Individual Tests

''...for the Lord, your God, is testing you...'' [Re'eh 13:4]

One of the basic teachings of the Torah is that God does not expect of a human being anything which is beyond the human capacity to carry out.  This is quite understandable, for even a human being, who is very far from absolute perfection, would not expect of a tool that he has fashioned any more than he has put into it.

Certainly God, the Creator of man, knows man's capacities.  From this, it immediately follows that when a person faces any kind of a test of faith, it is certain that he has been given the capacity to overcome it.  And the more difficult the test, the greater are the individual's capacities.

The reason that an individual is tested is not because God wants to know how he will acquit himself, but in order that this person be afforded the opportunity to realize his potential, even that which is unknown to him.

And when one's potential capacities are released and activated, they become part and parcel of his or her arsenal, to be used for personal as well as communal benefit.

Source: Excerpt from a letter of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

One Mezuzah Can Save an Entire City

Text by Rabbi Berach Steinfeld

The Torah in Devarim 13:17 tells us that in the event there is a whole city that serves avoda zora [idol worship], all its belongings will be gathered in the middle of the city and get totally burned. 

The Gemara in Sanhedrin 71a tells us that Reb Eliezer says that if a city that served avoda zora has even just one house with a mezuzah in it, the city will be saved. This will not render the city an Ir Hanidachas. 

We see from here how great is the mitzvah of mezuzah. 

Advanced readers click here for more on this [see page 5]

His Needs, Which He Is Lacking

It is written, “You shall lend him sufficient for his needs, which he is lacking” [Re'eh 15:8]

Rashi points out: “Even a horse to ride on and a servant to run before him.” 

In his book Ayelet HaShachar, the gaon Rabbi Aharon Leib Steinman Shlita notes that this passage deals with honor, not financial need.

This means that the mitzvah also consists of demonstrating honor to someone if honor is what he lacks.

A person once paid a visit to the home of the Chazon Ish. Upon leaving, the Chazon Ish accompanied him all the way outside, despite the fact that the person in question did not merit such honor. The Chazon Ish explained that it was precisely honor that he was lacking.

Source: Rabbi David Pinto

The Myth of Moses Mendelssohn

 

Rabbi Efraim Palvanov

Was Moses Mendelssohn really out to destroy traditional Judaism? Did he launch Reform Judaism? Find out who Mendelssohn really was and why he became such a notorious figure in the Orthodox Jewish world. Also discussed is a brief explanation of the three major Kabbalistic movements that arose in the 18th century.

The Difference Beween a Rich Man and a Poor Man

Art: Vladimir Kush

"And you say in your heart: "My strength and the power of my hand amassed this wealth for me" [Eikev 8:17]

A wealthy wood merchant approached R' Chaim of Volozhin and told him that he was in danger of losing his entire fortune.

"Why is your fortune at risk?" asked R'Chaim.

The merchant related his story. "I sent a large ship carrying wood to Prussia" he explained. "The Prussian authorities, however, are not allowing my merchandise into their country. They have warned me that should the ship not turn around, they will sink the ship and all of my precious cargo along with it!"

"Do not worry!" responded R' Chaim. "You will see, Hashem's salvation comes in the blink of an eye!"

That same day, the price of wood increased significantly and, to the merchant's good fortune, the Prussian authorities also allowed his ship to enter their country.

The overjoyed merchant ran over to R' Chaim. "Rebbe" he said, "today I have witnessed the hand of Divine Providence! I now realize that the government's unwillingness to allow my ship to enter their country was all for the best. For had it been permitted to enter any earlier, I would have received a lower price for my wood. Hashem saw to it, however, than my ship would not enter Prussia any earlier so that I would reap far greater profits!"

"You now see the difference between a rich man and a poor man" sighed R' Chaim. "A poor man sees Hashem's guiding Hand each and every day. But a rich man, who is certain that his wealth stems from his own abilities and strengths, only notices Hashem's Providence once every few years."

Source: Rabbi Y. Bronstein

Tu b'Av

L'illui nishmat Mordechai ben Menachem a"h

The Jewish mini-holiday of Tu B’Av

The 15th of Av is undoubtedly a most mysterious day. A search of the Shulchan Aruch [Code of Jewish Law] reveals no observances or customs for this date, except for the instruction that the tachanun [confession of sins] and similar portions should be omitted from the daily prayers [as is the case with all festive dates], and that one should increase one’s study of Torah, since the nights are begining to grow longer, and “the night was created for study.” And the Talmud tells us that many years ago the “daughters of Jerusalem would go dance in the vineyards” on the 15th of Av, and “whoever did not have a wife would go there” to find himself a bride.

And the Talmud considers this the greatest festival of the year, with Yom Kippur (!) a close second!

Indeed, the 15th of Av cannot but be a mystery. As the “full moon” of the tragic month of Av, it is the festival of the future redemption, and thus a day whose essence, by definition, is unknowable to our unredeemed selves.

Yet the unknowable is also ours to seek and explore.

Source and more  click here

Predictions for New Year 5783 - תשפ״ג

Rabbi Aaron L. Raskin

This coming year 5783 is a year of hakhel, when the Temple stood, the year after shmita the king would gather every man women and child and read the Torah before them. What is the connection to this year 5783?  Furthermore 5783 is a year of abundant wealth, unity and redemption. Watch and learn how all of this is embedded in the Hebrew letters of Pei and Gimel. 

Shabbat Nachamu: How Hashem Will Console Us

 New shiur from Rabbi Mendel Kessin