabbos includes the six days of the week.”
The Ramak explains that Shabbos can only be received through teshuvah, especially from whatever bad we may have done during the past week. It is important to note that repentance is not as hard as many seem to think. Rav Chaim Volozhiner, zt”l, writes that teshuvah itself as outlined in the Gemara is easy to accomplish. One simply decides that he does not wish to return to his old ways. Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro, zt”l, explains this in depth.
The truth is that in that same work, Rav Chaim of Volozhin seems to contradict himself. He says (like the famous Rambam) that the Torah commandment of repentance comprises three key elements: regret, wholehearted abandonment of the sin; resolution to never repeat the sin. This last commitment has to be powerful enough to counter the natural entropy toward further sin generated by the original error. Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro, zt"l, discusses the subject at great length and surmises that there are really two basic stages; teshuvah itself, which is simple, and atonement which requires the three elements.
The most straightforward of explanations of how the simple teshuvah of the Gemara relates to the three-step full teshuvah described by the Rambam is offered by Reb Nosson of Breslov, zt”l. He writes that the process of teshuvah usually demands very many beginnings until one merits true and full repentance. This means that one must do teshuvah as outlined in the Gemara many times until one merits to truly atone for the sin by achieving the three conditions described above.
We must do teshuvah whenever we can until we merit complete teshuva. At the very least we must do teshuva every Erev Shabbos to merit the connection afforded to us on this most holy day.
In light of this teaching we understand why Rebbe Nachman, zt"l, declared with such certainty that there is no such thing as despair. Despair is the result of truly feeling the negative effects of one's sins and believing that it will never be rectified. Yet in reality teshuvah is easy. No matter how far we have fallen we can still rectify everything and ascend to the highest spiritual realms. All we need is to keep doing teshuvah again and again, until Hashem finally helps us rectify the bad, one negative character trait at a time!

Lag b'Omer

7) “…According to both customs, all of the prohibitions of sefira are permitted on Lag B’Omer…”

According to the Chasam Sofer, zt”l, one reason why we celebrate on Lag B’Omer is day #33 of the sefira count transcends the thirty-two different major types of defilement listed by the Rambam in his introduction to Taharos. Apparently, each day represents working through a different av hatum’ah and from day thirty-three onward we are done with the spiritual roots of impurity. This is the concept of the verse: "גל עיני ואביטה נפלאות מתורתיך"—“Uncover my eyes and I will see the wonders of Your Torah.” The Hebrew word gal is the inverse of the number 33—lag. The word niflaos, wonders, can also be read nun–plaos, which means “fifty wonders.” This is why we are joyous and experience greater dveikus on Lag B’Omer.

Rav Nosson, zt”l, also explains another way in which lag (33) corresponds to gal. Lab B’Omer is the gal (monument) that was erected to separate Yaakov and Lavan. This monument represents the barrier that a person must erect to keep out illicit thoughts. It is only fit, then, that we should pray on Lag B’Omer for pure thoughts and our moral improvement!

The Sifsei Tzaddik, zt”l, cites the following gemara: “Rashbi said, ‘I can discharge the whole world from judgment.’” (Sukkah 45b) This is actually true for all generations. Each year on Lag B’Omer, when we make a resolution to change our ways, Rabbi Shimon effects an atonement of all our sins and all our prayers are answered.

One time, a Jew from Eretz Yisrael was in Ruzhin, and was spoke with the famous Rebbe Yisrael Ruzhiner, zt”l, about Lag B’Omer in Meron.

The Rebbe asked, “So what do you see in Meron?”

The chossid answered, “Inside the cave it is Yom Kippur, and outside it is Simchas Torah!”

He meant that the heartfelt prayer near the grave itself has the sincerity and intensity of the teshuvah of Yom Kippur, and the enthusiastic and lebedike dancing outside has the joyous fervor of Simchas Torah.

The Rebbe took great pleasure from the man’s answer and said, “If so, one sees good!”

