Category Archives: Uncategorized

During the days of Elisha HaNavi, the nation of Aram surrounded the Jewish people in Shomron and started a siege. The people were so starved that they were forced to pay exorbitant prices to obtain even a donkey’s head to eat. Elisha came to the city and announced, “Tomorrow, the a se’ah of flour will […]

Continued from previous articles. We have been discussing the importance of enjoying what you have now instead of scrimping and saving for the future. Why did the Torah choose to teach us this lesson specifically by Shmittah? If appears that this was only a one-time challenge. Once the first Shmittah passed, everyone saw how the […]

Continued from previous article. When the Torah tells us, “You shall eat and be satisfied, and will live securely in the land.” It is not a blessing or a guarantee as it sounds like, it is a command. The Torah commands us to eat until we are full and not to penny-pinch and save up […]

As we mentioned in the previous post, a person can begin worrying about what will be even in the first year of the Shmittah cycle. Such a person is completely losing sight of what Shmittah is. He says his intention is to save up now in order to be able to keep Shmittah properly. But […]

There’s a fascinating pasuk that talks about Shmittah. ואכלתם לשבע, וישבתם לבטח עליה. וכי תאמרו מה נאכל בשנה השביעית, … וצויתי את ברכתי לכם בשנה השש’ת ועשת את התבואה לשלש השנים. (Vayikra 25: 19, 21) “You shall eat and be satisfied, and will live securely in the land. If you will ask, ‘What shall we […]

The Alshich zt”l once delivered a speech regarding having bitachon without doing any effort. Among the crowd that was listening there was a simple man whose job was to transport materials. When he heard that Hashem sends the same parnassah regardless of effort, he said to himself, “I have to be a fool to keep […]

After the wedding, Rav Zundel agreed to support Nutkeh so he would be able to learn. Support in those days was one meal a day, known as kest. Every day R’ Nutkeh would come home to his meal, but his wife would never eat with him. She always had a different excuse why she wasn’t […]

Rav Zundel Salant was Rav Yisrael Salnter’s rebbi. He was know for his tremendous bitachon. Every year he would change the source of his livelihood in order to remind himself that parnassah comes only from Hashem. R’ Aharon Kotler told over the following story: Rav Zundel had a daughter who needed a shidduch. At that […]

The more a person worries about what’s going to be and the more hishtadlus one does, the harder it is to get what you want. The Gemorah in Eiruvin (13a) tells us, “The more a chases after stature, the more it runs away from him. The more a person runs away from stature, the more […]

Part 3 So why was Yosef punished? The first possibility is because he was destined to be the ruler of Egypt. A leader is always held to a higher standard. Even though some immoral actions are overlooked when done by ordinary people, when they’re done by presidents or prime ministers they become unacceptable scandals. Everyone […]