Popular Shows by Reuven Garber ראובן גרבר

We've been discussing the Torah's perspecive, the only true perspective, of exactly what our purpose is in this world. Firstly, why did Hashem create the world in the first place? As the Torah sources teach us - only to give to us. Where ultimatelty do we receive and experience Hashem's goodness? In Olam Haba - in the next world. Why then did Hashem place me in this world? And as discussed, just because He wanted to give us an opportunity to be able to earn our eternal portion for ourselves. And by having the constant opportunity to choose good and stay away for bad in this world, we are thereby able to earn our eternal portion for ourselves. And as many Torah commentaries discuss, if we are to summarise into one world, what exactly our purpose is in this world - how exactly do we earn our eternal portion in the next world? The answer to that is: emunah. We've been discussing what exactly it means to have emunah and how important constant repetition of these concepts, even if one might have heard them many times before, is. Because again, as many Torah sources teach, it's one thing to learn the information. But our main purpose in this world is not just learning the information, but rather truly internalizing that information in how we live our lives. And one of the greatest things we can do in our endeavor to do so, is by constant repetition of these concepts. And the more we grow in our emunah journey, the more we will be able to apply the concepts that we are learning to our own lives, everybody in their own way. As we've been talking about, one expression of emunah that many Torah commentaries discuss is the performance of mitzvos. Because again, if I believe in Hashem, then I will certainly be motivated to follow His laws exactly as He has prescribed whether I understand or not. Because I'm not doing so based on my understanding, but rather because of my belief in Hashem. We've discussed many times, many Torah sources, such as the Zohar HaKadosh, the Vilna Gaon in numerous places, as well as many others, who state that the purpose of all the mitzvos is ultimately for the sake of emunah. In today's day and age, we are so privileged to have so many platforms available to us to learn about all of the mitzvahs. And again, seeing as this is one of the most basic and most potent expressions of emunah, to practice Hashem's mitzvos, one should certainly make their maximum effort to study as much as possible about all of the laws and intricacies of all the mitzvos to be able to practice them in the best way possible. For our purposes right now, we are going to focus on an additional and most potent and core aspect of what it means to live a life of emunah. The Ramban and many others contrast emunah and bitachon and explain that having emunah is like the tree, whereas having bitachon is like the fruit from the tree. It's possible to have emunah without applying the bitachon, whereas it's impossible to have bitachon if one does not have the emunah. So ultimately, one of the main ways we achieve our purpose in this world, which again, is ultimately leading us to our place in Olam Haba for eternity, is by growing more and more in our belief that we have in Hashem.  And as we've learned many times, the more emunah that one has, the more calm one might feel throughout all circumstances, knowing that Hashem is in complete control. When there is a potential to feel feelings of anger, the more emunah that one might have, the less feelings of anger I will feel because I will internalize that it is not this other individual who is causing this to happen to me, but rather, Hashem pulling all the strings, causing everything to happen. Because Ein Od Milvado, there is only Hashem in the world, and every single happening that happens in the world is exclusively orchestrated by Hashem. Let us remember what the Rambam writes in the 13 Principles of Faith, that 'vehu lavdo' - Hashem exclusively, without the help of any other individual or circumstance, orchestrates every single detail of our lives. The more we are able to take these concepts to heart, the more we will be able to apply them in a practical way, by exercising our bitachon in Hashem.

We've been discussing how one of the most basic expressions of applying and practicing our emunah and bitachon, which is our main purpose and focus in this world, as the Torah commentaries outline to us, is the opportunity of talking to Hashem in our own words. We've been discussing some Torah sources, seeing how throughout the ages, right from the beginning all the way through until today, this was always a fundamental practice of the Torah's perspective, the only true perspective, Hashem's perspective. The objective of studying sources such as these is to encourage and motivate ourselves that we too have the exact same opportunity.  Although on the one hand, many of our ancestors were much greater than anything we could even begin to imagine in comparison to our level, and perhaps many of them were able to spend many hours on a daily basis in real close connection throughout their conversations with Hashem, many of us might not be expected to reach such a level of closeness with Hashem, but certainly we are expected and should capitalize on the opportunity to make our maximum effort within our maximum capacity. Every single one of us can talk to Hashem in our own words, both through good times when things are good thanking Hashem for all the amazing things that He blesses us with, as well as in treating Hashem and asking Him to help us throughout the difficult times that we experience. The Gemara in Bava Basra 123a states that the first of the twelve tribes was supposed to be born to Rachel Imeinu. However, because of the extended and sincere prayers of Leah, she was privileged to give birth first. The Gemara explains why Leah was able to pray in such a heartfelt and sincere way: It was common in those times for members of extended families to marry one another. Now in the extended family of Avraham Avinu, there were two sisters and two brothers. Yaakov was the younger child, as was Rachel, whereas Eisav was the older one, as was Leah. Everyone was saying that Leah, the older sister, was therefore destined to marry Esav, the older brother. When Leah learned that Eisav was an evil man, she cried and prayed to Hashem that this destiny of hers not come to fruition. Because of this, she was able to pray so sincerely. When we experience adversity and suffering, much of the time we just can't wait for the next chapter of our life to begin and just want to move out of the space of challenge and suffering. However, when we are able to have the right perspective, it can help us to cope with our challenges in a much better way, as well as capitalize on the opportunity for growth through that ordeal. Adversity is often a vehicle for us to put our full heart and soul into our prayers. Of course we don't ask to experience adversity and suffering, but when it does come, let us capitalize on the opportunity to pray with more sincerity.  In a similar vein, in Shemos chapter 2, verse 23, the verse depicts the response of the Jewish people when they were subjected to the atrocious treatment of the Egyptians. And as the verse states, "they cried out to Hashem in prayer and their cries ascended to Hashem." Let us remind ourselves that one of the major obstacles that prevents us from calling out to Hashem, which is really such a basic equation if we believe in Hashem, is the lack of sincerity in our belief that Hashem is really listening. As Rav Pincus points out, it is very difficult to talk to a wall for a long period because you know that the wall is not listening. Whereas when we make our maximum effort to try and internalize more and more each day, that when we talk to Hashem, we are not talking to a wall, then it becomes so much easier to talk to Hashem.  And again, one might feel, but it is hard for me to talk to Hashem. Does that mean that I am on a very low level, that talking to Hashem is not for me? God forbid. Let us remind ourselves that even with regards to a wicked person, we are taught that the opportunity for emunah and bitachon is available to every single human being. If our maximum capacity is to say, "Hashem, I want to believe in You, but I actually feel like I am kind of talking to a wall, please can You help me to see how You come through for me in my life, Hashem. Please show me how really it is You who is always orchestrating all the details of my life. And please can You send me some of those moments where I am inspired and motivated because I see how You are coming through for me in my life, and how the prayers that I make are actually making a difference. Thank You, Hashem, for the tremendous opportunity to have a personal relationship with You and be able to talk with You every single day."