Spirit of the Law: Shabbos #14: Preparing for Shabbos

(Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 72:14) “It is a mitzvah to comb one’s hair, to cut one’s nails, and to take a haircut if needed [in preparation for Shabbos]… It is good to burn the nail clippings.”
The Ramak, zt”l, explains that Shabbos precipitates three major changes, and one of them is that our souls receive a powerful injection of holiness. We must prepare ourselves for this holiness spiritually and physically, since the body is like a chair on which the spirit rests. The more we prepare the body, the more holiness we can absorb. This can be compared to a flowing stream that can fill any vessel with which it comes in contact. The more prepared we are with vessels, the more water we can draw. Also, the nature of spiritual influx is that the light of holiness is always flowing. The amount of holiness is relative to the time and place in which we find ourselves, but the influx of our particular time and place is continuously flowing more than we could possibly take in. There can be no doubt that one who prepares for the holiness of Shabbos will be able to feel it to a much greater extent than one who is keeping Shabbos by rote.
This is why the Gemara records that the early chassidim would say things like, “Come and greet the Shabbos queen,” at the entrance of Shabbos. (Today, most recite Kabbalas Shabbos on autopilot, but it used to be the spontaneous expression of longing for Shabbos.) This preparation must be in thought, word, and deed; only by preparing in these three ways can one be completely ready to receive holiness. The truth is that Shabbos does wonderful things for us whether we are aware of it or not. However, when we prepare for it, we can feel the light of Shabbos much more powerfully.
This is alluded to in the verse: "וְשָׁמְרוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת-הַשַּׁבָּת, לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת-הַשַּׁבָּת לְדֹרֹתָם, בְּרִית עוֹלָם"—“And the children of Israel will guard the Shabbos, to observe the Shabbos throughout all there generations, an eternal covenant.” “Guarding” also implies waiting for something. By preparing for Shabbos, we express our longing for the holy Shabbos. “Observing (לַעֲשׂוֹת) the Shabbos” literally means to make the Shabbos. This means that through longing, through accepting the holiness of Shabbos, we “make it.” “Throughout all their generations” (לְדֹרֹתָם) also means a dwelling place (לדירתם). Through preparing and yearning for Shabbos we make ourselves fit to be a dwelling place for Hashem.
The holiness of Shabbos rests on a person to the degree that he did good things during the week. When the holiness of Shabbos comes, every good thing we did the whole week is elevated before the Creator. And the inverse is also true; if one did something bad, holiness cannot rest on him as it should. For this reason, the best preparation for Shabbos is to confess and truly repent. By sanctifying all of one’s limbs with true repentance, “beautiful utensils” are dedicated for Shabbos use. This can be compared to the sun which shines on everything equally. If it hits a gem, it gives forth a more brilliant light than it does when it hits some less brilliant object. Obviously, the cleaner the gem, the more light it reflects. If the gem is crusted over with dirt it will only sparkle after the dirt is removed. The more we polish our souls and remove the dirt with teshuvah, the more the holiness of Shabbos can shine in.
First we cuts our nails. The nails are the extremities of the hands. They are the point at which the outer forces of evil derive their life-force from a person who sins. Most of what we accomplish is done with our hands, and cutting the nails represents shearing away the bad that we have done in the course of the week. Each of the fingers of our hands represents a different sefirah, and trimming all ten nails parallels cleaning ourselves from every possible negative manifestation of each middah. Since the nail clippings represent evil, it is easy to understand why it is best to burn them. We must do our very best to eradicate the evil from within us.
The atmosphere of the six days of the week is impure compared to the air of Shabbos which is pure. This parallels the distinction between the environment of Eretz Yisrael and the diaspora. The outer forces of negativity have dominion outside of the Land, but not within it. Of course, one who sins in Eretz Yisrael draws these forces upon himself. This is why the halachah is that one may leave the Land if they can learn Torah better outside it. The most important thing is one’s Jewish identity which is his connection to Hashem and Torah. Similarly, the chitzonim have dominion during the six days of the week but not on Shabbos. For this reason, one must at least wash his hands, feet, and face in preparation for Shabbos. These are the body parts which are exposed to the impure atmosphere of the world. We must wash our hands and feet, just as the kohanim purified themselves by bathing their hands and feet before performing their service in the Beis Hamikdash.

Spirit of the Law: Shabbos #13: Redirecting Thoughts

Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 72:13 “It is forbidden to share a mikveh or bathing area with one’s father, father-in-law, mother’s husband, or sister’s husband…”
The Gemara teaches this halachah and its rationale is that bathing with one of these people can trigger lewd thoughts. Although there are various reasons suggested for why most are lenient about this law, the consensus is that one must be careful to fulfill it. The general rule is that the sages prohibited any activity which could lead to illicit thoughts when a person is in a low state. The reason for this is simple: better safe than sorry. Since what we do matters so much it is very important to have proper safeguards in place so we will not come to do what we may regret later. Another example of this is the prohibition against yichud.
Rebbe Nachman, zt”l, offers a prescription for avoiding negative thoughts. Since two thoughts cannot exist simultaneously in one’s mind, one has the ability to force his redirect his thinking at any moment in time. The thought process is literally like a horse that can stray from the road. However, as soon as one is aware of it the problem is easily rectified. One simply takes the reins in one’s hands and directs the horse in another direction. The horse has no choice but to go where directed. Similarly, one takes hold of his thoughts and turns them in a different direction. This is explained further in Chayei Moharan. There, Reb Nosson, zt”l, describes what he heard from a fellow student in Rebbe Nachman’s name.
“Thoughts were created fluid. For this reason, one’s mind is always on the move, going from thought to thought. [Note: It takes a lot of training to think of one thing for a long period of time. Rav Pinchas of Koritz, zt”l, said that an average person cannot focus on the same good thought for over a half-hour, even on Shabbos! ] This is like the pendulum in a clock that swings from second to second. Even when one sleeps, one’s thoughts are always moving fluidly. When one slumbers deeply he doesn’t remember what he thought but he was always thinking and his thoughts continued to march along. Just insert a different thought into the flow.”
On this subject, Reb Nosson taught that our thoughts are in our hands to think as we will. This is the main place where our free choice is manifest. If I don’t think about it, I will not do it. Similarly, if all day I am focusing on learning or connecting to Hashem, eventually I will achieve this. The main thing in thinking good thoughts and not bad thoughts is that first bad thought. We must be ever vigilant to redirect the beginnings of what seems to be leading to places we don’t want our thoughts. When our trend first seems to be turning to a bad place it is still quite easy to redirect our thoughts to better places.
The main protection against negative thoughts, however, is simplicity and temimus. We must accustom ourselves not to be sophisticated and to refrain from thinking extraneous thoughts. We should not let our thoughts roam and we shouldn’t think “too much.” We must cry out very much to Hashem about this—someone who is accustomed to thinking bad thoughts needs to be careful not to give up at all but to cry out to Hashem each time he falls. He must take hold of his thoughts at all times and return them from the depths of the evil inclination to the purity and simplicity of the true tzaddik.
Someone asked Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, zt”l, what he can do to help weed out troubling thoughts. After all, one is not really in control of his thoughts, is he? The Rav told him to return early that night. When the inquirer approached the house he could hear the large family being put to bed. He knocked on the door but no one answered. Assuming that he had not been heard, he knocked again. There was no response. He spent the next ten minutes knocking until he finally left. When he next saw the Rav, he asked about this peculiar occurrence.
Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld explained, “I am the baal habayis. If I want you to enter, you enter. If not, you don’t. You are the baal habayis of your head. Leave the negative thoughts outside!”

