The pasuk tells us in this week's parasha, קדושים תהיו . And Rashi writes, this is a command to distance ourselves from forbidden relationships. And the more fences we put up to protect ourselves from them, the more kedusha we bring into our lives. A few pesukim later, the Torah speaks about what's called pigul . If during one of the four main serv…

One of our primary obligations in this world is to learn to fully trust in Hashem. It is an avodah that is so dear to Him. When the Jewish people followed Hashem into the desert after Yetziyat Mitzrayim , trusting that He would provide for all of their needs, it made them so beloved to Him. When Hashem wanted to redeem the Jews from slavery and the…

Hashem gives everyone the chizuk they need to pass the test they are given or to accomplish the mitzvot that He presents them with. If a test or mitzvah opportunity would be too difficult for a person to handle, Hashem will give that person the strength or words of encouragement that they need in advance to enable them to handle the test, or to giv…

Hashem has many ways of helping a person. Sometimes the person has a middat hadin upon him, and because of it, he is unworthy of being helped. In those instances, Hashem will first give the person an opportunity to gain the zechuyot that he needs to overcome that middat hadin , and thereby be able to access the help that Hashem wants to give him. S…

Rav Shlomo Kluger pointed out something amazing which took place during Yetziat Mitzrayim . When Moshe Rabbeinu came to warn Phar aoh about Makat Arbeh , Pharaoh was willing to let the adult Jews go. He only refused to let their children go. After Makat Choshech , Phar aoh called to Moshe and said he would let the adults and children go. He only re…

The Midrash P’sikta Rabati in this week's parasha, Achareh Mot ( 3) says, fortunate is the person who, when going through a difficulty, does not complain about what's happening to him. The Midrash goes on to describe the great levels people could reach by accepting their yisurin without complaint. The Shomer Emunim writes in his ma'amar on hashgach…

Rabbi Menashe Reisman asked, "How could it be that the Jewish people sang the אז ישיר after Kiryat Yam Suf with so much joy, being that the Chazal told us that 80% of the Jews died out during מכת חושך ?" That means so many of their relatives and loved ones had just passed away. There were so many orphans and widows, and so many of them lost childre…

Every little inconvenience that a person experiences, even something as small as putting on his shirt the wrong way, is considered yisurin and does wonders for a person's future life. The Shomer Emunim writes in perek 9 in his maamar on Hashgacha Pratit that any pain endured because of another person is worth infinitely more and this includes one's…

When Yosef told his brothers that their descendants would one day be redeemed from Mitzrayim , he added that they should make sure that they take his bones with them when they leave. The sefer Tiferet L'Moshe writes, it seems from the way the pasuk is written that there is a connection between the redemption and Yosef's bones. He brings from the se…

We said in the Hagaddah ״ UB’Moftim Zeh HaDam/ And with wonders,” this refers to Blood When the Torah describes one of the ways Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim with moftim , it’s referring to Dam/Blood . The Rishonim ask why Dam would be singled out here if there were another nine Makot . What was so special about Dam that it's called Moftim ? The …

The Mishnah Berura writes at the end of siman 218 in Ohr HaChaim , in the name of the Acharonim , that if a person had some type of miracle performed for him, he should set aside money according to his means and give it to Torah scholars and say, “May it be the will of Hashem that this takes the place of the Korban Toda that I owe.” It is also prop…

People have spent hours upon hours cleaning their homes and making sure to get rid of every last bit of chametz. The nashim tzidkaniyot have had sleepless nights doing very difficult tasks to ensure that not even a crumb of chametz will remain in their homes. And although it is good to feel satisfaction over our accomplishments in avodat Hashem, we…

A few days ago, I was leaving a shul that I usually don't pray at, and a young man stopped me, telling me he wanted to relate a story that happened to him. He then told the most amazing story of hashgacha peratit . I thought to myself, if I wasn't there at that time, I most probably would have never heard that story. And just like this man had a st…

On the night of the Seder we are commanded to relate the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim and thereby imbue into our families the emunah that Hashem runs the world. The Haggadah tells us we have to relate the story even if everyone at the table are חכמים . Which means, even if everyone has a wellspring of emunah that they have already learned from their …

A lot of money needs to be spent to prepare for a holiday, especially a holiday like Pesach. Whether it's food, clothing, or matzot, the money adds up. Shulchan Aruch writes in siman 529 that we are supposed to honor the holiday, and when it comes to something that will bring more honor to the holiday, we should not be cheap about it. The Mishnah B…

With the resha'im in Iran, firing over 300 missiles capable of causing complete annihilation, we are reminded of the words in the Haggadah, בכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותינו - in every generation they rise up against us to destroy us. And how fortunate we are to see the conclusion of that statement with our own eyes. והקב"ה מצילנו מידם - and Hashe…

This week's parasha, Tazriya, speaks about tzaraat , which Chazal tell us primarily came as a result of the sin of lashon hara . The Zohar HaKadosh, in parashat Tazria writes, the same way a person is held accountable for the negative speech that he says, so too he is held accountable for the positive speech that he could have said but refrained fr…

The hashgacha of Hashem is mind-boggling. There are so many things going on behind the scenes that we are completely oblivious to. We don't realize how far-reaching every deed we do goes. We don't realize the ramifications of every action and thought that we have. All we need to know is that we must try our hardest to follow the will of Hashem in e…

The Chovot HaLevavot writes in the Sha’ar HaBitachon, perek 4, that if a person needs something and is contemplating asking someone for help, he should not feel that he has any more chance of getting what he's asking for if he asks a powerful, prominent individual as opposed to asking a less prominent individual. Rather, he should believe it's all …

Nisan is the head of all months. It's a month of miracles, a month that is auspicious for Geula , and we are all hoping that we will finally be zocheh to experience it. The Torah tells us, שמור את חודש האביב , from which we learn that we have to ensure that Nisan comes out in the spring by sometimes adding an extra month of Adar. The sefer Nifseh C…

Rav Moshe Feinstein, zatzal, writes in his sefer , Igrot Moshe , that the main stress of a parent when it comes to chinuch of children should be in emunah in Hashem. The children should be taught that everything they get is a present from Hashem. Then, they'll develop a love for Hashem as well as their parents who are Hashem's messengers to give th…

In this week's parasha, Shemini, we read about the kosher and non-kosher species, those that we’re allowed to eat and those that we’re not allowed to eat. One of the birds listed, which is not kosher, is called the chasidah . Rashi brings down the reason it's called a chasidah is because it does chesed with its friends by providing them with food. …

Although Hashem does not reveal Himself openly to people, He has infinite ways of communicating with them. We all know He listens to our tefilot , and we all know He helps us all the time. But when we see it so clearly, it gives us extra chizuk . A woman told me, when she was about four months pregnant, she went for a standard sonogram. The radiolo…

The Shomer Emunim writes at the end of Perek 5 in his Ma'amar on Hashgacha Pratit that any afflictions which Hashem brings upon a person is only because of His endless chesed and love for the person, as it says in Mishleh Perek 13. Furthermore, any amount of suffering or inconvenience that a person experiences in this world, even something very sma…

There are times when a person is confronted with very big tests, and sometimes those tests entail giving into another party for peace. Whether it's giving up money, property, or just plain old honor, it's always very difficult to do, especially when the person feels that they should not be the one to give in because it was the other side that cause…