Once we have internalized that our sole mission and purpose in life is to make maximum efforts to strive to excel in emunah, how are we to practically go about daily living with simple and sincere emunah? Of course, there are many different forms of serving Hashem, such as the performance of mitzvos, Torah study, making effort to improve one's character traits, and the like. All forms of service to Hashem are important and are ultimately based on having emunah in Hashem.  We shall now explore one of the most potent forms of applying and living emunah in a practical way, perhaps the strongest course in developing our personal relationship with Hashem. When I talk to a friend, I do so because I know that he will listen. Talking to a wall is dispiriting because it is futile. On the other hand, when I send a message to someone, I communicate as if that person is in front of me, even though he may currently be on the other side of the globe, offline and unresponsive. Why? Because I believe that he will hear my words, even though we are not currently together.  If I sincerely believe in the existence of Hashem, talking to him is like leaving a voice message for a friend. Most of us do not experience direct revelations from Hashem. We do not experience His presence in the tangible way that we experience communication with another human being. But if we believe that God permeates the entire world and that He is listening to every word that we utter, we should certainly communicate with Him, at the very least, in the same way that we communicate with another human being. Talking to Hashem in one's own words and thereby developing a personal relationship with Him is often referred to in Torah sources as Hisbodedus. The Mesillas Yesharim in chapter 15 writes that the early pious sages would practice Hisbodedus and bond with Hashem in seclusion. He writes that as early a luminary as David HaMelech spoke approvingly about the practice of Hisbodedus and that the prophets Eliyahu and Elisha would spend large amounts of time secluded in the mountains practicing Hisbiodedus with Hashem. To quote the Mesillas Yisharim, "Hisbodedus is more precious than anything else." The Mesillas Yesharim is explaining to us that by isolating ourselves from society and practicing Hisbodedus with Hashem, we clear our mind and heart of mundane matters, thereby creating room for success in our spiritual endeavors. Our lives involve serving Hashem in many ways, expressing our submission to and love for Him. We observe many mitzvos with all their intricacies. We have chesed, we have Torah study. All of these are extremely important. It is fascinating however to note this potent and rare expression used by the Mesillas Yesharim which highlights the power and effectiveness of Hisbodedus, as he stated, "Hisbodedus is more precious than anything else."  We've seen many Torah sources who have highlighted to us that ultimately the fundamental core of the entire Torah and mitzvos and our main focus in this world is to grow in our emunah. And as we've pointed out, there are many levels to what it means to live a life of emunah. We learnt in the Gemara that if we've only got enough food just for today but have no idea what we're going to do about tomorrow, it is possible to reach such a level of emunah that I feel completely calm knowing that Hashem will take care of me.  As we've discussed previously, the Mesillas Yesharim and many others point out that life is meant to be a test, to give us the opportunity to pass and succeed in something that there was also a potential to fail. Every day we all experience many tests that Hashem is giving us the opportunity to pass and succeed, thereby earning our highest place in the next world, Bezrat Hashem, and we are called on to place our highest focus on our endeavour to pass the test of emunah and bitachon, where everything around us in this world that we live in seems to dictate the exact opposite of the values of emunah and bitachon that we are taught from the Torah. But again, this is an opportunity that we have, and the more that we choose to invest in our endeavour to grow in our emunah and bitachon, the more of a success story we will be in the true world, in Olam Haba.

We've been discussing how although many Torah commentaries point out to us that our sole mission and purpose in our life is to make our maximum effort to grow and excel in our emunah and bitachon, but seeing as emunah means to believe, and what we see in front of us on a day-to-day basis, much of the time presents values exactly the opposite to what the Torah teaches about emunah and bitachon, there are many different paths of how people come to believing in Hashem and by extension to believing in His Torah and the Torah sources as being His word.  Some people perhaps were brought up with Torah education. Others might have been motivated by a certain moment of inspiration. Some others might have had the opportunity to explore sources outlining the validity and reason why one should believe that the Torah is an extension of Hashem's word. But taking for granted that one does believe in Hashem and one does believe that all the Torah sources that we have are an extension of Hashem's word Himself; we are taught loud and clear that our ultimate purpose and focus in this world is to make efforts to believe in Hashem. We've discussed that one thing we can do is to constantly expose ourselves to Torah teachings about emunah, which is available to all of us in many forms, regardless of our level, in today's day and age. We've also been talking about that perhaps one of the highest expressions of true belief in Hashem is acknowledging that if He does exist and He listens to everything that I'm saying, it is a simple equation that I should be in constant communication with my Creator. Even if I don't need anything in particular, if I believe Hashem exists and is there, I should be communicating with Him, and certainly if I am currently experiencing some hardship or challenge, my address to find a solution should not be to turn to another individual or circumstance, but rather to Hashem Himself.  The more one believes in Hashem, the more one will make an effort to talk to Hashem. The challenge with communication with Hashem, in contrast with communication with another individual, is that when I talk to someone else, usually I hear a response, and therefore that will motivate me to continue talking to them. Whereas as we discussed, when I talk to a wall, it is quite boring, because I don't feel like the wall is listening. But again, if I send somebody a voice message, although I know that they're only going to listen to this message in a few hours' time, and I might not even receive a response, because maybe they'll decide not to respond, or for whatever other reason, nevertheless, when I'm dictating my voice note to them, the reason I will send it is because I believe that they will receive my message, even though I'm not experiencing any communication. And we can compare that type of communication to the way we speak to Hashem. For whatever reason, Hashem does not openly reveal Himself in this world. But if we have emunah, we believe that He is absolutely listening to every single word that we utter. And just like we would send a voice note to someone else who we believe they will receive our message, so too when we speak to Hashem, we believe that He will listen to us. A basic equation of simple emunah - If I believe Hashem exists, if I believe that Hashem is listening to every word that I am saying, certainly I will talk to Him. And seeing as emunah is the challenge, is the test of my life, because as mentioned countless times, this is the main way that we earn our place in the next world, so obviously it's not going to be an easy task. Although we've discussed that exposing ourselves to constant inspiration from Torah sources and the like is certainly conducive to helping us remain in the mindset of constant emunah and bitachon, but perhaps even more powerful than that is to reach out to Hashem Himself and ask Hashem to help us to be successful with our emunah.

We've learned countless Torah sources, emphasizing the tremendous focus the Torah places in directing us to make our maximum effort to excel in our emunah and bitachon. And as we've discussed previously, one of the greatest efforts that we can make is to talk to Hashem Himself and ask Him for help, because again if we believe that Hashem exists and listens to every single word that we are saying, we can talk to Him about anything.  And just like we can and should talk to Hashem about any and all of the happenings in our lives, because certainly there is no greater address than going to Hashem Himself, the Creator of the world and the One who orchestrates every detail in every single one of our lives, but perhaps one of the most important areas that we ought to make our maximum effort to constantly communicate to Hashem about, is to help us succeed in our emunah endeavor.  If we take to heart what we've learned from countless Torah sources, that emunah and bitachon is the most important thing that we ought to focus on in this world, then certainly we should internalize how important it is to treat personal prayer to Hashem, specifically in the area of growing in our emunah and bitachon, with utmost importance. Because just like Hashem created the world, constantly runs every detail in everybody's lives and is ultimately the One who calls every single shot, so too certainly He is the One who can help me in my life to grow in my emunah and bitachon. And as many Torah sources teach, Hashem does not require from us anything more than our maximum potential. How successful we might be on an objective scorecard depends on many factors that are often beyond our capabilities. If Hashem did not make me particularly smart or motivated, or perhaps I didn't have a background in Jewish education, or whatever other reason, I might not be able to objectively be on a higher level than an individual who does have those things. However, Hashem does not care about the objective results.  Hashem has tailor-made my life to achieve my maximum potential. In this world, it is me against me. There is no comparison to one another. We all have completely different lives, completely different makeups, with many intricate details that only Hashem knows. Hashem only desires that we make our maximum effort in truly trying to excel and succeed in the areas that are important. And as we've learned by countless Torah authorities, there is nothing more important than emunah and bitachon. Certainly then, we are all called on to make our maximum effort to grow in our emunah and bitachon.  Although many Torah authorities outline how talking to Hashem in our own words, which by many is referred to as hisbodedus, is one of the greatest efforts that we can make towards growth in our emunah and bitachon, and b'ezrat Hashem, as we'll continue to discuss, we find many powerful statements throughout Torah literature about the tremendous potency of our personal conversations with Hashem, it is noteworthy to highlight that just like emunah with Hashem has many levels, and our life's work is to grow and climb the ladder of emunah as much as possible, in a similar vein, if one of the most basic expressions of emunah is talking to Hashem because I believe he exists, there are obviously many levels of what it means to talk to Hashem and have a personal relationship with Hashem. We are not expected to climb the ladder in one day, nor necessarily get to the top. But we are expected to make our maximum effort. It is noteworthy to point out that the opportunity to talk to Hashem is available to every single one of us, regardless of our backgrounds or what we've been exposed to. Because just like we all are able to talk to another individual, Hashem has given us this tremendous privilege to be able to talk to Him about anything and everything, including asking Him for help to succeed in our endeavor to grow in our emunah and our bitachon.

