Moshiach comes with... Glowing Butterflies?

As serious as we can be about Moshiach coming... We can also lighten it up a little! I wanted to share with you my new video, in which I tried to bring out the idea of our bitachon-emunah-belief and trust in Hashem - as represented by the caterpillar. And the ecstatic song of redemption - the glowing butterfly. I hope you will enjoy it.

P.S. I do think that the Moshiach process moves along when we are joyous, and hearing a good song with a good video and message certainly can put us in the right mood...

Bechukosai - Final Generation's Challenge

What is the idea of going with Hashem with permanence? What is the idea of going with Hashem with 'keri' - impermanence? How is it possible for someone to pray to Hashem for success, and yet still believe in the 'idol' of their own efforts? What is the challenge of the final generation before the coming of Moshiach? How does one maintain faithfullness to Hashem in the face of success that seems 'natural?' What is the connection between Yosef and Tzion (Jerusalem)?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 29:35

Beshalach - Singing Then

What is the idea of the verse that says that 'then' Moshe and the Jewish people sang? How does that manifest in regards to Hashem's relationship with the world, the Jewish people's relationship with Hashem, and Moshe's relationship with Hashem? Why is the word 'az' which means 'then' used both in regards to Moshe's disbelief in Hashem, and then in his statement of true belief? Why does Hashem make the bitter waters sweet with a bitter piece of wood?

Find out in this week's parsha podcast.

Running time: 24:45

Shlach - Seeing Through the Lie

Why does Hashem respond so harshly to the Jewish people's lack of faith when they cry with the spies' report? Why were the Jewish people so afraid to enter Israel if they had just seen, and continued to see, the many miracles Hashem performed on their behalf? Why did they not believe they would continue to experience miracles? What is the parallel between this event and the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? What is the difference between the spies that Moshe sent and the spies that Yehoshua sent 40 years later? What can one do, if one finds oneself in a place of distance from Hashem, in order to return to that relationship?

Find out in this week's parsha podcast.

Running time: 24:26

Acharei Mos - Rabbi Perr

I am very excited and proud to present the first of hopefully many audio files of my Rosh Yeshiva's wonderful and inspiring shiurim. I was זוכה to attend Yeshiva of Far Rockaway for close to six years, and I heard vaadim from my Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Yechiel Perr, for close to three of those years. The wisdom he imparted then has had a tremendous impact on my life, to this very day. As I mentioned a while ago, I recently got a hold of a set of DVD's of his Shiurim, and I have been listening to the vaadim. I have been meaning to try to put up some of the shiurim here and elsewhere, but hadn't gotten to it until now. I would like to share this shiur that my Rosh Yeshiva gave on parshas Acharei Mos. The main topic of the shiur is the advantage of living in a state of hester panim - difficulty discerning the hand of Hashem. I believe that you will find this shiur to be extremely interesting and relevant. I want to personally thank my Rosh Yeshiva for giving me permission to put the shiurim out for the public to hear. I would also like to mention that the shiur was given in Yeshiva, and thus it requires a certain level of vocabulary of the yeshivishe lingo. The English is interspersed with Yiddish, Hebrew and Aramaic, so please be forewarned!

Here is the link to Rabbi Perr's shiur on Acharei Mos.

Purim gelt

Guest post by Daniel

Based on my best calculations, I gave very close to, or just over, $25 in tzedakah throughout Purim this year. I was makpid to the best of my ability to always give something to anyone that asked me.

Upon arriving back at my house, there was a letter waiting for me, literally right outside my door. It was a 6-week late birthday card from a non-Jewish relative of mine. They don't even know it's Purim this week, let alone what Purim is. There was cash enclosed totaling $25.
Baruch Hashem!

The money came right back to me in lightning speed. One thing this teaches me is that the true price of a mitzvah is not the financial expense. It's like my money was distilled, extracting the spirituality (the mitzvah) within it, if you can picture that, and then sent right back to me. So what was extracted in that process? What was the real "currency" that was used to "purchase" my mitzvos?
I believe it was the emunah muscles I had to flex each time I gave money, whether a dollar or a quarter.
It was the challenge of not only parting with my own money, but the challenge of ignoring the rants of the yetzer hara who challenges the worthiness of every beggar and collector that asks for help.
"Why is it always these types of people" "Why is he asking while I'm praying?" "Wasn't he here 10 minutes ago asking for money?" "They should get jobs instead of taking other people's money" and on and on.
The best response I found was to completely immerse myself in the mida of Hashem's chesed. In that way, it doesn't matter if they are or are not worthy in my eyes - in Hashem's view (lehavdil), as it were, they are all worthy of my tzedakah! It doesn't matter if the guy is coming back to ask for a second time, especially not on Purim.
Similarly, it doesn't matter if all I can afford to give out this year amounts to just $25 - the real currency, strengthening emunah and overcoming the yetzer hara, is present for each person as long as he gives according to his particular income.
From all of this, we should take great joy, for "G-d wished to give Israel merit, therefore he gave them much Torah and many commandments." (Mishnah Makos 3:16)

Ashreichem Yisroel!

