lech lecha

After the war with the kings, Hashem tells Avram אל תירא אברם אנכי מגן לך שכרך הרבה מאד , don't be afraid I will be a shield for you; your reward is very great. ‎Why did Hashem have tell him that his reward was very great?
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‎Explains הגר"א, we say in davening ‎מלך עוזר ומושיע ומגן . Why mention three different forms of saying that Hashem is our protector? Just as there are three ways to have faith in Hashem, ‎so, too, there are three ways that Hashem comes to our aid.

‎Once a person does all that he could do on his own, Hashem helps him with the rest. That’s the first way. Second, the person doesn't do anything, yet Hashem saves him. Third, the highest level, a person does something that goes against common sense for the sake of Hashem and relies on Hashem to protect him. Then, Hashem will shield him from harm.

‎These are the ways of Hashem's divine providence: מלך עוזר, the king who helps, helps the one who tries on his own. ומושיע, the savior, who does it all on His own. ומגן, the shield, the one who shields even the people who put themselves in harm’s way for the glory of Hashem.

Avrum Avinu trusted in Hashem to this highest level, that he put himself in harm’s way for the sake of Hashem. Therefore, Hashem told him אנכי מגן לך I will be a shield for you ‎and protect you from any harm. That's what is meant by "your reward is very great; the reward for your total reliance on Hashem is very great, for that will ensure that you don't come to any harm.

Hashem guarantees that those who do mitzvos will be paid back by Hashem. We also know that it says שכר מצוה בהאי עלמא ליכא, there is no reward for mitzvos on this world. Perform the mitzvos now and in the next world you will get rewarded. The בן איש חי asks how could Hashem do that since there is a law that one has to pay a worker on the day he does the work; he is not allowed to postpone it. How could Hashem postpone our rewards?

Answers the בן איש חי there is another halacha that says if you hire workers through an intermediary, the law doesn't apply. Hashem, who gave us the Torah through Moshe, doesn't have to pay right away. However, that only applies to most of the mitzvos that were given through Moshe. What about the first two mitzvos of the עשרת הדברת which were given straight from Hashem? For those, He has to give us reward right away and that is the mitzva of emuna.

This is what Hashem was telling Avrum: אל תירא אברם, don't be afraid of how your children will survive this world if they don't get any reward for the mitzvos. Rather, אנכי the first mitzva of אנכי ה אלוקך will shield them. The merit of keeping that mitzva which came from the mouth of Hashem, will protect them for שכרך הרבה מאוד. The reward for the mitzva of emuna will be the merit that gets them through this world.
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By putting our total reliance of Hashem, we ensure that He will protect us. That's the only mitzva for which we get the reward here and now on this world. By putting our trust in Him, we enable Hashem to protect us against all odds and ensure that we are always taken care of!

Noach

When Hashem commands Noach to build the ark, He tells him צהר תעשה לתבה, a light make for the ark. Rashi mentions two opinions explaining what צהר is: one is a skylight so that the people in the ark could see out & the other says it was a precious stone that gave them light.
While the meaning of תיבה is normally "ark", it also means "word". Sefas Emes says that the "words" of one’s prayer & Torah study save him from the deluge of crass materialism and hedonistic obsession that floods the world.

The Zohar tells us that the name Noach alludes to the day of Shabbos, which is a day of מנוחה , rest. Just as Noach saved the world from being totally destroyed by the flood , so, too, the Shabbos saves us from being totally encompassed in mundane daily pursuits.

The גרי"ז tells a story of a girl that grew up secular & decided to become religious. However, her parents were against this lifestyle change and wanted her to act like they do so she quietly & secretly kept the Torah as best she could. Her parents owned a housewares store from which they earned a living.

One Friday, they came to her & said that they had to go out of town for a day & wanted her to open the store on Saturday. Not wanting to cause conflict, she didn't say anything & her parents left. Right before Shabbos, she went to the store & prepared whatever she could so that she could avoid desecrating the Shabbos. She turned on the lights & set up the store for the next day before Shabbos arrived. On Shabbos, she walked to the store & sat there with her siddur praying that no one came in so she could keep the Shabbos.

For most of the day her prayers worked & no one came in. She didn’t know how she would explain the empty register to her parents. They surely wouldn't believe that no one came in all day. Then, some time before the end of Shabbos, a man came in, started looking around & found a five dollar item that he liked. He asked her the price. She, not wanting to conduct business on Shabbos, told him it was five hundred dollars so that he would just leave her alone. The man was incredulous. How can this cheap item be five hundred dollars?? She said that if you don't want to buy it, you don't have to. He really wanted it & tried to get her to lower the price but she wouldn't budge. He left; then came back a few times, each time he offered a little more. She wouldn't budge and said, “just wait a little & my parents will be back so you can deal with them. She kept pushing him off so that she wouldn't have to desecrate Shabbos.