We've been discussing the tremendous opportunity that every single one of us has available to us at every single moment - to talk to Hashem in our own words. If I believe that Hashem exists and is able to hear any word that I utter, then certainly the more I believe, the more I will reach out. Both when it comes to times of struggle in my life, the true address I will reach out to more than any other address, more than any other human being, or any other effort that I might be required to make, my main effort will be to reach out to Hashem Himself and ask Him for help. And when it comes to our life's work, when we realize and internalize how our main focus in this world is to grow in our belief in Hashem, to feel calm when anxiety-provoking situations arise, and all the other many things that a life of true emunah and bitachon leads to, we will certainly make our maximum effort to talk to Hashem as much as possible, to help us to be successful in our endeavor.  Although talking to Hashem is a very obvious equation for one who believes in Hashem, however as always, much more important than what our own logic dictates, is what the Torah sources teach us, because that is truly Hashem's perspective, the only unmistakable perspective. We mentioned the Mesillas Yesharim in chapter 15, who writes that the early pious sages would practice Hisbodedus and bond with Hashem in seclusion; and he writes that David HaMelech spoke approvingly about the practice of Hisbodedus, and that the prophets Eliyahu and Elisha would spend large amounts of time secluded in the mountains practicing Hisbodedus with Hashem. And to quote this very rare expression used by the Mesillas Yesharim, which highlights the tremendous power and effectiveness of Hisbodedus, "Hisbodedus is more precious than anything else." The Sefer Chareidim in chapter 65, as well as the Shlah HaKadosh in Yoma, Ner Mitzvah 2, both cite the masters of Kabbalah that write, "the effect that Hisbodedus has on the soul is seven times greater than the effect of learning Torah." Now let us just take these words to heart. Every morning we recite a Mishna which states that the value of Torah learning is so profound that it equals that of all the mitzvos put together. Yet the Sefer Chareidim and Shlah HaKadosh teach us over here that the effect of Hisbodedus on the soul is seven times greater than even that of Torah learning.  "Hashem, my Father, thank You so much for giving me the tremendous opportunity to know what life is truly all about. Thank You, Hashem, for teaching me that my ultimate focus in this world needs to be to grow as much as possible in my emunah and bitach and endeavor. And at the same time, thank You, Hashem, for teaching me via your Torah sources the only absolutely true perspective, that one of the greatest endeavors that we could involve ourselves in is to practice Hisbodedus, is to be alone with You and talk to You about anything and everything that we might desire.  Thank You, Hashem, for making it so easy that we don't even have to pay any amount of money to be able to have the opportunity to talk to You, and that there's no limitation in what we're allowed to say. We're allowed to talk to You about anything and everything at any moment. Thank You, Hashem, for teaching me that I am never alone, because whatever I'm experiencing throughout my life, I always have the opportunity to reach out to You, to ask You for help, and there is no greater address to go to.  Yes, although in this world sometimes people see it as a weird thing to do, to talk to something you can't see and something that doesn't give you a response, but ultimately that's because this whole world's purpose is to test us in our emunah. I do not see You, Hashem, and it's difficult, because I wish I could hear a response from You. But again, my purpose in this world, as You've taught us loud and clear from countless Torah sources, is to believe in You. And believing in You means that I cannot know that You're there, and I cannot necessarily experience that You're there, but I do believe that You're there. Thank You so much, Hashem, for the constant opportunity to have a personal relationship with You."

We've been discussing one of the greatest opportunities that we have, to constantly converse with Hashem about anything and everything, and of course, it is not easy to keep up the practice on a constant basis, because as Rav Pinkus points out, many people struggle to talk to Hashem because they don't truly believe Hashem is listening to them; whereas the more one builds their emunah, that Hashem is truly there, and every single word that I utter, as the Midrash says, it's as if I'm telling it to Hashem directly in His ear, the more one is motivated by the truth of what is truly going on, that Hashem is listening to every single utterance that I make, the more motivated I will be to prioritize the time that I speak to Hashem about any area of my life.  When I need anything, certainly my first address will be to reach out to Hashem, and the discussion we've been focusing on is emunah in general, being our main purpose and focus in this world, is something that does not come easy, and is our life's work. And one of the main efforts that we can make towards growing in our emunah endeavor is to reach out to Hashem Himself and ask Him for help. Every single one of us has the opportunity to talk to Hashem in our own words, asking Him to be successful in our emunah, in our bitachon, and in anything else that we see as a priority in our lives.  We mentioned that many Torah commentaries refer to personal conversations with Hashem as hisbodedus, which simply means secluding oneself away from other people and other distractions, and talking to Hashem in one's own words. And we mentioned the rare expression used by the Mesillas Yesharim in chapter 15, where he says "hisbodedus is more precious than anything else." We also spoke about the statement of the Masters of Kabbalah, which are cited by both the Sefer Chareidim in chapter 65, as well as the Shelah Hakadosh, in Yoma, ner Mitzvah, Beis, that "the effect that hisbodedus has on the soul is seven times greater than the effect of learning Torah." This is a very potent statement because there are countless Torah sources that highlight the tremendous value that Torah learning has, and as we recite every morning the first Mishnah in Peah which says that the value of Torah learning equals all of the other mitzvahs put together; yet here we learn that the effect of talking to Hashem is so potent that it has a seven times greater effect than even that of Torah learning. The Chofetz Chaim in Likutei Amarim, chapter 11, writes, "The reason that we do not merit salvation from all the hard times that befall us is that we do not pray and cry out to Hashem enough." He continues, "It is not sufficient to daven Shmoneh Esrei three times a day, rather, several times a day whilst alone, a person must pour out his heart in prayer to Hashem from the depths of his soul. Since one is accustomed to the daily recital of the Shmoneh Esrei, one does not say these prayers with absolute sincerity. On the other hand, when it comes to speaking to Hashem with our own words, in our own way, this type of prayer emanates from the depths of one's soul with true sincerity, and this type of prayer will without question not be denied by Hashem."  Much has been written about His bodedness and one's personal relationship with Hashem, and one who'd like to research this topic further will be able to easily do so by the many fantastic sefarim and online resources that are available to us in today's day and age. Ultimately, however, no external resource can give over the precise details of what it means to have a personal relationship with Hashem. Just like one cannot be robotically directed as to what to discuss or when, where and how often to connect with one's spouse or best friend, in the same way, when it comes to our relationship with Hashem, ultimately it is your personal relationship with Hashem. One does not need to be a scholar or have a diploma in order to enter into a relationship. Hisbodedus is a relationship. It's your own personal relationship with Hashem.

We've been discussing the tremendous opportunity that every single one of us has to talk to Hashem in our own words on a constant basis. Besides for talking to Hashem in our own words, we all also have the tremendous opportunity to pray the prescribed prayers on a daily basis. We know that the prescribed prayers were authored by the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah through divine inspiration and every single letter that is uttered has tremendous holiness and potency. Everything in this world is about emunah, belief. When I read the prescribed prayers, maybe some days I might feel motivated and inspired for whatever reason, but perhaps much of the time, especially that it's a repetitive exercise that the same words are recited every day, it can become monotonous. We are called on to make every effort to build our belief that every word that we utter of the prescribed prayers that were authored by the Holy Anshei Knesset HaGedolah through divine inspiration, is making a tremendous effect in the spiritual worlds.  We should make every effort when we recite brachas throughout the day as well as throughout the prescribed prayers to say the words with meaning, concentration and intention. Although life is busy and everybody is in a rush, the more we believe in the potency and power of these words, the more we will be inspired to say them slowly and with concentration and meaning. After we say the morning brachos in the shacharis prayers, the next section of the davening is the psukei dezimra, which means the verses of song. This whole section is ultimately many songs of praise that we are called on to sing to Hashem and in an ideal world where there was more time, we would spend perhaps many hours just singing and singing these songs to Hashem. Again, just like there are many levels to emunah, there are also many levels to what it means to believe in the words of prayer. Perhaps the highest level would be to spend many hours singing these songs that David HaMelech and others composed towards praising Hashem. But again, we are not expected to be what we can't and to reach levels that are beyond us, but what Hashem does expect from us is to make our maximum effort to grow as much as we can. Perhaps when we say psukei dezimra, we could choose one paragraph which we say with more song and enthusiasm and concentration, and that itself is already a tremendous effort in growth in our belief in the potency of the words of the sages. And in the same vein, when we say bracha throughout the day, perhaps we could choose one bracha that we will say it slightly slower, trying to think about the meaning of the words.  We've mentioned before that in the future there will be no more animal offerings, except for one, and the reason for that is because we will have reached such a level in terms of our spirituality that the animal offerings in general will not anymore be needed in order to enhance our service to Hashem. However, the Torah sources teach us that the korban toda, the animal offering of thanks, will always be active even in times of the future, and the reason for that is because it is such a fundamental cornerstone of our essence to express our gratitude to Hashem that even in the times of the future when we will reach such tremendous spiritual heights, we will nevertheless always need that form of service to Hashem. And similarly we are taught that in the times of the future, all songs will cease to exist except for one, and that is the song of thank you, because thanking Hashem is such a tremendous foundation of what it means to be a Jew and to live by the values of the Torah.  Every single one of us has the constant opportunity to thank Hashem for things that are obvious that we should thank Him for. The gift of eyesight, the ability to hear, the fact that I can walk today, the fact that I might have had some food available to eat today, the fact that I might have family, friends, a job, the fact that I have the opportunity to learn Torah, to be exposed to emunah - to be exposed to the real reason that I exist and be given Hashem's perspective about what my life is truly about, and so many other things that we can all think about in our own personal lives. "Thank you, Hashem, for the gift to be able to praise You and thank You for all the tremendous things that You do for me."

