Mishpatim 5782 – Is Your Emunah Complete?
L’ilui Nishmat Michael Ben Renee
Shiur presented in 5779
L’ilui Nishmat Michael Ben Renee
Shiur presented in 5779
In the beginning of Parshas Vayeitzei, the Torah tells us about Yaakov Avinu. The Medrash Rabbah (68:2) comments on the first pasuk, ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע, as follows. The medrash says that Yaakov Avinu began saying some Tehillim. You know which Tehillim he said? The Tehillim that he said was שיר למעלות אשא עיני אל ההרים, I lift up my eyes to the harim (Tehillim 121:1).
We are in the middle of the aseres yemei teshuvah and the subject which we want to discuss today is obviously going to be teshuvah. First of all, the question is how do you make someone a ba’al teshuvah? That would be a very nice thing to know. Many of us have relatives that are, nebach, not connected, not observant, maybe grandparents, maybe parents, maybe uncles, cousins, friends, with whom we have some type of relationship;
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…
In this week’s parshah there is a moradige yesod with an interesting new twist. It’s something that a person can employ in every endeavor that he undertakes in his life. The passuk says, כל אלמנה ויתום לא תענון, “you should not afflict any widow or orphan,” אם ענה תענה אתו, “if you’re going to afflict them,” be careful, כי אם צעק יצעק אלי, “for if they will cry out to Me,” שמע אשמע צעקתו, “I will hear their cry”
Rav Chatzkel Levenstein, the mashgiach of Mir Yeshiva, once came into the beis medrash of Mir and went over to two bochurim who were learning and asked them what day in Elul it was. They didn’t know right away, so they started to make a cheshbon, trying to remember when Rosh Chodesh Elul was. One of them turned to the other and asked, “Nu, what day of Elul is it?” His chavrusa said, “It’s either the 9th or 10th of Elul.” When Rav Chatzkel heard this, he gave a shrei and said, “Bochurim! You don’t know what day it is in Elul?!
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