However, the man wouldn't give up until she said, “just wait a half hour & then we can talk”. The man was adamant, however, and said, “I'll give you double what you asked; for just sell it to me.” As they were arguing back and forth, the end of Shabbos arrived. She then said, “ok, I can sell it to you now but only at the five dollar price. The reason I asked for such an exorbitant price was that I didn't want to sell on Shabbos. Now that it’s over, I can sell it to you at the regular price. The man however, said, “I can't do that; once I said I would pay a price, I have to pay it.” Her praise to Hashem was twofold. First, she didn't have to desecrate the Shabbos & second, she made a tremendous profit.

When she told her parents what happened & showed them that keeping the Shabbos actually made more money than they made in a month, they, too, saw the beauty of Shabbos & that they wouldn't  lose out.

The אוצר התורה explains: the ark had a precious stone to light up the surrounding physical darkness. We, in turn, must take the day of Shabbos & use it to cast a light on our earthly existence. The power of Shabbos to be our safe haven from the everyday pursuits is even alluded to in the numerical value of the words of the Posuk. צהר equals 295, תבה equals 407, the combined value of 702 is the same value of the word שבת at 702.

We have to be able to tap into the power of Shabbos & totally disengage ourselves from the world around us. We have to appreciate that we will never lose out because of it. For that one day, let the spiritual uplifting surround us & last throughout the week to take us to new heights in our service of Hashem!

Beraishis

As we start the new cycle of Torah readings, we begin again with Sefer Beraishis which the Chofetz Chaim recommended as a faith restorer. He says that one who feels that his faith is lacking should learn the stories in Sefer Beraishis. He himself, when he got older, had a seder every morning in Sefer Beraishis after shachris.

Interestingly enough, Rav Shach once wrote to a student, "Every person has ups & downs except for someone like the Chofetz Chaim who is completely pure & righteous. However, for the normal person whose אמונה is sometimes shaky, I always found that learning Sefer Beraishis strengthened my אמונה.

The posuk tells us ויהי ערב ויהי בקר יום רביעי , there was evening, there was morning it was the fourth day. Rav Zilbershtain recalled a story that happened when he was learning in Slabodka. He was sitting with the Chazon Ish when there was a knock on the door. A man walked in looking all upset & pained. He told the Chazon Ish that he didn't feel well for a few days & he didn't know what was wrong. Finally, it got so bad that he checked himself into the hospital. After countless tests, the doctors found an infection that was eating up his whole insides. He told him that unfortunately there is no cure for this infection & he has four days to live.    

The Chazon Ish listened to him pour out his heart & then opened a Chumash Beraishis. He turned to the beginning of Beraishis & said to the sick man, “look what Hashem created on the first day, all these creations; then on the second day He created more things; on the third day & then the fourth He created even more things. Look how many things Hashem created in four days. Don't you think He could create your cure in less time?

The Chazon Ish revived the sick man’s spirits inspiring him not to give up; rather he should daven for himself & pray to Hashem that he be healed from his infection. Since the doors of prayer are never closed, especially not from a sick person who is crying out in a time of pain, Hashem will send the salvation.

The words of the rabbi made a great impression on the man, who went home with a renewed sense of hope & began to daven like he never had before. Miraculously, as the Chazon Ish had said could happen, he was informed by the hospital that a new drug had come from America for which he could be a trial patient. He immediately had the drug administered to see if the drug worked.
The effects of the drug worked quickly to fight the infection. It would become the number one cure for this kind of infection! Within a short time, the man was back to himself with no trace of the infection!

Continued Rav Zilberstein, from this story we can see how much our belief in the power of tefila is lacking. Had we been asked if tefilos would have helped this man with days to live, how many would have been confident that it would help? Sadly, not too many would have agreed. Yet he believed it & it worked! As we go through the parshios of Beraishis, we must take out the tremendous lessons in אמונה in order to strengthen our own faith in the One above!

Beraishis

As we start the new cycle of Torah readings, we begin again with Sefer Beraishis which the Chofetz Chaim recommended as a faith restorer. He says that one who feels that his faith is lacking should learn the stories in Sefer Beraishis. He himself, when he got older, had a seder every morning in Sefer Beraishis after shachris.

Interestingly enough, Rav Shach once wrote to a student, "Every person has ups & downs except for someone like the Chofetz Chaim who is completely pure & righteous. However, for the normal person whose אמונה is sometimes shaky, I always found that learning Sefer Beraishis strengthened my אמונה.

