Bitachon 271 - It's All Good!

We explore one of the fundamental underpinnings of the concept of Bitachon, which is that everything Hashem does is for our best.

CLICK HERE to listen to the audio

Running time: 20:59

Ekev - Miracles by the Water

Why does Moshe speak about the Jordan river before talking about conquering Israel? Why do so many miracles occur specifically by the water? Why did the water 'run' when it saw Hashem's name on the staff of Moshe? Why does another midrash seem to indicate that Moshe's staff was 'put down' by Moshe and wasn't involved in the miracle of the splitting of the sea? Why were Yitchak, Yaakov and Moshe's mates found by the water? What is the idea of the word or thought that could bring a desired fruit into being?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 29:42

Bitachon 270 - Absolute Divine Providence

We continue our exploration of the foundations of Bitachon, among which is the concept of releasing all doubts and having utter confidence in Hashem. This is founded on the idea that Hashem is intimately involved in every detail of all of our lives - absolute Divine Providence.

CLICK HERE to listen to the audio.

Vaeschanan - The Prayer Within

Why did Moshe pray 515 times even though Hashem already told him he would not be entering Eretz Yisrael? Why did he choose the type of prayer that was called a 'tachanun'-supplication? Why do some people have the merit for reward, while the great storehouse of 'free reward' is much larger? Why did Moshe at first not even feel the need to pray, and how did Hashem force him, as it were, to wake up and pray? What happens when a person sees that his prayer is flowing? Does this guarantee his prayer will be answered? How does one know if the prayer he is praying was inspired by Hashem? What is the true purpose of prayer?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 30:05

Bitachon 269 - Leaning Completely on Hashem

We continue our dive into the first section of the book 'Bitach Bashem,' which lays out for us the basics of Bitachon, which includes a sense of complete relaxation - an absence of fear. We also continue with the beginning of our discussion of what it means to 'lean' completely on Hashem.

CLICK HERE to listen to the audio

Running time: 23:01

Devarim-Tisha B'av - Angel of Israel

What does Moshe 'see' in the destruction of Sichon and Og, the enemies of the Jewish people? How does the horse and rider correspond to the nation and it's spiritual representative above? Who is the 'spiritual representative' of the Jewish people above? Why does R' Akiva laugh as his friends cry when they see the power of Rome and the destruction of the Temple? Why is R' Akiva confident that the desolation of the Temple will certainly result in the ultimate rejuvenation of the Jewish people in their return to Jerusalem and Israel?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 30:13

Rosh Chodesh Av - The Process Begins

Last night as I pulled out of the parking lot of the Yarmut park in Ramat Beit Shemesh, I spied the new moon setting over the horizon just after sunset. I was able to get a quick snapshot of it with my old ipod (2nd pic), and I ran to get my good camera and returned just before it completely set behind the buildings (1st pic).

The new moon, generally, is symbolic of renewal, of the first light after the darkness of it's having completely ebbed to invisibility. And it corresponds to us, the Jewish people, to whom the Lunar month belongs, as it is the first mitzvah the Jewish people received as a nation. We can sometimes seem to disappear, but then we reappear, we reflect the spiritual light Hashem shines upon us. And we experience cycles of light and darkness in this relationship.

If you've followed my different podcasts over the years, especially those related to Moshiach, so you know that the Rosh Chodesh Av that precedes the leap year is especially significant, as per the Maharsha in Sanhedrin, daf 12. 

The leap year is called the 'pregnant year' - ostensibly because of the fact that a pregnant woman has a large stomach and 'sticks out,' which is also true of the leap year, with its extra month. But it's also indicative of a process that takes nine months from conception to birth. And just like the conception of a child happens in private, and the birth is out in public and celebrated for all to see, so too, this process of the leap year is a ninth month process that starts in a hidden way on Rosh Chodesh Av, and completes at the end of 9 months, the culmination of Adar II, born on the first of Nissan of the following year.

We can look back at was happening in the last round of the pre-leap year Rosh Chodesh Av, three years ago, before the Hamas war began, and see how much the craziness of that summer lead up to what happened almost exactly 3 months later at the end of Tishrei, which was the beginning of that war that lead to all that followed.

What are we in for now? I think that it's impossible to predict, but I do want to take note of an important thing that we can observe about the concept of the leap year. The 8th year of the cycle (which was 2024, 2005, 1948, 1967) is the only year when the Jewish calendar pushes ahead of the Solar calendar. Lunar calendar represents the Jewish people; Solar calendar represents the nations of the world. It's not a coincidence that in the year we 'pushed ahead' - 1948, 1967 - we saw amazing miracles for the Jewish people as a nation. It takes some thought to see how that is true of 2005 and 2024, but I think the ultimate results of each of these years - the process that was spawned - was a great leap forward.

What is unique about this leap year is that - for leap years that occur 3 years from the previous one (as opposed to only 2, as in the 8th and 19th year of the cycel) - this coming leap year is the farthest forward that the lunar calendar can reach for a 3rd year leap year, as it follows the 8th year leap year.

Bottom line, we are in for a great process and forward movement in the Moshiach process, it will unfold in Hashem's time, clearly, and we may get an insight as to where it all is headed over the next nine months.

Bitachon 268 - Basics of Bitachon

We dive into the first section of the book 'Bitach Bashem,' which lays out for us the basics of Bitachon, which includes a sense of complete relaxation - an absence of fear.

CLICK HERE to listen to the audio

Running time: 22:22

Matos-Masei - Preserving Wealth Spiritually

What was the mistake of the children of the tribes of Gad, Reuven and half of Menashe? What is the concept of Hashem taking away the wealth of the wealthy and giving it to the lowly? Why did the bull that was to be brought as a sacrifice to idolatry refuse to move without Eliyahu pushing it forward and giving it permission? Why did the ravens specifically go to the table of King Yehoshaphat in order to bring bread and meat to Eliyahu? What do we learn from the 'animals and birds?'

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 27:33

Bitachon 267 - The Precious Gem

We continue in the introduction to book Bitach Bashem, by Rav Dovid Rosen, and we see that Bitachon is available to anyone, even those who lack fear of Heaven, and that it is a precious gem to be grabbed, even though it is not sufficiently appreciated in the times we live in.

CLICK HERE to listen to the audio

Running time: 21:12