We've been discussing the tremendous opportunity we have to communicate with Hashem in both the form of our personal prayers, every single one of us in our own way, with our own words, at our own time, in our own place, as well as the tremendous opportunity we have to recite the prescribed prayers which were authored by the great sages of times of old through divine inspiration, and how each letter is imbued with tremendous holiness beyond anything we could imagine. In both of these forms of communication with Hashem, our job is to build our emunah - our belief.  When I talk to Hashem in my own words, He is really listening to every word. And as we pointed out from the Torah sources, the Sefer Chareidim and the Shelah cite the masters of Kabbalah, that when I speak to Hashem in my own words, the potency of that has seven times more effect than even that of Torah learning, and we know the great value of Torah learning, where the Mishnah teaches us that the value of Torah learning equals all of the mitzvos put together, yet, talking to Hashem has more of an effect on the neshama than even that; and at the same time to build our emunah, that when we recite the prescribed blessings throughout the day, to have more intention and meaning, and perhaps recite them slower, to be able to truly focus on what we are saying, and not miss out on the opportunity of tapping into the tremendous power of these prescribed words by the holy sages.  We spoke about how in the times of the future, although all of the animal offerings will cease to exist, nevertheless, we are taught that the korban toda - the animal offering of thanks, will always exist, because the prayer of thanks is something so important and fundamental to us, that although we will climb to such spiritual heights in the future not needing the other forms of animal offerings, nevertheless, we will always need the animal offerings of thanks. And in the same vein, we are taught by Torah sources that all songs will cease to exist in the future, because again, we will be beyond what songs can achieve for us, but the one song that will remain is mizmor lesodah, is the song of thanking Hashem, because when we thank Hashem, that is ultimately the highest expression of our emunah, because if we truly believe that Hashem would only do what is best for us, then ultimately we'll just sing to Him and thank Him and praise Him for everything He does for us all day long.  Although ideally we are called on to make every effort to say all of the prescribed prayers and blessings with the best intention and meaning that we can, and as we spoke about when it comes to the verses of psukei dezimra, which were initially designed to be songs for Hashem, the ideal course would be to say all of those prayers in form of song, praising and thanking Hashem, however, in particular, when it comes to the paragraph of mizmor lesodah, the Shulchan Aruch in section 51 outlines that we are called on to sing the chapter of mizmor lesodah, which is the song of gratitude, because again, expressing our gratitude to Hashem is such a fundamental principle.  There is a fascinating observation of the Maharsha to the Gemara in Brachos 32b, where the Gemara states that since the time of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, prayers are not as readily received by Hashem. However, there seems to be an apparent contradiction from the Gemara elsewhere, where the Gemara in Pesachim 85b states that even were there to be an iron wall separating us from Hashem, our prayers would always make their way up to Hashem. And the Maharsha resolves the contradiction as follows. He says that the first Gemara refers to when we make requests from Hashem. When doing so, yes, sometimes we need to pray again and again and again until our prayer will make the desired effect. Whereas the second Gemara we spoke about, says the Maharsha, is referring to prayers of praise and gratitude.  What a tremendous privilege we have to reach out to Hashem about anything and everything, in all forms of prayer, both the prescribed prayers as well as our personal prayers, both in terms of requesting from Hashem as well as prayers of praise and gratitude. Let us capitalize on the opportunity to pray to Hashem in all areas, and perhaps in particular, to make prayers of praise and gratitude to Hashem, which is the highest type of prayer that can exist.

One of the great mitzvos that Hashem has given us the opportunity to take part in is the mitzvah of Bikur Cholim. When someone is sick we have a mitzvah to go and visit them. However, what is sometimes not as well known is that the halacha in Yoreh Deah chapter 335 states that just like by all mitzvos we find that there are certain technicalities one needs to follow in order to fulfill the mitzvah in the correct way, in the same way when it comes to the mitzvah of visiting the sick, besides actually going and visiting the sick person and of course asking them if there is anything we could help with which is part of the mitzvah, the halacha also stipulates that one is obligated to pray on behalf of the sick person for their recovery, to the point that the Ramah in the name of the Ramban states the halacha that if one visited a sick person and neglected their obligation to pray on their behalf, one has not fulfilled the mitzvah of Bikur Cholim.  One might argue, although it might have been the ideal course to follow the halacha perfectly and pray for this individual, but come on I spent many hours visiting the individual trying to help them out, surely I kind of did the mitzvah almost perfectly even if I didn't pray for their recovery? The reason this is a very wrong approach is because firstly as mentioned many times, Hashem is the only one who knows the details of why every mitzvah needs to be done in the precise way that He has designed. And if He has said that these are the specifications of how this mitzvah works, we need to make sure to listen to exactly how He has outlined the law.  As we've discussed previously, Torah authorities teach us that although sometimes we might be given some of the reasons as to why we perform the mitzvos, however for the most part the real reasons behind the mitzvahs we have no idea as to their true essence. And therefore, just because to us it might seem like the main component of visiting a sick person is in order to make them feel better and to help them out with anything they might need, however if we might be missing the component of praying on their behalf, we might be missing one of the main, most important parts of the mitzvah; again to the point that the halacha stipulates that if we visit a sick person and one neglects to pray for their welfare, one does not fulfill the mitzvah of Bikur Cholim.  And another reason this would be a very mistaken approach is because again, everything always boils down to emunah. It is much easier to appreciate when somebody goes ahead to visit a sick individual and takes the time to go and help them out practically, and of course this mitzvah should not be undermined whatsoever because it is a tremendous mitzvah to take of one's time and energy to help another Jew and especially to visit a sick individual and help them out in whatever way one can. However it is much more difficult to relate to the potency of the prayer that I might make for them because again, when I might be visiting them or helping them out in a practical way, I don't need to believe anything. I can see that I'm helping them out and I can see that they feel better by me being there. But thereafter when I go and make a prayer for this individual, I don't see any effect of my prayer and the only thing I have is to believe, to have emunah that my prayer is making a difference.  The bottom line is that it is difficult to relate to the effectiveness and the potency that prayer has because in this world we are not allowed to see the effect that prayers have on a situation. However we are taught from the only true perspective that can exist regardless of what our own logic might dictate, which again could of course be mistaken at times, that the power of prayer is so important. Our prayers make a big difference if we would be able to see what the Torah sources teach us that every time we utter a word of prayer we are creating worlds in the spiritual realms to degrees that we can't even imagine, it would be impossible to stop praying but in this world we are not allowed to see because the purpose of our existence is specifically to believe when we don't see; emunah.

