Pinchas 5784: Doing Chessed to Get Chessed

Pinchas 5784: Doing Chessed to Get Chessed

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.

Balak 5784: The Lesson of Bilam

Balak 5784: The Lesson of Bilam

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?”

Chukas 5784: How to Deal With Fears

Chukas 5784: How to Deal With Fears

Today, we’re going to discuss how to deal with certain fears. I’m going to introduce the topic with a story first.

There was a fellow named Rav Tuvia. Rav Tuvia used to come to a mosad once a week. The rebbe’im of this mosad held a weekly meeting, and he would be present to answer questions and suggest possible answers to issues they faced. He was an expert in dealing with issues, and he would tell them how to deal with various difficulties.

Korach 5784: Realizing the Impact of Those We See

Korach 5784: Realizing the Impact of Those We See

The story of Korach is an amazing story of how an individual who was of the greatest of the great fell. To say someone is great is nice, but to be great among greats is a much more difficult challenge. The Torah says: “And Korach…took for himself, along with Dasan and Aviram…descendants of Reuven.” Rashi says that because shevet Reuven were neighbors to Kehas and his children they joined Korach in the machlokes: “woe on to the rasha and woe on his neighbor.”

Shelach Lecha 5784: How to do Kiruv and Inspire Others

Shelach Lecha 5784: How to do Kiruv and Inspire Others

Today, we’re going to discuss one of the most powerful tools for reaching out and inspiring others. In the world of sales, it’s all about marketing. If you want to sell a product, you have to know what the customer is looking for and how to present it to the potential customer. If you have those two ingredients, they say the sale will go down by itself.

Beha’aloscha 5784: Understanding the Ways of Hashem (II)

Beha’aloscha 5784: Understanding the Ways of Hashem (II)

The Ramchal writes, in Derech Hashem, about the concept of gilgulei neshamos, how a person could come back in different forms. As a matter of fact, one person can even have a number of neshamos. There are many people who don’t understand what motivates them and where they get their koach from. The gemara tells us, for example, that Rabbi Yochanan said: “I come from the offspring of Yosef.”

Bamidbar 5784: Are You Ready for Kabalas HaTorah?

Bamidbar 5784: Are You Ready for Kabalas HaTorah?

Since the Torah on Har Sinai required a kabalas haTorah, it’s important for us to think about whether we are ready for a kabalas haTorah. Rav Chaim Volozhiner writes that kabalas haTorah is not something you do once a year. You should do it every time you learn. A person should be mekabel Torah before he learns. He should think to himself, Na’aseh v’nishma.

Behar 5784: When Hashem Becomes Your Relative

Behar 5784: When Hashem Becomes Your Relative

In the Torah it says, “If your brother becomes impoverished…” That means, the redeemer goes to the guy who bought the achuzah and gives him money and then he gets his relative’s field back for him. The passuk continues, “and a person who doesn’t have a redeemer and he comes into money.” Let’s say the original owner, who had to sell his field, comes into money somehow. He wins a lottery ticket…

Emor 5784: Out of this World Experience

Emor 5784: Out of this World Experience

The Torah tells us a story about a person in the midbar who cursed Hashem and they put him in prison. That was a very rare occurrence. The prison system wasn’t common. It wasn’t common at all in Klal Yisrael. They put him in prison until it would be clear what his din was. When they found out that he was supposed to get sekilah, everybody subjected him to sekeilah.