Shemini 5782 – Four Non-Kosher Animals & the Umos Haolam
Sponsored L’zchus Acheinu Bnei Yisroel In The Ukraine – May They Experience Yeshuos B’Karov!
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Shiur presented in 5780
Sponsored L’zchus Acheinu Bnei Yisroel In The Ukraine – May They Experience Yeshuos B’Karov!
Visit YTATorah.org
Shiur presented in 5780
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.
Everybody who hears this shmuess, should express their hoda’ah to Hashem Yisbarach, that they’re able to go to the bathroom and vacuate without surgery or any other intervention.[i] Perhaps you don’t understand what it says in asher yatzar, and you don’t think about it, that if Hashem blocks one of a person’s openings אי אפשר להתקים, they can’t exist. A person should dance and sing after they go to the washroom.
There was a great tzaddik and talmid chacham, R’ Yosef Caro (1488-1575). He was mechaber the Shulchan Aruch and many other works. He was zocheh to tremendous giluyim min hashamayim over a 35-year period. He had a malach appear to him constantly who related to him a lot of sodos (secrets). R’ Chaim Volozhin writes in his introduction to the Biur HaGra on Safra Ditzniusa, that it is not a pele that chachmei Yisrael are zocheh to such giluyim, that they open up the shaarei shamayim for them.
Today, I want to discuss an interesting question that was posed to me. It is something that I experience quite often when meeting people. The question is: “What is the level of Yiddishkeit, of frumkeit, of religion that Hashem expects of me? Does Hashem expect everybody to be committed to the same degree?” It would be very difficult to imagine that Hashem would expect from a little fellow from Chicago the same that He would want from a fellow from Lakewood or Meah Shearim
The Ramban comments on when the command of lech lecha was initially said to Avraham Avinu. He says that initially Avraham was in Ur Kasdim – that’s where they tried to burn him at the stake, and that’s where Hakodosh Boruch Hu found “his heart to be faithful.” After that episode, Avraham Avinu fled Ur Kasdim with the intention of going to Eretz Canaan, even before Hashem commanded him to go there. He went to Charan and was stopped there, and that’s where Hashem came to him and told him: lech lecha
In this week’s parshah, we encounter a game-changing episode in the history of Klal Yisrael. The meraglim, the spies, came back and gave a bad report about Eretz Yisrael. The consequences were terrible. These great tzaddikim ended up forfeiting their lives. It caused tremendous issues for Klal Yisrael. The Torah tells us about a group of Yidden who felt very remorseful after the whole episode came to an end.