Spirit of the Law: Shabbos #12

Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 72:12: “It is a mitzvah to wash one’s hands and face...in hot water every erev Shabbos, and if it is at all possible, one should wash his entire body in hot water..”

Rebbe Nachman writes that we must realize that when we do something which distances us from Hashem, the sin forms a blemish that enclothes our souls like a garment. We all unfortunately have very many such garments, and we remove these garments a little at a time. For this reason we often seem to regress while we travel the path of spiritual development. We misunderstand the truth of our situation if we see temporary regressions as symptoms of outright failure. They only show that we are slowly releasing ourselves from these blemished garments which cover our souls.
At first, our progress was checked because we were held back by these garments. Subsequently, our progress improved and we felt better because we had divested ourselves of the uppermost layer of the soiled spiritual garments. A later regression does not necessarily mean that we did anything to instigate a fall—rather, it is just a sign that the next soiled garment is surfacing and it needs attention.
Rebbe Nachman’s words offer powerful encouragement for us when we feel that we are experiencing a yeridah. The general rule is that we can remove all the soiled garments slowly, over the course of many years, by learning Torah diligently with the intention to connect to Hashem and with the knowledge of the flaws that we want to correct.
Reb Nosson of Breslov writes that when washing on erev Shabbos, one should focus on the fact that he is removing the soiled garment of the soul and replacing it with clean garments in the merit of Shabbos. On Shabbos, the main element of our soiled spiritual garments is nullified by the holiness of the day itself. This is why we don our Shabbos finery after bathing on erev Shabbos. This parallel the clean garments with which our souls are dressed—the extra soul-level or neshamah yeseirah that arrives in honor of the Shabbos.

Spirit of the Law: Shabbos #11

Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 72:11: “One is obligated to review the parshah of the week; one reads the text of the chumash twice, and the Targum of Onkelos once.”

The first question that springs to mind when one learns this halachah is, what is the purpose of reviewing the chumash twice? Shouldn’t once be sufficient?
Rav Shmuel Hominer, zt”l, states in the introduction to his work Eved HaMelech on the chumah that reviewing the parshah in the way indicated here makes it as if one fulfilled all the mitzvos revealed in that parshah, even those which they cannot do or which cannot be performed presently. The second review demonstrates that the study is not just learning, but is avodah.
Rav Moshe Soleveitchik, zt”l, of Switzerland explained that we say the verses of the parshah twice because this shows that we recognize the endless depth of the Torah. The first time corresponds to whatever commentaries we learn, and the second time is like learning the verses alone without any commentary. Even with all the deep commentaries we may learn, we still recite the text a second time to internalize that we have not yet begun to enter the depths of the written Torah.
Rebbe Nachman, zt”l, brings a “proof” of the infinite levels of the Torah. The Tikkunei Zohar comprises seventy profound chapters filled with the deepest Kabbalistic secrets, seventy facets of interpretation of a single word—the first “Bereishis” of the Torah. Rebbe Nachman says that we see from it that a book like this could have been written about each and every word of the holy Torah!
There is another way of understanding why we review the text of the chumash twice. The Chid”a, zt”l, quotes the Rabbeinu Efraim, zt”l, one of the baalei Tosafos, who writes that the first words of Sefer Shemos—ואלה שמות—form an acronym of the phrase: וחייב אדם לקראות הפרשה שניים מקרא ואחד תרגום—“One is obligated to read the parashah; twice its verse, and once its Targum.” The Chid”a then goes a step further. He explains why is this halachah is hinted at specifically in the first words of Parshas Shemos. It is well known that the purpose of our exile to Egypt was to raise up the sparks of holiness that had been exiled there through our physical labor in clay and brick-making. The Arizal writes that we review the parshah in this way to clarify holiness from klippas nogah which is comprised of things with both a potential for holiness and a potential to be used for impurity (like eating, business, sleep, etc). Klippas nogah is expressed in the language of the nations that can be sanctified through their use in Torah study. [See Likutei Moharan I:19] This is why the numerical value of Targum equals 649—the same as the numerical value of tardeimah. [This is the deep sleeping state of spiritual unawareness, which requires clarification.] Based on this teaching of the Arizal, it is fitting that the mitzvah of reviewing the Torah with the Targum is alluded to at the beginning of Parshas Shemos, the parshah which discusses our exile in Egypt, whose purpose was also to clarify sparks and raise them up from exile.

Spirit of the Law: Hilchos Shabbos #10

(Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 72:10) “From nine halachic hours after daybreak onward, it is a mitzvah to refrain from sitting down to a full meal (at which one eats more than a beitzah-volume of bread). (Note: We divide the daylight hours into twelve equal parts. This provides us the number of minutes in a halachic hour.) This includes a meal which one would ordinarily eat at the same time on a weekday. An extravagant meal of which one would not usually partake is prohibited from the ninth hour onward unless it is a seudas mitzvah that cannot be conducted on a different day. (For example, the meal celebrating a bris which was performed after midday on Friday.)”