The posuk tells us ויהי ערב ויהי בקר יום רביעי , there was evening, there was morning it was the fourth day. Rav Zilbershtain recalled a story that happened when he was learning in Slabodka. He was sitting with the Chazon Ish when there was a knock on the door. A man walked in looking all upset & pained. He told the Chazon Ish that he didn't feel well for a few days & he didn't know what was wrong. Finally, it got so bad that he checked himself into the hospital. After countless tests, the doctors found an infection that was eating up his whole insides. He told him that unfortunately there is no cure for this infection & he has four days to live.    

The Chazon Ish listened to him pour out his heart & then opened a Chumash Beraishis. He turned to the beginning of Beraishis & said to the sick man, “look what Hashem created on the first day, all these creations; then on the second day He created more things; on the third day & then the fourth He created even more things. Look how many things Hashem created in four days. Don't you think He could create your cure in less time?

The Chazon Ish revived the sick man’s spirits inspiring him not to give up; rather he should daven for himself & pray to Hashem that he be healed from his infection. Since the doors of prayer are never closed, especially not from a sick person who is crying out in a time of pain, Hashem will send the salvation.

The words of the rabbi made a great impression on the man, who went home with a renewed sense of hope & began to daven like he never had before. Miraculously, as the Chazon Ish had said could happen, he was informed by the hospital that a new drug had come from America for which he could be a trial patient. He immediately had the drug administered to see if the drug worked.
The effects of the drug worked quickly to fight the infection. It would become the number one cure for this kind of infection! Within a short time, the man was back to himself with no trace of the infection!

Continued Rav Zilberstein, from this story we can see how much our belief in the power of tefila is lacking. Had we been asked if tefilos would have helped this man with days to live, how many would have been confident that it would help? Sadly, not too many would have agreed. Yet he believed it & it worked! As we go through the parshios of Beraishis, we must take out the tremendous lessons in אמונה in order to strengthen our own faith in the One above!

Beraishis

As we start the new cycle of Torah readings, we begin again with Sefer Beraishis which the Chofetz Chaim recommended as a faith restorer. He says that one who feels that his faith is lacking should learn the stories in Sefer Beraishis. He himself, when he got older, had a seder every morning in Sefer Beraishis after shachris.

Interestingly enough, Rav Shach once wrote to a student, "Every person has ups & downs except for someone like the Chofetz Chaim who is completely pure & righteous. However, for the normal person whose אמונה is sometimes shaky, I always found that learning Sefer Beraishis strengthened my אמונה.

The posuk tells us ויהי ערב ויהי בקר יום רביעי , there was evening, there was morning it was the fourth day. Rav Zilbershtain recalled a story that happened when he was learning in Slabodka. He was sitting with the Chazon Ish when there was a knock on the door. A man walked in looking all upset & pained. He told the Chazon Ish that he didn't feel well for a few days & he didn't know what was wrong. Finally, it got so bad that he checked himself into the hospital. After countless tests, the doctors found an infection that was eating up his whole insides. He told him that unfortunately there is no cure for this infection & he has four days to live.    

The Chazon Ish listened to him pour out his heart & then opened a Chumash Beraishis. He turned to the beginning of Beraishis & said to the sick man, “look what Hashem created on the first day, all these creations; then on the second day He created more things; on the third day & then the fourth He created even more things. Look how many things Hashem created in four days. Don't you think He could create your cure in less time?

The Chazon Ish revived the sick man’s spirits inspiring him not to give up; rather he should daven for himself & pray to Hashem that he be healed from his infection. Since the doors of prayer are never closed, especially not from a sick person who is crying out in a time of pain, Hashem will send the salvation.

The words of the rabbi made a great impression on the man, who went home with a renewed sense of hope & began to daven like he never had before. Miraculously, as the Chazon Ish had said could happen, he was informed by the hospital that a new drug had come from America for which he could be a trial patient. He immediately had the drug administered to see if the drug worked.
The effects of the drug worked quickly to fight the infection. It would become the number one cure for this kind of infection! Within a short time, the man was back to himself with no trace of the infection!

Continued Rav Zilberstein, from this story we can see how much our belief in the power of tefila is lacking. Had we been asked if tefilos would have helped this man with days to live, how many would have been confident that it would help? Sadly, not too many would have agreed. Yet he believed it & it worked! As we go through the parshios of Beraishis, we must take out the tremendous lessons in אמונה in order to strengthen our own faith in the One above!

V'zos Haberacha / Simchas Torah

Close to his death, Moshe blesses the nation in poetic form. One of the stanzas reads תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה קהלת יעקב , the Torah that Moshe commanded us is the heritage of the congregation of Yaakov. Rashi says, “it’s our heritage & we will not abandon it.”

All Jews know that the Torah is our heritage and the Importance and benefit of learning Torah. If we were to ask any Jew if they knew of the importance of learning Torah as well as the great reward for learning even one word of Torah, surely they would answer that they know. If that is so, why don’t people take advantage of every opportunity to learn Torah?  