We discussed the law which is stated in the shulchan aruch, Yoreh Deah section 335, where we learned that in order to fulfil the mitzvah of visiting a sick person - bikur cholim - according to halacha, one is required to visit the individual, help them out with whatever they need and also pray for their welfare. And the halacha taught us that if one neglects their obligation to pray on behalf of the sick individual, one forfeits the mitzvah of Bikur Cholim. We can learn many things from this law. One important point is to internalize that we are always to follow halacha exactly as Hashem dictates, regardless of our own understanding. Because although sometimes logic may dictate to us differently, nevertheless, we ought to humble ourselves that we cannot understand Hashem's calculations and therefore, the wisest thing to do would be just to follow exactly what He told us, whether we understand or we don't. And another important point we learn from this law is the tremendous potency the Torah places on prayer. Although our logic would seem to dictate that fulfilling a mitzvah where you help another individual is of utmost importance, which again, according to the Torah, it is; however, our logic would also dictate that prayer is not as important because we don't see the immediate effect that prayer has. Whereas when you help another individual, such as you visit a sick person and you help them out, you do see the immediate effect. But again, the Torah sources, which is the only true real perspective that we have, teach us otherwise - that even when we don't experience what we think to be meaningful, we are called on to do exactly what Hashem tells us to do. We've also mentioned previously the Gemara in Brachos 12b which states that if one knows of another individual who is experiencing some form of hardship or trouble and one does not daven for that individual, the Gemara says one is called a sinner. And Rav Moshe Feinstein explains further that even if an individual sees themselves as a not particularly righteous individual or perhaps even as a non-observant individual, we are obligated to pray on their behalf because one never knows the heavenly calculations of whose prayers will be accepted and therefore, even if one sees themselves as an unimportant individual, every single one of us is obligated to pray for one another.  The Gemara in Bava Kamma 92a states that when we pray on behalf of another individual, and in actual fact we are also in need of the item we are requesting for the other individual, we will actually be answered first. Now, of course, when we pray for another individual, the right motivation should be to pray because we really care about them and as a fringe benefit, the Gemara tells us that we will be answered for what we need. However, it is motivating to know this fact, that ultimately when we care about others, in return, Hashem will care about us and give us what we need.  "Thank You, Hashem, for giving us the tremendous opportunity to be able to speak to You, even though we might not have any background in Torah education, and even if we do have a tremendous background in Torah education, thank You for teaching me that this is one of the greatest mitzvos that can exist, and it's available to all of us in an easy form, where we can just open up our heart and talk to You. Hashem, thank You also for giving me the tremendous opportunity to pray on behalf of others, and teaching me the tremendous potency that my prayers can make, that I might just be the only person who can make a real difference in this situation. Sometimes it might be that I'm supposed to make the difference in a practical way, but much of the time, the main difference I will make is by praying to You. Thank You, Hashem, for the gift of tefillah."

As we've discussed many times, the cornerstone and foundation of the whole Torah and of what it means to be a Jew, is emunah. And as many Torah commentaries discuss, that a kind of synonym with emunah and certainly one of the main focuses that a life of emunah should lead to is prayer - tefillah. When it comes to isolated mitzvos, which are all of paramount importance, usually there is a set of laws that outline to us exactly how to perform this particular mitzvah. When it comes to emunah, because it is such a foundation and ultimately everything we are doing boils down to it, there are so many details in what it means to have emunah that in a sense one can continue to learn more and more about it throughout one's life.  And in a similar vein, when it comes to tefillah, there's so much Torah literature available about it that again, it is a lifetime's work. The Midrash Rabbah to Parshas Beshalach section 21 states that the angel appointed over the prayers of the Jewish people collects the prayers, makes crowns out of them, and then places them on Hashem's head. Let us appreciate that whenever we talk to Hashem, even about the most mundane matters, we are actually sending Him a gift that makes up the crown that He wears. Each word of prayer that we utter is really the holy of holies and therefore Hashem chooses to wear these prayers on His head constantly. This is one of many tremendously motivating Torah sources that help us to treat prayer with highest priority. The Talmud Yerushalmi in Brochas chapter 9 states that Hashem is close to us and attentive to our prayers. The Gemara goes on to compare the manner in which Hashem hears us to one who speaks into the ear of another individual. Just like the individual hears us loud and clear, so too does Hashem hear every word loud and clear. There are many levels to what it means to have emunah. For many of us who believe that Hashem is there, we believe that He listens when we talk to Him. However, there are many levels to what it means to believe that Hashem is truly listening to me. This passage is teaching us that Hashem listens to every single word we are saying just like you would be whispering into the ear of another individual, to that extent and more because He is not limited by human capacity.  Taking Torah passages like this to heart will motivate us to treat our personal prayer with Hashem with maximum importance. The Zohar HaKadosh to Parashat Vayishlach page 169a states that we should make effort to express our prayers to Hashem clearly to the best of our abilities. We should not assume that Hashem understands what we mean without the need for us to express our requests adequately; but rather, we should imagine that we are talking to another individual who needs us to explain all the details of what we are saying. Of course Hashem understands what we are going to say even before we say it, and were we to be in a situation such as having an inability to talk, we certainly could be rest assured that Hashem knows exactly what we mean even without us having expressed ourselves adequately. However, this Torah passage is teaching us that Hashem's desire is that we do make our maximum effort in expressing ourselves in our prayers with all the precise details.  "Thank you Hashem for teaching me that when I pray to you it is so important to you that you take those prayers and actually put them on the crown that is on your head. Thank you also Hashem for teaching me that you are listening so closely to everything I have to say as if I am talking directly into your ear. And thank you Hashem also for outlining to me that the right way to pray is to make my maximum effort to adequately express myself even though in truth you don't need me to because you know everything, this is your desire and this is the mitzvah of what it means to pray to you. Thank you Hashem for the gift of tefillah."

The Shulchan Aruch in Ohr Hachaim chapter 287 states that although on a weekday, when one encounters an individual who is unwell, it is a mitzvah to wish them a refuah shleima - a complete recovery, however on Shabbos, under normal circumstances, one is not supposed to wish another individual a refuah shlema. And the reason for that, as explained by the commentaries, is because when somebody is ill and I wish them better, I am also supposed to pray that they have a complete recovery, and sometimes whilst doing so, that might cause me to have sad feelings when I contemplate on the pain and suffering that this individual might be experiencing. And therefore on Shabbos, when we are not supposed to give ourself reason to feel feelings of sadness, instead of wishing somebody a refuah shleima, the halacha outlines that we are to say, "shabbos hi milizok urefuah kerovah lavo" - that I have no need to daven for you, nor wish you a refuah shlema, because Shabbos is so powerful that it will heal you itself. Although in general, we are highly encouraged to talk to Hashem about anything and everything, as we have discussed many times, both with regards to perhaps more spiritual things, as well as with regards to more mundane subjects, although usually there are no limitations as to what we should talk to Hashem about, and Hashem has given us the incredible opportunity to have a green card to be able to reach out to Him about anything and everything at any time, however, the halacha tells us that davening on Shabbos has different halachic parameters than regular weekday prayer. To briefly summarize what emerges from the halacha, which the Shulchan Aruch and other halachic commentaries in Ohr Hachaim chapter 288 state: prayers in the form of praise and gratitude to Hashem are always permitted even on Shabbos, whereas when it comes to the type of prayer that we make in the form of requests, then the halacha outlines to us that there are three categories that are permitted on Shabbos. The first is when we are dealing with spiritual matters. Although asking Hashem for more money, or for recovery from illness, or success in a mundane endeavor that I might be involved in, is problematic on Shabbos under normal circumstances, however, to ask Hashem that He help me in overcoming my anger challenges, or perhaps to ask Hashem to help me to be more diligent in my mitzvah observance, or being more committed to talking to Him on a regular basis, that would be permitted on Shabbos under all circumstances.  The halachic commentaries bring that a second category that would be permitted on Shabbos: when a person prays in his mind rather than actually mouthing the words, then say many commentaries that one is actually permitted to pray for anything, both with regards to spiritual endeavors as well as with regards to even mundane things. Although the midrash does teach that in general when praying, one should make an effort to mouth the words of one's prayer rather than just thinking it, however on Shabbos, seeing as one is not supposed to pray for mundane things, the halacha outlines that if one wishes to do so, one is permitted to, as long as they do so only by thinking so, and not praying the words with one's mouth. And the third category is any case where a Jew's life might be at stake; just like we know the halacha permits us to even violate Shabbos under such circumstances, certainly then we are permitted to pray, say tehillim or whatever else for people whose lives might be in danger. We are so privileged to be able to constantly have a personal relationship with Hashem. Although on Shabbos the laws of praying do differ to how we may pray during a regular weekday, nevertheless we are so privileged that at every single moment of our lives we always have a way to have a personal relationship with Hashem and talk to Him.

