A Weighty Matter
A Weighty Matter Father had the noble practice of covering his head with two head-coverings as a method of earning greater yirat Shamayim. He would often wear two large kippot, or else one kippah, covered by a hat. When I was little, observing Father walking around the house with his hat on caused me to […]
Fear of Heaven
“Now, O Israel, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you? Only to fear Hashem, your G-d, to go in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve Hashem your G-d, with all your heart and with all your soul” (Devarim 10:12) The Ohr Hachaim says that fear is the opening through which […]
Food for Thought
Food for Thought A group of wealthy Jews owned a factory that produced wines and cheeses. They asked my permission to add my name to the kashrut symbol on their products. They felt that this would increase sales and offered to pay a large sum for this. They added that if I refused, they would […]
Sinful Thoughts
Sinful Thoughts I once spoke about how the Yetzer Hara causes a person to become despondent in his Avodat Hashem. Often, when one sees how abundant his sins are, he falls into despair vis-à-vis his relationship with Hashem. The Yetzer Hara convinces him that his sins are too great to bear, and he will never […]
Beads of Perseverance
Beads of Perseverance One Shabbat afternoon, while I was delivering my regular shiur on the works of the Ben Ish Chai, the Satan decided to interfere and caused the air-conditioning in the Beit Hamidrash to stop. Within a few moments, everyone felt the thick heat which was beginning to permeate the air. Beads of sweat […]
Sharing Is Caring
Sharing Is Caring A wealthy man wished to distribute his money to tzedakah. He asked after the names of the city’s institutions, so that he could know where to turn. At first, my Yetzer Hara suggested that I name only my institutions, ignoring the rest. But, on second thought, I felt uncomfortable doing this. I […]
Slowly but Surely
Slowly but Surely A man who came to see me in Lyon showed me the depths to which the Yetzer Hara can drag a person. His clothes indicated the lifestyle of someone in the underworld. He was dressed in the wildest way imaginable. He wore a short shirt and leather jacket with a metal belt. […]
Preserving Our Purity
Preserving Our Purity I once went to visit the gravesite of the previous Admor of Skver, zt”l. After an inspirational prayer, we turned to leave, feeling elevated. The atmosphere was surreal. My students suddenly began dancing and singing. Out of nowhere, a musical instrument appeared, and the tune of the song “May this hour be […]
My Constant Companion
My Constant Companion In general, whenever I fly, I always have an escort with me. But on one flight abroad, my escort could not come, so I found myself flying alone. As I took my seat, I asked Hashem to be my escort, sparing me from sitting near a strange woman. How happy I was […]
Speaking of Yirat Shamayim
Speaking of Yirat Shamayim I was once asked to speak before an assemblage of high-class people. These were Jews of the upper crust, loaded with money and property, but devoid of anything spiritual. Only fleeting pleasures interested them and stood at the forefront of their consciousness. After I ended my talk, I wanted to find […]
Yetzer Hara
“The design of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Bereishit 8:21) Rashi explains that the words from his youth(מנעריו) is punctuated to read from the time that he stirs (מִנְעָרָיו). Thus it can be interpreted as, “From when he stirs to leave his mother’s insides, the urge to do evil is put in him.” […]
Only Hashem Above
Only Hashem Above Many years were spent creating the amazing French aircraft called the Concorde. Its uniqueness lay in its speed. It could cover two thousand five hundred kilometers in one hour. In order to rev up the engine to reach the heights of twenty kilometers above ground, the pilot had to drive on the […]
