Let’s say a person had challenges this year which were sent to enable him or her to fulfill the mission for which they came to this world. But instead of utilizing them to fulfill their mission they did the opposite. So then Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, “We have to turn up the heat a little bit.” But if a person passes the challenges, then Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, “Now you’re ready for the next step.”
In this week’s parshah, it says that somebody from the nation of Amon or Moav cannot become part of the Jewish nation. Even after ten generations they can’t come bekahal Hashem forever. Why not? Because of the matter that they didn’t present you with bread and water on the road when you were leaving Mitzrayim. Now, this is an amazing thing.
Today is the first day of Rosh Chodesh Elul. A person has to be aware that when Elul comes, he has to get his mind ready. He has to prepare himself for Elul. If you just let Elul come and flow over you, you will not get any benefits from Elul. There are some things that you could experience while you’re sleeping and still derive benefits from them. For example, taking an x-ray or having an MRI done.
Moshe Rabbeinu is talking, and he’s says, “See, I am placing before you today a blessing and a curse…” Rashi translates “asher” to mean al manas, on condition. Rashi says it’s a brachah al manas asher tishmau. Now, you have to understand that Moshe Rabbeinu is talking about a specific event.
In this week’s parshah, we have the Parshas HaMann. Most people have heard about the mann, but they think that the mann only fell when the Yidden were in the desert and that really doesn’t have any shaychus to us today. Because of that, they miss tremendous lessons. They miss a tremendous wellspring, a ma’ayan, that could serve a person’s parnasah. You have to know that the mann is an eternal lesson. How do you know that? Because Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu…
We learned about the koach habitachon that Yitzchak Avinu needed to have in order to daven to Hashem. We also mentioned a yesod from Rav Tzadok that a person could have bitachon for anything that’s al pi teva. That’s why even though Chana did not have children, she was able to daven to Hashem because beteva she could have had children.
Now, when Hashem told him that “I will be with you, like I was with Moshe,” it meant, I will be with you for as long as I was with Moshe. But we know it’s not like that. Yehoshua lived 110 years. Moshe Rabbeinu lived 120 years. So the medrash says that Yehoshua should have also lived 120 years. Why was his life shortened by ten years?
We are in the Three Weeks now, together with the whole world, and we are trying to think about this period. Today’s shiur is going to focus a bit on understanding the three weeks from a psychological standpoint. The Chafetz Chaim, in his sefer Ahavas Yisrael, discusses the reasons why people don’t like each other. Now, the first thing you have to understand is that human psychology is at work overtime whenever we have social interaction. When we encounter people, whether face to face or from a distance, or even through somebody else introducing me to that person, the human being always establishes a platform: do I like that person, or do I not like that person…
Pinchas rose to the occasion and performed an act of zealotry to stand up for the honor of Hashem. Because of this great action of his, he was zocheh to be gebentched with the greatest of brachos. The passuk says: “behold, I have given him a covenant of peace”. The Seforno explains that since Pinchas struggled My struggle in that zechus, he received bris shalom. What is bris shalom? I will save him from all antagonism to his way of life. Pinchas will be saved from all antagonism toward him and he will be a man who will live in peace.
I once met an outstanding, interesting person. He was my driver. He told me an amazing ma’aseh. He got very angry one time. His anger built up over a couple of days, until his blood pressure boiled over and he had a massive heart attack that sent him into a total coma. He was in a coma for three or four months. People were davening for him, but his condition was not improving. Gornisht. Finally, a very special rav came to this fellow’s room and davened in his room shacharis, minchah,and Ma’ariv out loud. After a week of davening and saying Tehillim, finally he said to the guy, “Steven! It’s time to wake up! Do you want to wake up?”