We've discussed many times the important question of why Hashem decided to create the world. And as the Torah commentaries teach, step number one, the only reason Hashem decided to create the world in the first place was just because of His desire to give to all of us. And of course, if there's no recipient, there is nobody to give to. And therefore, He created us.  And step number two, as the Torah commentaries teach, the ultimate destination where we'll receive our reward in the future, b'ezrat Hashem, is not in this world, but rather in Olam Haba, in the next world.  And step number three, that being the case, if so, why did Hashem place us in this world at all? If the only reason You created me is to give me pleasure in Your goodness, and ultimately that takes place in Olam Haba only, in the next world, and not in this world, what am I doing here? Why am I alive in this world?  And as the Torah commentaries explain, the only reason that we exist in this world is because Hashem, in His great knowledge and wisdom, understood that the ultimate opportunity for pleasure in the next world will be if we are given the opportunity to earn that pleasure for ourselves, rather than having that pleasure being given to us as a free gift. And the way we earn that pleasure is by having our excursion in this world.  And step number four, exactly what is the process of how we earn our place in the next world? We know there are many components to Judaism, including the learning of Torah and performance of many mitzvos and many other practices that we have. However, as we've discussed many times, the Ramban writes in his commentary on the Torah in the final passage of Parashat Bo - the purpose of all the mitzvos, and in fact, the only reason for Hashem creating us is that we come to have emunah in Hashem. We've also mentioned previously many others who follow suit, teaching us that ultimately the purpose of all of the mitzvahs and of the Torah and all of Judaism is to come to have faith in Hashem. And therefore our main focus whilst alive in this world should be to make efforts to grow in our emunah and our bitachon.  What exactly is the difference between emunah and bitachon? Usually emunah is translated as faith and bitachon is translated as trust or reliance. Many Torah commentaries explain that emunah can be viewed as the theoretical principle - that Hashem initially created the world and that Hashem is currently actively involved in all the intricate details of every single one of our lives; that there is no other force or power in the world except for Hashem, and the many other things that emunah teaches. Whereas bitachon refers to taking the theoretical principles of emunah and applying them in a practical way by living our lives according to their values.  Of course it can be self-understood that both emunah and bitachon are of paramount importance because without knowing the principles of emunah it is impossible to apply them practically and practice bitachon, whereas just learning and internalizing the principles of emunah, although of paramount importance, but of course the ultimate is to apply those principles in a practical way, living our lives according to the values of bitachon. "Hashem, my Father, please will you help us to learn the correct information as well as internalize everything we need to know about both emunah as well as bitachon and please Hashem guide every single one of us in our own way to be able to apply these principles in a practical way and live the most meaningful lives to our maximum potential."

Our ultimate purpose in this world is to focus on building our emunah. And as we've been discussing, although emunah is the first level that we are required to dive into, we then take the principles of emunah and apply them in a practical way, moving towards bitachon. What exactly does it mean to have bitachon, trust or reliance on Hashem?  Emunah teaches us that there is nothing else in the world except for Hashem. Just like if somebody would come and hit you with a stick, it would be the most absurd response to begin fighting against the stick itself, because we all know that a stick is not a power of its own, but rather is an object that has been handled by an individual who is deciding how to use the stick. And in the same way, when we internalize what emunah teaches us, that ein od milvado, there is nothing else in the world except for Hashem, every individual, every circumstance, every happening is ultimately one of Hashem's many puppets, and the values of emunah teach us to internalize that the only power that exists is Hashem Himself. And as we move from emunah to bitachon, we are now called on to exclusively rely on Hashem for all of our needs. Of course at this point, before we've delved into the subject further, many questions will already arise, such as, if Hashem runs everything and does everything, why do I need to even make the slightest of an effort? And B'ezrat Hashem we'll discuss this more as we continue to talk about bitachon. But for now, before anything, just to define bitachon a little bit, bitachon refers to relying on Hashem rather than on other individuals.  So of course, everybody needs money to be able to live. If I am not living by the values of bitachon, one might go to work, work hard, and be well-meaning in all areas. However, this individual might think that the only reason they are receiving their sustenance is because they go to work and their boss pays their salary. Now again, we are not now discussing the obligation to make hishtadlus, to make an effort, which we know the Torah commands us to do. But regardless of the obligation of hishtadlus and whatever hishtadlus we might be obligated to make, when one is not living according to the values of bitachon, but rather according to the illusion that their boss is the one who is providing for their needs, that would be a life devoid of Hashem, devoid of emunah, and devoid of bitachon.  Whereas, when an individual understands that the only source of their parnassa comes directly and exclusively from Hashem, yes in this case, Hashem is giving the money to the boss to give to me, but I am absolutely clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that this boss is just a puppet to the point that I am not afraid of him, that I will not flatter him like sometimes one might be led to do if they have the mistaken illusion of this boss being their provider. As opposed to when one internalizes that Hashem is the only provider, it could be through this boss, it could be through some other means, but I rely exclusively on Hashem.  It is easy to understand that seeing as emunah and bitachon should be our ultimate focus whilst alive in this world, it is not going to take one day to become proficient in these topics, but of course all Hashem expects from us is to make an effort to grow in these areas, in our purpose of being alive in this world. Let's explore and learn about together the true perspective, Hashem's perspective, which is portrayed in the Torah, about what it truly means to have bitachon.

We've been discussing one of the most fundamental principles of the Torah – Teshuvah - the opportunity to rectify our mistakes, transgressions, and anything we may have done to distance ourselves from Hashem. Without Teshuvah, life can be very scary because there are many instructions Hashem has given us and due to our human limitations, we are bound to mess up. Sometimes, unintentionally, we may not have learnt the laws of a certain mitzvah sufficiently and we might therefore not perform the mitzvah correctly. And in the same vein, sometimes, our evil inclination might take over us and cause us to perform a transgression willingly, which of course has tremendous ramifications and can potentially cause a tremendous distance between us and Hashem.  Without internalizing the opportunity to rectify our wrongdoings after performing a transgression, we can fall even deeper into the more serious transgression of feeling guilt and bad about ourselves, feeling unworthy of doing good things and being close to Hashem, which will therefore lead us, God forbid, to perform more transgressions. Therefore, it is absolutely vital for us to internalize the opportunity of Teshuvah. It doesn't matter what has been done. It is never too late to return to Hashem. What exactly does it mean to do Teshuvah? One might feel in order to gain forgiveness in Hashem's eyes. For that, surely I need years of repentance in order to be forgiven. Torah authorities explain that whilst there might be many levels to Teshuvah, simply speaking, Teshuvah is very easy. Teshuvah refers to the following. I did something wrong. I find the time now to be alone with Hashem. I acknowledge Hashem in my own words and tell Him what I did wrong. I assure Him that I'm going to do my best to not perform this transgression again. And if there is something practical to rectify, such as if somebody stole money, then of course one is required to return that money and rectify their transgression in a practical way.  Once one has done that basic Teshuvah, which sometimes can take less than one minute, even when being done with sincerity, and one means what they're saying, one is finished the process and one is forgiven for their sin to the point that the Gemara says that when one repents and does Teshuvah out of their love for Hashem, one's transgression thereafter actually changes to a mitzvah. Now let us just digest that. It's not that Hashem clears away the transgression and now we're back to zero, but rather the transgression itself turns into a mitzvah and we actually get points for what previously was a minus. Now one might say, “when it comes to a transgression that I really didn't mean to do, or I just really messed up, but I know that I really will try my best not to do it again, then I can do Teshuvah because I can apologize to Hashem for transgressing and I can commit to Him that I will really sincerely do my best in future not to do so again. However, what about when it comes to a transgression which I am currently struggling with and performing constantly on a repeated basis?”  Now again, of course, we need to make our maximum effort to not repeat the transgression. However, we are limited by our human limitations and therefore if we are currently struggling with a certain sin that we know we will repeat again, we nevertheless can and should do Teshuvah for what we did wrong. We can say, “Hashem, I am so sorry for speaking Lashon Hora today and Hashem, I really don't want to ever perform this sin ever again, but You and I know that I am really struggling with this sin at the moment. Please Hashem, can You help me that I shouldn't have to transgress again.” Once one has done that, let us not forget, as the Gemara says, one's Aveira actually turns to a mitzvah and that being the case, certainly there would be no place anymore for feeling guilt, for feeling unworthy. We are so privileged to have the constant opportunity to return to Hashem.