The Mekor Chaim, zt”l, explains that even one who has done teshuvah should not think that he need not pay close attention to what he eats and drinks. On the contrary, one must pay be very careful to avoid overeating because there is nothing as bitter and evil for the soul than overeating. After all, this was the sin which caused all our troubles in the first place. Adam and Chava ate from the tree of knowledge, thereby bringing evil into themselves and causing their eviction from Gan Eden. In addition, the verse states: “And he will eat and he will be satiated and he will be pampered (with delicacies) and he will turn to serve idols!” We see that overeating leads to idolatry. The Vilna Gaon, zt”l, writes that bitachon is the opposite of overeating. This is because one with true trust in Hashem does not feel the need to overindulge in physical luxuries. Overindulging implies that one draws comfort from the food and not from Hashem. For this reason, eating too much is the first step down a very slippery slope which ends in denying Hashem. Our job is to regulate how much we eat and guard ourselves from overeating, turning to Hashem for comfort instead of food.
We internalize that our stay in this world is only a means to the next world and is not an end in and of itself through fulfillment of the opening halachah of this lesson. Just as erev Shabbos leads to Shabbos and if one doesn’t prepare before Shabbos he will have nothing for Shabbos, one should refrain from eating an extravagant meal on erev Shabbos after the ninth hour even if it is a meal one would usually eat on another day. Limiting what we eat in a healthy balanced way helps us to do teshuvah. This limiting our normal intake is not obligated since the main element of teshuvah is regretting the past and resolving to do better next time. If the meal is extravagant, this will surely misdirect us from our goal of teshuvah since this detracts from our ability to enjoy the Shabbos meal that is to come. This would certainly only draws us further away from Hashem. If the meal is for a mitzvah and one intends for the sake of heaven, however, the eating will not damage one’s connection with Hashem.
It is worthwhile to note that Rav Nosson, zt”l writes that it can take a long time to merit true teshuvah, and we must keep starting again until we merit true teshuvah. The Alter of Slobodka, zt”l, uses this very concept to explain the verse in Tehillim: “By virtue of the many tumultuous thoughts within me, Your comforting will give my soul pleasure.” It is only through exerting the effort of doing teshuvah many times that we merit to do a genuine teshuvah. Rebbe Nachman, zt”l, explains that this is like a pot of dirty water. Until a fire is lit beneath the pot, all of the dirt that has settled to the bottom isn’t recognizable. It is only after the fire of enthusiasm and yiras shomayim is going strong that the dirt begins to rise to the surface. One should never be discouraged when one’s efforts in avodas Hashem only make one’s flaws more obvious. It is only when the dirt rises to the surface that one can, bit by bit, skim it off and get rid of it.

Spirit of the Law: Shabbos #9

Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 72:9: “One should not do creative labor (which is prohibited on Shabbos) that demands one’s fixed attentions for an extended period on Friday from the time of Minchah ketanah onward. One may, however, do creative labor (that is not needed to prepare for Shabbos) if it is not very absorbing. To prepare for Shabbos, one may even do labor that demands one’s fixed attentions for an extended period.”
The Mekor Chaim, zt”l, explains why the 39 melachos are prohibited on Shabbos. Hashem made the whole of Creation in order that Yisrael accept the Torah. Torah and mitzvos are also called melachah, just like the paradigmatic forms of creative labor which are prohibited on Shabbos. Our original task was to perform the melachah of Torah and mitzvos and not the mundane activities through which we make a living. When we made the golden calf, however, we failed to live up to our original calling and needed to build the Mishkan instead to atone for our sin.
We therefore preserve one day in which we refrain from doing physical creative labor, and try to live in our intended, original spiritual state. On Shabbos, we work in the main on spiritual labors. There are even some Rishonim (including the Meiri) who hold that those who can learn must be more careful to learn the maximum on Shabbos. This is because of the precious nature of one’s learning on Shabbos. The Ben Ish Chai, zt”l, writes that one hour of learning on Shabbos equals 1000 hours of learning during the week.
The first rule about spiritual labors is that they must be a pleasure, hence the emphasis on oneg Shabbos. Mundane creative labor is prohibited to make room for spiritual endeavors, but these must be enjoyable. As we say in the blessings over the Torah: “Please, Hashem our G-d, make the words of Your Torah sweet...” We ask that the Torah should be sweet to us. The same is true of every other avodah. The Maharal, zt”l, explains that we find that we are to love Hashem with our whole heart. Nowhere does it say that one should fear Hashem with his whole heart. This is because love can arouse one’s whole self to Divine service. A human being cannot fear Hashem with their whole heart unless this fear is connected to love, because this sort of fear is unhealthy and will cause a person to collapse emotionally. All avodah must be infused with love, and for this reason we are specifically commanded to make the Shabbos enjoyable through indulgence in delicacies. We should enjoy our service of Hashem. Although sometimes one must deny himself a degree of pleasure to overcome his base physical nature, this is only a phase. We must come to the level of using our physical urges and pleasures to come closer to Hashem.
To return to the Mekor Chaim, we refrain from creative labor on erev Shabbos to remind ourselves of the next world which is represented by Shabbos. Each day of the week represents ten years of our lives. Friday represents the last ten years of an average life span. As it says in Tehillim 90: “The days of our lives are seventy years...” This is another reason why we refrain from creative labor on Shabbos. We do this to represent that we will ultimately come to a world where all physical labor will come to naught and we will only be left with our spiritual achievements. Rebbe Nachman, zt”l, writes that only the humility, sincerity, and true holiness of the person will be resurrected. Even sincere desires cause us to live in connection with Hashem for eternity. So the end of Friday represents the very end of our lives. It is only fitting to at least dedicate this period to serving Hashem and weaning ourselves away from this physical world! For this reason, even absorbing creative labor for Shabbos is still permitted after the time of Minchah ketanah.
Each and every week we remember how limited are our years until we journey to the world of souls. Yet we feast and enjoy because in the end everything will surely turn out well. Even if we only acted with sincerity once in our lives, even if we only did good once in our lives for the sake of heaven, our lives are worthwhile and our souls are worthy of eternity. The very fact that we keep the Shabbos is already a reason to celebrate!