The mon and parnassah

A friend shared with me the following thought, which I found to be very powerful.

Rav Binyamin Goldstein (son of the Rosh Yeshiva of Sharei Yosher in Jerusalem) asked the following question. In regards to the mon, we learn that the tzadikim would find it outside their homes, and the reshaim would have to go far and wide to get theirs. Why didn't the reshaim just take the mon of the tzadikim, or perhaps at least learn from the ways of tzadik so that they wouldn't have to go to all the extra effort and it would come to their own door?

To answer this, let us try to imagine the scene when Moshe tells the Jewish people about the mon. He tells them that they are to collect exactly an omer of mon for each person in the family.

The tzaddik hears the words of Moshe, and on the first day he goes out and is careful to make sure that he does not take a drop more than Moshe said. To be absolutely positive, he even takes a little bit less. Amazingly, when he arrives home, he sees that there is exactly an omer for each person, so he thinks to himself that it was smart that he took a little less, because it turned out that he had in fact taken the right amount.

The next day, the tzaddik goes out and makes sure to take even slightly less so that he won't transgress the command of Hashem. It's a warm day, and when he arrives home, he sees that again the amount for each person is exactly an omer. He thinks to himself that it was wise that he took even less that day, as the heat must have made the mon expand.

The following day is a real scorcher, and when the tzaddik goes out he makes sure to take even less then the previous days, as he is sure the heat will make the mon expand even more. Lo and behold, when he returns home, his thoughts are confirmed and there is exactly an omer for each person.

The tzaddik does not need to go too far from his home to find the small amount that he collects, because he always finds the right amount when he brings it into his home.

Now let us turn to the rasha, whose experience was completely different.

When this rasha heard Moshe say that there is only an omer to be collected for each person, he thinks to himself, "Well how can I survive on only one omer?" He decides to take a little more, to make sure he has enough. When he gets home, so he finds that indeed all he has is exactly an omer. He tells himself that it was a good thing he took that little bit extra, because in the end it seems he only really took exactly an omer.

The next day is warm, and he goes out and says to himself that he'd better take slightly more this time, to be sure he has the right amount. The day is warm, so who knows? Maybe the mon will melt in the heat. Indeed, when he gets home, he finds that there is only exactly the omer, so he reasons that it was smart that he took that extra.

The following day is a real scorcher, and the rasha makes sure to take significantly more this time. After all, it will surely melt and there will only be an omer left. On his way home, he trips, and the mon falls out of his hands and gets dirty. He goes searching around for the amount he needs, but most of the mon has already been collected and he ends up having to go outside the camp to find the amount of mon necessary to make sure he ends up with his omer. When he gets home, he again finds exactly an omer thus confirming for him that it was the right thing to take that extra.

In the end, the tzaddik finds the small amount near his home to be enough, but the rasha is always searching far and wide for his portion, because inevitably something happens to make it necessary for him to collect elsewhere.

Rav Goldstein explains that this is true for us as well. The amount of money we are to make is decreed by Hashem, and is completely unconnected to the amount of effort we do. A person can believe that the livelihood he makes is dependent on his effort, but he makes a similar mistake to the rasha we just spoke about. He searches far and wide, spending much time on his efforts, and in the end, all kinds of different things happen and he ends up with exactly the same amount as was intended for him.

The person who is smart and aware realizes that our livelihood is from Hashem. Yes, we must put in some effort, but the effort does not correspond to the result. Like the tzaddik who minimizes his effort and puts his faith in Hashem, when we trust in Hashem and know that all of our means are provided by Him, we can start to see that our efforts are not as greatly needed. Somehow the amount of effort we do suffices for our needs. We do our part, and Hashem does the rest.

Beshalach - Accessing the supernatural

Why are we specifically told to tell the story (lesaper) of the Exodus?

Why was Moshe told not to Daven at Yam suf?