We've been talking about the fundamental idea discussed by many Torah authorities that Hashem created this world ultimately in order to test us, to give us the opportunity to pass the tests that He presents us, thereby earning our place in the world to come. We've discussed many times that if we make decisions just based on our logic, we are susceptible to making the wrong decisions because of our limitations and ability to make mistakes. In addition to the way we are limited, such as mistakes that we might make in our calculations, or a vested interest that we might have that will lead us to a certain mode of thought and direction, it is also important for us to internalize and humble ourselves to what the Torah teaches us about the concept of timtum haleiv. Timtum haleiv means the spiritual contamination of one's heart. And the more we are spiritually contaminated from the effect of certain sins that we might have committed, the less we are able to view the world out of Hashem's lens. When we make decisions, if we are using our own mode of thought and logic, even if we are sure we are not doing so out of vested interests, and we are 100% sure that we are absolutely unmistaken, we might have some timtum haleiv, some spiritual contamination to our soul where we are now not able to view the situation out of the correct lens. So just going ahead and making the decision without talking to Hashem, asking Him for His clarity and guidance, could lead us, God forbid, to make that decision from a place of spiritual contamination. We are so privileged to have the opportunity to talk to Hashem every single day, at every single moment, for no fee. We have the opportunity to ask Hashem for clarity, to guide us based on His perspective, the only absolute correct perspective which is completely uncontaminated spiritually. Our job is to internalize more and more the belief that Hashem is listening to what we are saying, and when we talk to Him, it makes a difference. It is interesting to note that sometimes an idea just pops into our head, sometimes it is apparent that it was a sudden flash of light, but at other times we just changed mode of thought and course of action and we almost can't explain what inspired us to change our thought process and now move forward in a different direction than we previously intended to. An emunah approach teaches us that Hashem is Ein Od Milvado, there is nothing else in the world except for Hashem, and any thought that I have is because Hashem is putting that thought into my brain. When I talk to Hashem and I ask Him to guide me to the right mode of thought, then those thoughts that He will send me will be the ones that are Hashem's perspective.  “Hashem, my Father, I am trying so much to grow in my emunah, my belief that You are absolutely and completely involved in every single detail of my life. I really want to believe sincerely that You hear every word that I say, and the thoughts that I have are only as a result of You deciding to put those thoughts into my head, and therefore Hashem, I ask You, please will You help me to internalize the emunah, the belief that there is nothing more in the world that can help me than You exclusively, and the wisest thing for me to do when making my decisions would be to talk to You and ask You to guide me and thereafter I know and trust that You will direct me in the right direction. At the same time, Hashem, the normal way of the world is not to work in this way. People usually rely on their own cunning and logic to make decisions, and everything around me seems to dictate to do so, and in fact it is quite difficult to believe that talking to You and asking You to help me is a wise course, because I don't see You and I don't hear You, and very often even after I do talk to You, I still don't have clarity as to what to do. But Hashem, please help me to follow the Torah's perspective and grow in my belief that You exclusively are the One who has always guided me, who is guiding me, and always will guide me in the right direction.”

When trying to make a decision and pass the tests that Hashem presents us, we've discussed that one of the most advisable things to do is to talk to Hashem and ask Him for guidance as to what would be the right perspective and response to this circumstance and situation.  One might ask, even if I have davened to Hashem, asking for clarity, how do I know that after I have done so, I will be making the right decision? In times of old, we had prophets where one was able to go and seek guidance and know, as a matter of fact, that the conclusion that they would tell us and the guidance they would give us, was for sure Hashem's perspective and the right thing to do, even if it was counterintuitive. But seeing as we don't have prophecy anymore and we don't hear Hashem's voice in a vivid, apparent way, how can I be so certain, even after prayer, that this is truly what Hashem wants me to do?  It is important to emphasize that the more we believe, the more we will pray, because there is quite a big difference between somebody who is choosing to invest 30 seconds into personal prayer, as opposed to another individual who might be investing 30 minutes into personal prayer, and somebody else who might be investing three hours into personal prayer. The more one is motivated to invest in terms of their time they are committing to praying to Hashem, because they are internalizing the belief that Hashem does exist and is listening to me, and therefore, rather than running around sometimes like a chicken without a head, trying to make the right decision, it would be much more advisable to go to the source of all, to Hashem, and ask Him, “show me the right direction.”  Sometimes, when facing a decision, we could spend many hours thinking about it, researching the topic and speaking to other people, and coming out more confused, even after having invested many hours trying to find our solution. And other times, we seem to find clarity quite easily. Why is that? The true answer is not because we have amazing brains which are able to view the situation in the correct way and come up with the right answer. If we really internalize that ein od milvado – Hashem exclusively runs every minor detail in this world down to the last degree, we understand that Hashem is the one who puts the thoughts in our minds and gives us the feeling and intuition in our hearts. And therefore, the more we believe that Hashem is there running the show exclusively, the more time we will invest into our prayers before making decisions, and the more sincere we will be when making those prayers, even if we are not there today. It is very valid and commendable to say, “Hashem, I want to believe that You are completely running the show, but I just don't feel that emunah yet. Please, Hashem, can You help me reach a situation where I am able to see and feel the truth that rather than running around like a chicken without a head sometimes, I will rather choose to spend more time asking You for clarity and guidance.”  And after having prayed to Hashem within our maximum capacity, doing the best that we can, how do I know that thereafter what I will choose to do will be the right decision? And the answer is, I do not know. I cannot know in this world. The whole point of this world is to experience different circumstances and situations and have the opportunity to make a choice, sometimes the right choice, sometimes the wrong choice, and very often, perhaps most of the time, we do not even know if we are choosing right. In the next world, we will see if we have chosen right. But in this world, that is not our job; that is Hashem's job. Our job is to make our maximum effort, to try our best.  Different perspectives will define what it means to try one's best in different ways. We want to follow Hashem's perspective. And what can be greater than asking Hashem Himself with true sincerity to guide me. “Hashem, please guide me to make my decision in the correct way based on Your perspective.”