Spirit of the Law: Shabbos Chapter 72: #8

Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 72:8: “Even a poor person should make efforts to enjoy Shabbos even if this means that he must limit his spending during the week in order to be able to afford the simplest pleasure. Even if he doesn’t have money, he should borrow using his belongings as security in order to be able to obtain delicacies to bring him pleasure on Shabbos. About such a case the rabbis said (in Hashem’s Name): ‘Children, borrow and I will surely pay! The resources to pay for all of one’s food is fixed on Rosh Hashanah, except for Shabbos and Holiday expenses. If one adds to these, the money is added to his account!’ If one’s situation is very difficult, if he cannot borrow and the only way of getting delicacies for Shabbos is to take charity and this person has never taken charity, he should rather make his Shabbos like a weekday and not make use of his fellow man by becoming a burden to the community. However, one should make an effort to have at least a little something which is special in honor of Shabbos.”

The exact language in the Gemara in Beitza quoted here is, “Believe in Me and borrow, and I shall pay.” The Ben Ish Chai, zt”l, and the Chazon Ish, zt”l, both learn that a person should only borrow if he is also sincerely working on his trust in Hashem. One who is not on this level should not borrow. Perhaps he will not be worthy and will not be repaid.
Working on bitachon (trust in Hashem) is an ongoing struggle that takes much effort. The bigger the financial burden, the more bitachon is required.
There is an interesting exchange between Rav Nosson of Breslov and his son in this regard. After Rav Yitzchok, zt”l, had married and learned for several good years with his father’s support, Rav Nosson told him that the time had come for him to fend for himself. “The number of years that I committed to support you are over, and I cannot carry the load of you and your family any longer,” he said.
When Rav Yitzchok asked why, his father explained, “I have enough bitachon for myself and my own family, but I can’t work on bitachon for you and your growing family as well. That is for you to do!”
The Mekor Chaim, zt”l, explains that we attain tremendous spiritual reward through taking pleasure on the Shabbos. One of the rewards of a person who has pleasure in Shabbos is a boundless spiritual inheritance—נחלה בלי מיצרים. This represents a higher level of existence. During the days of the week we exist at a soul-level that is connected with the lower spiritual worlds of Beriyah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. Since these worlds are a mixture of good and bad, the levels of the soul procured from them need clarification. On Shabbos we receive our soul-level from the world of Atzilus which is completely holy without any admixture of bad. This represents our deep inner spiritual connection to the Almighty which can never be truly severed whatever we may have done. Taking physical pleasure on Shabbos represents the awesome holy delicacies in which our souls partake in the merit of Shabbos. One who does not celebrate the Shabbos meals with any delicacies is being punished for failing to honor the Shabbos at an earlier time (sometimes this is even from an earlier life). This changed their Oneg Shabbos to Nega—a plague (נגע = ענג). In light of this, a person in straightened circumstances should consider the importance of correcting this fault and at the very least save up to have a little something on Shabbos to distinguish it from the week. The greatest rectification of this is one who casts their whole burden on Hashem, strengthening their bitachon until they completely rely on Hashem and He carries their burden. Hashem then sends them the bounty to pay back all their debts and purchase many delicacies in honor of the holy Shabbos.

The Danger of Philosophizing

The Bnei Yissaschar taught, “...even that which we can learn from our understanding like a kal v’chomer is still completely above our understanding. We learn the Torah with the thirteen middos because this is Hashem’s will. Not because Hashem wants us to philosophize about the Torah.”
He delivered a parable to illustrate this idea. “Once there was a hungry man who was abandoned in a lonely field, far from any town or village. There was absolutely no food except for a nearby field of wheat. This man was no fool, however. The moment he thought about his situation he realized that if he didn’t find some way to make the sheaves into bread, he would starve to death. He immediately got to work. First he cut the stalks down. Then he gathered them together. He subsequently threshed the grain out of the chaff and selected the good grains. He then ground them up, sifted them, added what liquid he could find, kneaded the dough, and baked it over a fire he built of found twigs and branches. After all this effort, he had a good meal of bread and felt very thankful for this little bit of food. He then sat down to plan his next step.
He continued, “There was also a ‘philosopher’ who was in the same position. Not interested in doing the hard work necessary to get bread out of the grains, he indulged in pondering abstractions: Why didn’t the Creator make ready-made cakes of loaves of bread? Why does this process have to be so labor intensive? By the time this man was truly hungry, he hardly had energy for the work of getting bread out of the wheat. Worse, if he fails to move quickly, he might even die since raw wheat is not edible in its natural state.
The Bnei Yissaschar concluded, “The same is true regarding Torah and mitzvos. They are beyond our ability to grasp, much as we don’t really understand why things were not created differently. Philosophizing will get us nowhere!”

