We study together the teaching about Bitachon of the Gra, which is based on R' Chaim Vital's teaching on the topic in his sefer Shaarei Kedusha. In it we explore the concept that Bitachon is the fundamental middah (character trait) that impacts the human being in positive way, as opposed to Chemdah-desire which is never satisfied and leads a person far astray from spiritual values.
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Running time: 21:30
What is the deeper concept of peace? What is the depth of the teaching about the peace that comes when Hashem returns the souls of the idol worshippers for another day of life despite their denial of Him? Why did R' Meir allow the woman to 'spit in his face' to satisfy her husband who was not allowing her to come home? Why is Jerusalem associated with the concept of peace? Why is the ultimate redemption connected so intimately with peace? What is the approach to peace and forgiveness with others who have hurt us?
Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.
Running time: 29:59
We discuss at length the opinion of the Chazon Ish, who seems to say that one can not have bitachon that good things will happen, as well as those who try to explain this to mean that this is referring to after the fact - that one can assume that even a seemingly negative event is Hashem's will for us, and will ultimately be good for us.
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Running time: 24:12
What is the concept of the blessings that come, and how do we access them? How do these blessings contrast with the verses from the end of the previous parsha that speak of victory over our enemies - when we love Hashem and keep the commandments? What is the spiritual power that we have against the 'mazikin'-demons, and how do we get the angels to protect us? What is the message of the story of Elisha and the battalions of Aram that he was able to defeat without a fight - only with the aid of angels? What is the elevated path that saves us from the depths of darkness that are represented by the nations of the world?
Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.
We explore one of the fundamental underpinnings of the concept of Bitachon, which is that everything Hashem does is for our best.
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Running time: 20:59
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
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.
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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
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.
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Running time: 23:01
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