How did the Jews survive if they were equally deserving of death because they too served idolatry?

How do we tap into the world of the supernatural and miraculous?

Find out in this weeks Parsha Podcast.

Birthing Moshiach

The Geulah process is compared to the birth of a child, and the troubles we currently experience are the birthpangs - the difficulties that will be'H bring about the final redemption.

I was recently thinking about some interesting parallels that this idea leads us to.

For the last few months of pregnancy, the average baby enters a position with its head down and feet up. If it is not in this position, it is quite dangerous for baby and mother, and is referred to as 'breach.' A baby in breach position will many times necessitate a Caesarean section. In a normal case, however, the head is down, in position to exit first, and the baby is thus born.

I would posit that this is why when we look at the world today, the values are backwards - the head - which is the intellect and the spiritual - is on bottom. Spirituality is disdained by much of the world, and the feet - the physical and mundane - is on the rise and enthroned. This is a necessary state for the birth to take place.

Another key point is that when a mother is in the final stages of labor, she experiences acute pain. This pain can be alleviated by taking an epidural, which basically numbs the entire area. If the epidural is too strong, however, the woman will have a very difficult time knowing when her contraction takes place in order to push the baby out.

This would seem to indicate that although be'H Moshiach can and will come with the least amount of pain - with Rachamim - there is a certain amount of difficulty the world may have to endure. If not for this pain, the 'baby,' i.e. Geulah, can take significantly longer. The pain is also a sign for us that the Geulah is indeed near, just as the pain intensifies for the woman who is immediately before childbirth.

A third point that I think is most powerful, is that the child, as long as it is in utero, resides in a world that is completely dark. All of its needs are taken care of, but it is completely unaware from where its sustenance comes. The fetus does not even dream that there is a world of light just outside its little bubble. It could believe that the reality it experiences is truly all there is.

The moment the baby is born, its life supply is cut! But at that very moment it realizes that all along it was being provided for by this mother, and the baby returns to be nourished again, but now with full knowledge of where its sustenance comes from.

We too live in this darkness of the womb, where it is most difficult to see that all our sustenance, and indeed all that occurs, comes from Hashem. We would think that the reality we sense with our physical senses is all that there is, and that things run their natural course. But at the moment of birth, we will exit the current reality and enter the light of the true reality. We will realize how all along it was Hashem who sustained us and gave us the power to succeed. We will be drawn to our Creator to enjoy the 'milk' - which is His Torah, which truly sustains us; and we will enjoy that ecstasy that comes with the knowledge that He was with us all along - throughout the darkness.

We will know that the difficulty we experienced was a labor of love bringing us to the moment of Moshiach and closeness to Hashem.

Thoughts under fire

This past Wednesday, I was on a bus on my way to Jerusalem for a Sheva Brachos. The bus driver had the radio on and the radio announcer was giving updates on how many missiles had fallen that day. They proceeded to interview a number of people and it was clear that there was a lot of fear.

As I was listening, I couldn't help thinking to myself that the media is aiding the Palestinians in creating a panic in the general public. When seen through the eyes of the Torah's teachings on Emunah and Bitachon, this fear, while not unfounded, is not necessary. If we trust in Hashem and know that all He does is for our best, and that He is looking out for us, we have nothing to fear.

Perhaps I do not have the right to say this, as I am living in Ramat Bet Shemesh, where there are no missiles falling, b'ezras Hashem. But my relative who lives in Sderot does. He has told me on numerous occasions that he is not afraid of the rockets. He has tremendous trust in Hashem and knows that each missile has an address. He told me that when the sirens go off there in the middle of the night, others run to their bomb shelters, but he rolls over and pulls the covers over his head.

Tonight, after I had put my son to sleep, he called out and said that he was scared. I came back to his room and he told me that he heard at a neighbor's house something about missiles that made him fearful. I told him that we can trust Hashem, who is constantly taking care of us - providing for our food and all of our needs every day - that He will continue to do so. We have special protection because we are involved in learning Torah and are committed to loving Hashem and doing His mitzvos.

I also told told him something remarkable I heard on Rabbi Chanoch Teller's tape series called "The Righteous Live On." He has a whole lecture about the Mir Yeshiva's story of survival during World War II, and how they escaped to Shanghai. During the war, Shanghai was being bombed, and unbelievably, the natives there knew that if you wanted protection, you should gravitate to the Mir bochurim, as nothing would ever happen to them!

I told my son that we too have that protection, and we have nothing to fear. אמן, כן יהי רצון