Spirit of the Law: Shabbos 72:7

Spirit of the Law: Shabbos #7
(Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 72:7) “One should prepare in honor of Shabbos high quality meat and fish, delicacies, as well as fine wines. It is a mitzvah to eat fish at every meal on Shabbos, but only if one enjoys eating fish. If one does not enjoy eating fish or eating it is harmful for him, he is required to do so. Shabbos was given for pleasure and not for pain…”
The Chida, zt”l, writes that one should have special intentions when eating the fish and chicken or meat of one’s meal. While eating these three dishes during the week one can merely be demonstrating the fact that one is enslaved by one’s passion for food. This is why in the Hebrew the first letter of these three foods spell slave—עוף בשר דג. However on Shabbos whatever we eat we are Hashem’s slaves. So Basar is the numerical value of 502 which is the exact value of the combined lives of all our forefathers Avraham Yitschak and Yaacov in whose merit we eat the Shabbos meals. Oaff, has the numerical of 156 which is the numerical value of Yosef. Yosef represents the sefira of Yesod. Dag is the numerical value of 7 which can mean the seventh sefira of Malchus. In this manner every time we partake of the Shabbos delicacies we are concentrating on the Holiness of Shabbos.
The Chida would often say during his Shabbos meal “In honor of the Shabbos Queen!”
“For pleasure and not for pain…”
Rav Levi Yitschak of Barditchev, zt”l, explained “The best way to be absolutely sure that you never transgress the holy Shabbos is to tie yourself up in a chair for the whole duration of Shabbos! The only trouble is that since Shabbos was given specifically for pleasure and not pain, this would be the ultimate violation of Shabbos! We have to do the best we can and be certain that we not violate this very important halacha. We must enjoy the Shabbos!”
Rav Nosson discusses at great length the concept which is first brought in the Ramban in Eyov that one who focuses on what’s worrying them draws the problem on themselves while one who focuses on the good and kindnesses in one’s life draws this into their life. This is because the mind is very powerful indeed. We must learn to harness our thoughts and think good positive thoughts. We must not dwell on the difficulties in our lives. “Dieya tsara bishaata,” it is enough to deal with our difficulties when they crop up. We need not relive them needlessly. Sometimes we must get something out of our system by discussing it or reliving it. The only question is: where does the healing of this confiding end and damaging non wholesome focusing on bad begin? This is a question which everyone must decide for themselves. In general we must try with all our might to focus on what’s good and holy in a positive way. We should live with joy and vitality. Let’s start again right now! This very instant we can connect to the Creator by wanting Him and calling out to Him! “Hashem is close to all who call out to Him in truth!”

Invalid Conversions II--Chizuk and Truth

[Mostly part of a response to "Spiritual Dan's" incisive comments]
...The truth is that people who converted without kabbalas mitzvos are often offended by being "disqualified" so unilaterally, since
they feel that this devalues all their hard efforts to draw nearer to Judaism. As should be apparent by now, (with all the chizuk we have discussed in the past,) this is completely false.
Quite the contrary. The holy Zohar states that no good desire is ever lost. Rebbe Nachman clearly applies this to non-Jews as well as to Jews. (The sources for this are brought in the notes to the first tefillah of the Sason V'Simcha section of Kochvei Ohr.)
As we have already discussed, Hashem doesn't want us to do more than we can. This definitely includes conversion. Although we often have no way to determine whether another is truly unable to convert according to the halchah, the potential convert must search deep into his or her heart to determine what Hashem wants their next step to be. (If they cannot bring themselves to even consider Orthodox conversion, this signals that there is a problem in the person's Torah education up until that point.)
Yes, we need to do our utmost to grow, but we also must be happy with who we are even as we strive for more. Sometimes a person honestly cannot convert Orthodox for whatever reason. Does this mean that doing what they can is valueless? Heaven forbid! Every effort and even desire to draw closer is very very precious. And sometimes that is the path they need to take to merit to eventually convert with a genuine acceptance of Torah and mitzvos, in accordance with Jewish law and tradition.
So that is the chizuk--but we must nevertheless be clear that our standards for conversion do not, and cannot, change because we are worried about causing offense. Even though every little bit is very precious, a convert without kabbalas mitzvos--even if performed by a misguided Orthodox Rabbi or dayan--is not yet Jewish.

Permitted Flattery

Although flattery is generally a very serious prohibition, there are exceptions to the rule. For example, one may flatter the wicked in this world. The Chidah adds that one may flatter his Rebbe, spouse, or parent. However, one may only flatter if his intention is l’shem shamayim.
At the end of his life, the Chazon Ish, zt”l, rarely attended simachos. And those he did attend were close to home. Unless there was a really exceptional reason, he didn’t go to affairs outside of Bnei Brak. And even in Bnei Brak, he rarely stayed for long.
Once he asked Rav Shlomo Lorenz, shlit”a, to accompany him to a bar mitzvah in Tel Aviv. This in and of itself was a big enough rarity. Another unusual thing about this bar mitzvah was that the Chazon Ish had very little to do with the parents of the bar mitzvah boy. It seemed as though the grandfather, a prominent Rav in the Rabanut HaRashit with broad influence, was presumably the motivating factor in the Chazon Ish’s decision to veer from his regular practice and attend a simchah in Tel Aviv. An even greater anomaly was that the Chazon Ish spent an inordinately long time at the affair compared with other events, even when they took place in Bnei Brak.
Rav Lorenz couldn’t help but ask why the Chazon Ish chose to stay specifically at that particular simcha for so much longer than his wont.
The Chazon Ish replied, “You know that right now there is a big altercation regarding drafting religious young women into the army and this issue is about to be resolved. The bar mitzvah boy’s grandfather’s opinion carries great weight with the other leading Rabanim of the Rabanut. I wished to give him a ‘bribe’ of kavod, to be sure that he will vote against this measure…”

“No One Considers Himself Wicked!”

