The Joy of Novelty
The Joy of Novelty One Friday, I was enmeshed in a serious financial problem which gave me no rest. I had no idea how I would extricate myself from it. In order to retain my sanity, I decided to take a break and visit the Beit Hamidrash. Immersing myself in the parashat hashevuah would surely […]
Delight in Deciphering Difficulties
Delight in Deciphering Difficulties A wealthy man once approached me with an offer I could not refuse. “I heard that the venerated Rav wishes to build a yeshiva in Ashdod, which will cost a couple of million dollars. I would like to donate one million dollars toward this enterprise, thereby assisting the Rav in disseminating […]
Happy to Do His Bidding
Happy to Do His Bidding A woman once approached me and said, “Honored Rav, I came to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Since I accepted the Rav’s suggestions to dress with tzeniut and wear a proper hair-covering, there is no one happier than I am. Observing the halachot of taharat hamishpachah have […]
Out of My Depths
Out of My Depths One Friday, I had to transfer a large of amount of money to its destination, but I neither had the money nor any idea from where I would get it. I paced the floors, trying to brainstorm for a solution. I wanted to end the matter quickly, so I could get […]
More Precious than Pearls
More Precious than Pearls A man once asked me for a blessing that he succeed in his business. He added that if Hashem would help him in a specific transaction, he would give me a tithe of his profits as a donation toward our Torah institutions. I blessed him in the merit […]
Joy
“Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid joyfulness and goodness/gladness of heart, when everything was abundant” (Devarim 28:47) Which service is called joyfulness and goodness of heart? This is the service of song (Arachin 11a). “Serve Hashem with joy, come before Him with glad song” (Tehillim 100:2) The only place that joy has […]
Wearing Our Names with Pride
Wearing Our Names with Pride A man once told me the name he had given his child. I said that as far as I knew, this name originated in China. The man hurried to correct me, stating it had its roots in Vietnam. “What in the world possessed you to give your child a Vietnamese […]
Naming My Promise
Naming My Promise When I was twenty-nine, I visited the grave of the tzaddik, Rabbi Amram Ben-Diwan, zy”a, in Morocco. Since I had not yet found my life partner, I offered a prayer from the depths of my heart that Hashem should help me in my quest in the merit of this tzaddik. I vowed […]
A Portentous Read
A Portentous Read One evening, before retiring, I perused a sefer kodesh, as is my custom, so that my sleep would be imbued with Torah thoughts. I opened to a section describing the Navi, Ido (Melachim I, 13). Pesukim 1-5 describe a miracle he did by the word of Hashem. Pesukim 7-24 relate Hashem’s order […]
A Name of Distinction
A Name of Distinction R’ Moshe Gopez’s mother once came to me and asked that I add a name to hers, for she was very sick. She said that Hashem should consider her to be a different person and therefore remove the harsh decree which was placed upon her. I thought long and hard about […]
Names
“And whatever name the man called each living creature, that was its name” (Bereishit 2:19) From this pasuk, we learn that a person’s name is the essence of his neshamah (Oheiv Yisrael, Shemot, Parashat Zachor). “And the man gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to every beast […]
Torah Study Increases Marital Harmony
Torah Study Increases Marital Harmony A man came to me, describing his shalom bayit issues. His wife always complained that he spent too much time learning Torah and doing mitzvot. It was at the expense of earning a living, she contended. Since he wished to grow in Torah and mitzvot, not wasting a moment from […]