The Chafetz Chaim once came into the Beis Medrash & saw groups of boys shooting the breeze instead of learning. He gathered them around him & told them this story: there was a fellow in town that was a little out of his mind. One day, he went down to the train tracks & started dismantling them. When the people of the town saw what he was doing started yelling at him! Are you out of your mind? what are you doing to the tracks? Do you know what kind of catastrophe can happen if you do that? He yelled back, what's the big deal? The tracks are hundreds of kilometers long & I'm only taking out a few meters!

Continued the Chafetz Chaim, a person who wastes a little time is like the fellow who just dismantles a little track. Although the time he's wasting is little, the damage is great.

There was a person, a regular guy, who was dancing with excessive exuberance on Simchas Torah. The rabbi came over to him & asked, “why are you so happy today? I learn & you rejoice?” The man answered, “Rebbi, on Yom kippur I said על חטא שחטאנו לפניך בכפת שוחד , asking forgiveness for the sin of taking bribes. What do I have to do with that sin? Who would bribe me? Am I a rabbi that someone would try to bribe me? No! But there's a rule that all Jews are responsible for one another, so I, too, am responsible for your sins. If so, I should also be able to be responsible for some of your Torah!”

Maybe the reason we don't take advantage of our time is that we think that someone else will do it for us. We’re willing to support the guy who's  learning so we don't have to learn as much ourselves. We'll try to reap the benefit of someone else's merit instead of getting our own. the Torah teaches us here the importance of getting our own merits, gaining our own share of the Torah and using every moment wisely. Let's take the opportunity on Simchas Torah to commit to a new year of learning where we do it on our own, for ourselves & put our time to good use!

Yom Kippur

The Mishna states אשריכם ישראל לפני מי אתם מטהרים , praiseworthy are the Jewish people before whom you are being purified. ומי מטהר אתכם אביכם שבשמים , and who purifies you? Your Father in heaven. Then the Mishna brings two pesukim to prove this: one, וזרקתי עליכם מים טהורים , and I will throw on you pure water & cleanse you from all your sins; two, מקוה ישראל ה' מושיעו , just as the mikva purifies the impure, so, too, Hashem purifies the Jews.

Several questions arise. הגר"ח פלאג'י זצ"ל asks, what's the double lashon of  מי אתם מטהרים & then ומי מטהר אתכם? The posuk should have just stated, “praiseworthy are the Jews that Hashem purifies them”. Also, why do we need two separate pesukim to prove this? Why wouldn't one have sufficed?

He brings the explanation of the Tosfos YomTov who explains the pesukim as referring to two different types of teshuva. First, the proper way for an individual to do teshuva requires that person to feel on his own, the need to purify himself & make himself holy again. Wheen he goes to do it, Hashem will help him succeed. The second refers to a person who doesn't feel the need to repent; that person, Hashem will wake up to repent. This explains why the Mishna needs to say it twice. The first one says  לפני מי אתם מטהרים & brings a posuk to support that way. Secondly, it states ומי מטהר אתכם that Hashem Himself has to force you to become pure. It then brings a separate posuk to support that way.

Rav Galinsky elaborated with a mashal of two sick people who were in the same room in the hospital. They both had the same debilitating disease, both confined to bed & both had to take medicine to get well. However, the future of both looked grim. There was one major difference between the two of them. One was able to move his hand to pick up his own medicine & take it by himself. However, the other was too weak even to move his hand; he was reliant on others to give him the medicine. If someone didn’t give it to him, his future was doomed. So, too, there are those that at least have the power to do teshuva on their own, who realize that nothing happens on its own. If you don't make it happen, it won't happen. Others have to wait for Hashem to send them the message, hopefully before it’s too late.  

Another question involves the lashon of אשריכם ישראל; what is so praiseworthy about having Hashem purify us? The Yalkut Gershuni explains, based on a Chasam Sofer who asks how it is that mikva water can purify? When the person who's going in, touches it, the water too should become impure? He answers that, since the water is attached to the ground, it cannot become impure.

This means that the water purifies because it’s connected to its root, the ground. So, too, is the purification from Hashem, because a person is connected to his root, to Hashem. He created us from His own breath & we are a part of Hashem. That's the meaning of אשריכם ישראל praised are the Jews. What purifies us? Our connection & closeness to Hashem does. If we were not connected to Hashem through our Neshama which is a part of Him, we wouldn't be able to be purified.

We must take this opportunity that we have now to connect to Hashem with the first level of teshuva. We must do it on our own with the realization that we have to make it happen ourselves & not have to be reminded by Hashem. Take this Yom Kippur & use it to connect to our source, to Hashem Himself!