At one Seder in the home of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a, a guest told one of Rebbe Nachmn’s stories that also appears in the works of the Ben Ish Chai, zt”l.
“Once, a businessman was on the journey home after a successful stint at a fair. In one abandoned stretch of road, he spotted another person. As soon as the businessman drew closer the other man shocked the businessman by pointing a loaded gun right at him. In a gruff voice, the bandit said, “Hands up! Give me all of your money.” The businessman did as he was told and handed over all of his hard-won earnings.
As the bandit made to leave, the businessman said, “Wait! I am really in a bind now. Won’t you help me?”
“Nu?” said the bandit, clearly in a rush to make his getaway.
“That’s not only my money that I gave you—it is also the return on the investments of others! They will never believe that I was robbed.”
The bandit openly sneered, “Are you trying to ask for some money back?”
“No, no. All I am asking for is that you shoot a few holes in my hat.”
“What?” asked the surprised bandit.
“If you shoot my hat there will be no denying that I was really robbed.”
“Fine,” said the thief. “Take off your hat and hold it away from you and I’ll do it.”
Bang!
“Can you shoot another hole so no one will doubt my story?” asked the businessman.
Bang!
“Please fire again,” begged the traveler.
Bang!
“Could you do a couple more so it looks completely realistic?”
“I think three bullet holes is enough,” demurred the thief, “But if you really want me to…”
“Just one more,” begged the victim.
“Alright, but then I’ve got to go.”
Click.
“You fool,” shouted the thief. “Now I’m out of ammunition!”
The merchant grinned and said, “If that’s the case, I’ll take back my money!” He beat the bandit soundly and retrieved his property.
After everyone at the table finished laughing, Rav Kanievsky spoke up. “Don’t forget what the bandit told the merchant as he was taking the money: ‘It’s not enough that you finished my ammunition and beat me up—you’re taking my money too?’ Even a bandit thinks that he’s in the right!”

Invalid Conversions

A certain woman once came to Rav Avraham Yaffe-Schlessinger, shlit”a, the Av Beis Din of Geneva. She had received a divorce and had heard from friends that sometimes people in Israel have trouble remarrying unless their divorce is one hundred percent in order. Since she was moving to Israel, she wanted to make sure that she would not be troubled.
When Rav Schlessinger looked over the divorce he noticed that one witness was a notorious Shabbos violator. He explained to the disappointed woman that the divorce was indeed invalid. She would have to contact her husband and procure a kosher writ of divorce if she wised to remarry.
As they were speaking, the Rav noticed that the husband in question was named “ben Avraham.”
“Is your husband then a convert?” he asked.
“Yes,” she answered.
After the Rav asked a few questions it became readily apparent that the man’s conversion had been completely invalid at the outset. For one thing, the husband hadn’t really been Torah observant. In addition, the beis din had been questionable, to say the least.
Rav Schlessinger told the surprised woman, “Since this is the case, you need not get a divorce since there was never a halachic marriage to begin with!”
Rav Schlessinger wrote a document to this effect, and she moved to Israel. But the beis din in Tel Aviv refused to honor his testament unless it was affirmed by Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l.
When Rav Schlessinger went to see Rav Shlomo Zalman regarding this matter, the gadol was happy to issue his agreement in writing. He also expressed some surprise.
“You mean to say that the authorities refuse to annul her original marriage to such a convert? It is unfortunate that most converts under their own supervision do not accept Torah and mitzvos at all and are completely invalid!”

Genuine Gratitude

Rashi writes that a person doesn’t have the nerve to be overly bold to one who did him a favor. Interestingly, the Ben Ish Chai explains that this element of hakaras hatov is precisely why Hashem put us in Egypt in the first place. He illustrates this with a parable:
There was a wealthy man who raised an orphan as one of his own children. This child’s every need was taken care for twenty years without fail. One day. a poor man came to the house and asked the wealthy man for a donation. The wealthy man gave him a generous donation and the poor man was so gratified by this kindness that he began to sing the wealthy man’s praises in a very gratifying manner.
After he left, the wealthy man’s wife said, “I don’t understand it. We gave a one time donation to the poor man and he burst into praise, yet we have paid many times that amount to the orphan yet he has never even said thank you.”
“This is because he takes all that he has for granted,” replied the wealthy man. “If you wish to inculcate in him an awareness of what we have given him he must be sent away.”
The wealthy man called the orphan and said, “I have supported you until now but you are already a man and can definitely support yourself. You should find your way to life and peace!”
The young man kissed his host’s hand as was customary, and left.
He found an abandoned bench to sleep on and the very next day found work as a laborer to earn his bread.
After three days of backbreaking labor, the wealthy man called the orphan back and said, “You may now return to my household if you wish.”
Now the orphan praised the couple effusively for every kindness since he stopped taking what he received for granted.
Similarly, Hashem first made us slaves in Egypt and only later brought us to Eretz Yisrael to ensure that we not take the good of Eretz Yisrael for granted.
One reason why we recollect our difficult slavery briefly every day and at length at least once a year is to enable us to hold on to our gratitude to Hashem for all His kindnesses to us. A former slave should take nothing for granted!

The Limits of a Chumrah

It is well known that many non-observant Jews do a sale that is absolutely invalid. Their food purveying businesses may not be patronized until the chometz from before Pesach is presumed to have been sold.
Many people take this even further and—like the Gra, zt”l, —are unwilling to use even chomatz that they are certain was sold in good faith. Yet even though Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, was also careful regarding this chumrah, he also set clear boundaries as to how far it extends.
Some students in Kol Torah asked Rav Shlomo Zalman permission to go home for Shabbos. The reason they gave was that they were careful not to use flour ground before Pesach even if it had been sold.
To their surprise, Rav Shlomo Zalman refused since he held that this was an unnecessary stringency. It’s not as if there was any evidence that the flour had been chometzdik before Pesach, so it was clear to him that there was no halachic reason to take this chumrah so far.
Those who do not rely on heter mechiras chometz after Pesach are often in a quandary regarding when the production is from new flour so that they would be permitted to purchase different items. Certain important rabbonim urged Rav Shlomo Zalman to join them in pressuring the va’adei hakashrus to publicize the dates that various products were finally produced from flour that was not sold for Pesach.
Although Rav Shlomo Zalman himself observed this chumrah, he refused to have any part of this. “On the contrary, I don’t want to put my name to anything that would implicitly invalidate the sale of chometz, since the geonim of earlier times relied on the sale after Pesach.
“Let those who wish to be stringent in this matter find out the dates themselves!”

Marror Today

Someone once asked Rav Menashe Klein of Ungvar, shlit”a, “I don’t understand. Every time the Rav speaks –even at a simchah—he mentions the horrors of his suffering at the hands of the Nazis ימ"ש. Why does the Rav always mention this? At the very least, it seems to be more in keeping with the joyous character of the simchah to speak of joyous experiences.”
“You are making an error.” Rav Klein gently replied. “On Kiddushin 66 we find that when Yannai Hamelech returned from conquering sixty cities he made a great celebration and invited all of the sages. He said to them: ‘Our fathers ate salted vegetables when they built the Beis Hamikdash. We too shall eat pickled vegetables as a memorial to our fathers.’ They served preserved vegetables on golden tables… We see from here that one is obligated to mention the hard times, especially during times of joy.
“But don’t think that I made this up on my own,” the Rav elucidated, “We see that one is obligated to always mention the hard times from Rabbeinu Bachaya’s commentary on parshas Vayishlach. He brings the verse where Yaakov says, ‘I crossed the Yarden with my staff…’ and writes: ‘From her we see that one is obligated to mention the days of difficulty in times of ease so that he considers how much better things are and praises Hashem that things are better. Shlomo Hamelech also said in Koheles, ‘On a good day, be of good temperament; on a bad day, see.’ This is actually a single statement of instruction: on a good day, in addition to being of good temperament, one should ‘see’ the bad days.’
Rav Klein concluded, “Rabbeinu Bachaya’s language is ‘one is obligated.’ This is an essential part of proper praise to Hashem. This is similar to the obligation to eat the bitter herbs on Pesach we eat marror, since without recalling our difficulty the praise to Hashem for taking us out of Egypt would be incomplete…”

Hekdesh, Chametz and Freedom

A mark of greatness is learning not only for the sake of understanding, but in order to apply the learning to one’s own life. The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, noted that few people even learn Seder Nezikin with the attitude that this study is a means to develop respect for the property and money of others. In addition to searching for the simple application of their Torah study, many greats, such as the Vilna Gaon, zt”l, and the Baal Shem Tov, zt”l, sought how to apply their learning to everyday life. This is in keeping with the Maharal and Ramchal’s teachings; both emphasized that there is a much deeper meaning to every gemara that one learns.
When someone asked Rav Yosef Lieberman, shlit”a, to impart some mussar from Bava Kama 90, the Rav extemporized, “On the beginning of the daf we find that hekdesh, chometz, and freedom have the ability to uproot liens. We can learn a tremendous amount of mussar from this one statement. Firstly, one must realize that he is mostly ‘meshubad’ to his yetzer hara who always waits to ensnare him in sin. As the verse states, צופה רשע לצדיק ומבקש להמיתו—‘The wicked one scouts out for the tzaddik and seeks to kill him.’
Here, the gemara offers hints as to how we can overcome this ‘shibud’. The first is through hekdesh. This means that one should sanctify himself even in that which is permitted to him. One must be careful not to become a menuval b’reshus Hatorah, as the Ramban explains in the beginning of parshas Kedoshim. The second way is through being careful about chometz. Based on the Zohar, the Arizal taught that one who is careful not to have any chometz for the entire duration of Pesach will not sin the entire year. Of course this refers not only to physical chometz but also to the spiritual chometz of anger and arrogance. The third means, ‘shichrur,’ refers to learning Torah, since we find in Avos, "אין לך בן חורין אלא מי שעוסק בתורה"—‘The only free person is one who occupies himself with Torah study.’ This is because the only cure for the yetzer is limud haTorah, as taught in Kiddushin.
“So here is your mussar: One who is careful in these three matters will remove the yoke of the yetzer from around his neck and will attain true holiness!”

Online Pesach Shiurim for Women

Here are the links for three of Yehudis' pre-Pesach classes. And, no, she is not talking about how to clean your oven!
Pesach #1
Pesach #2
Pesach #3

Respecting Your Rebbi—On Pesach Too!

Once, a student of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l came to visit his rebbi at home on Pesach. When Rav Shlomo Zalman offered his visitor a glass of wine, the student refused. He said, “Our family’s minhag is never to eat at anyone’s house on Pesach.”
Rav Shlomo Zalman countered, “You have to admit, though, that you don’t make your own wine at home anymore the way it used to be done; you buy your wine from the store just as I do. So even if your family did follow this custom and were even makpid about something like wine, one should nevertheless act with discretion and derech eretz and not refuse a gesture of hospitality so bluntly. And all the more so, when you are my student and I am your rebbi—how could one possibly think that such behavior is proper?”