We've discussed that when facing decisions that we might have to make, one of the wisest things to do is to talk to Hashem and ask Him for guidance as to which way to turn in this situation, because as discussed many times, if I'm not able to humble myself, to realize that I am limited - I am susceptible to mistakes; I have vested interests; I have spiritual contamination - and it is very possible that even if it seems like this is the correct decision to make, I might very well be making a mistake. And therefore, it would be so advisable to ask Hashem for guidance. We all have the constant opportunity to talk to Hashem at every given moment in our own words, asking Him to guide us in the right way. As mentioned, after having talked to Hashem and having asked Him to guide us in the right way, we now have to make a practical decision. In times of old, we might have had a prophet telling us with absolute certainty what Hashem's will was. Today, most of the time, we have to make a decision still in the dark. I do not know, ultimately, if I have made the right decision, but that is not my business. Hashem is the one who is in charge of that. My job is to make my maximum effort to do my best in making the correct decision. We've mentioned before a powerful analogy which helps illustrate this concept. Imagine an emergency ward where there are numerous doctors, usually on call. One particular time, these doctors need to go away for a certain important meeting and are not able to be on call. And they bring in an alternative doctor and leave him with the instructions of how to look after the patients. But they warn the doctor in a staunch way, "while you are on call, things might be calm. If that is the case, then continue the evening as usual. However, if things do get dramatic and intense, please call for help, because if you don't, the situation will be too much for you, and even if you try your best, you might not be able to handle it." As the doctor approaches his shift, he feels motivated to have a successful evening. And as he starts the evening, things are calm. But as the evening progresses, one patient requires help, thereafter another patient requires some help, and soon there is turmoil and he is not managing so well on his own. But perhaps because of his arrogance, he does not opt to call for help, but he works super hard throughout the night. In fact, because of him, numerous patients' lives might have been saved, but unfortunately at the end of the evening, one patient died. And upon the regular doctors' return, they accuse the stand-in doctor of being a murderer. And although he tried his best - he worked super hard throughout his shift, nevertheless, he did not call for help when he needed to; because he was limited, his maximum capacity was not enough to take care of the situation.  We need to humble ourselves that we, with our maximum capacities, are limited and prone to mistake and making the wrong decisions, and therefore, Hashem calls on us to talk to Him and ask Him for help. "Thank you Hashem for the constant opportunity to ask you for guidance in how to make decisions in my life."

Life is full of challenges. Torah sources teach that usually a person's life has more challenges and difficult times than pleasant experiences. Challenges, also known as Yisurin in Torah literature, are clearly a fundamental aspect of HaShem's plan for our lives. Without Emunah there are no answers. With Emunah there are no questions. When a person is able to let go and rely on HaShem absolutely and sincerely, all the questions about all the hardships and difficult times I, people close to me and our nation as a whole have had to experience, all those questions in a sense fall away because I know my purpose in this world is not to know. My purpose in this world is specifically to believe when I don't know. So if I believe and trust and rely on HaShem, I have no questions. As dire as a situation may appear to be, if I am relying on HaShem in His hands. I can still live with absolute calm, happiness and really sail through the challenges successfully. Why does HaShem send us Yisurin - challenges? There are many reasons, but ultimately the most correct answer is: I don't fully know, but I believe it's for the good. Again, basic, simple Emunah. With that Emunah I have no questions. However, there are Torah sources that shed some light on the concept of Yisurin, sometimes to help us seek inspiration to manage the challenges that arise through our lives. The Talmud recounts a story of four students, great rabbis unto themselves, who came to visit their rabbi who was ill and suffering. Each student offered words of encouragement to their rabbi. One student expressed, “rabbi, you're even greater than the sun.” Now the sun is something quite vital for this world. And he explained, because the sun helps us in this world, but you rabbi, you help us in this world and for the next world, so you're much greater. And the rabbi was not encouraged much by these words of his student.  The next two students continued along similar lines of words of encouragement to their rabbi, and their rabbi similarly was not particularly encouraged by their words. However, when the one student, Rabbi Akiva, offered his words of encouragement, he said: Rabbi, there is nothing greater than suffering - Yisurin are precious. And with these words, the rabbi was comforted. The rabbi of Rabbi Akiva understood that although we don't wish suffering upon ourselves, when Hashem sends it to us, there is no greater gift in the world, because Hashem only does what is best for us. Remember, Hashem created us only to give to us, and therefore, when He decrees that we should suffer, there is no question that that will only bring good to us.

Many Torah sources teach the potent results that we obtain when Hashem sends us suffering and we respond in the right way. So, although we usually don't wish suffering upon ourselves or those around us, when suffering does come about, it is actually an opportunity Hashem is sending us to earn more points towards the next world - Olam Haba. On the one hand, many Torah sources highlight the great value of Yissurin - of suffering, to the point that sometimes only through suffering can we attain certain high levels in our spirituality, in our relationship with Hashem. As much as we strive to grow, sometimes only through the suffering can we get there. On the other hand, the Talmud elsewhere reports that some of the great sages in the times of the Talmud who were undergoing illness and suffering were asked the question, are you happy that you're going through the suffering or would you prefer to not have to go through the suffering and also miss out on the reward you will get for enduring the suffering and still living with Emunah? And the response by numerous Torah sages was, I would rather not have to suffer even though I'll miss out on the reward which is due for the suffering in the future.  This Torah passage at first glance is seemingly difficult to understand because there are many Torah sources which highlight the tremendous value suffering has, sometimes greater than any mitzvah, any form of Torah learning, any form of prayer. Sometimes the suffering that a person endures and still responds with Emunah is greater and can bring us to a greater spiritual level with more reward due in the next world than anything else. Why then did these Torah sages respond that they would prefer to live without any challenges and they were even happy to forgo their due reward in the next world? These were not ordinary people. It was very real to them, the concept of the world to come, so it's difficult to understand why they would so easily give up something so powerful to earn them more points for their place in the next world.  And the Maharal gives a beautiful answer on this Talmudic passage that sheds light on how we are to view the concept of suffering in this world. The Maharal explains that there is no question that experiencing Yissurin - suffering and nevertheless responding with Emunah, believing that it is all for the best, this approach is higher than any other form of service to Hashem. The reason these Rabbis in this Talmudic passage responded that they did not want the suffering was for the following reason: The Rabbis were expressing the point that when it comes to suffering, if one does not respond with Emunah, then sometimes one can actually be worse off than if they didn't suffer, because if one does not respond with Emunah, connecting to Hashem, believing that everything is for the best, then sometimes the suffering that we experience can actually move us further away from Hashem. And therefore the Rabbis were expressing, we'd rather not have the challenge of Yissurin, of going through difficult times and challenges, even if we have to forego the potential benefit that one can gain for the next world, because we're worried we will not respond in the right way. Maybe we will be challenged and not respond with Emunah. We do not choose whether we should be challenged and which challenges will be presented to us. And perhaps one can pray that they shouldn't be challenged from Hashem, because we don't want to fail the test. However, when a person is already undergoing a challenge, the challenge is already there. I am currently experiencing Yesurin in whatever way that may be, we ought to remember that there is a tremendous opportunity. If we respond to the challenge with Emunah, this form of service to Hashem is higher than anything else.

One of the main expressions of having emunah is to believe in life after death. It is well known in Torah teachings that after we depart from this world, there is an evaluation process in the next world which scrutinizes all of our actions and deeds from this world. Anything good that we did is recorded and recounted as well as anything bad that we did is recorded and recounted. We don't see this process taking place because it doesn't happen in this world. It is a process that takes place in the next world. So, without emunah, in a sense, one could be led to deny that such a thing takes place. But again, if we are living according to the principles of emunah, belief in Hashem, one of the basic expressions of emunah is to believe in the world to come, in the process that transpires after we depart from this world.  The following story sheds some light on what it means to live with real emunah and how that can really affect our lives in this world in a positive way. There was an individual who passed on from this world. When they came to the next world, all of their mitzvos were put on the one side of the scale and there were many, many mitzvos. However, thereafter, the individual's sins from his life were also recounted and brought to the scale. And suddenly, the scale was tipping towards the side of sin. So, it was obvious to this individual that he was in trouble. However, suddenly, after first having counted the mitzvos and thereafter the sins, there were items that looked like mitzvos, going towards the side of mitzvos. And the man asked, what are those? I can see they are being grouped together with the mitzvos, however, I can also see that they're not mitzvos. He was told, those are yissurin. Those are the suffering that you endured during your life.  Suffering and doing our best to respond with emunah through the suffering is parallel to the reward for mitzvos and sometimes even much more. When everything was placed on the scale, all in all, the side of sin had just one more than the other side. So unfortunately for this individual, his result was going to be negative. And he started shouting, please, more yissurin, send me more suffering. In the next world, everything is very clear. We would even wish for more suffering to transpire through our lives if we knew the true reward and result for that in the future. It's all about our perspective. When we remember to view life, suffering, challenges and whatever we may be going through through the eyes and lens of emunah, of faith, of believing sincerely that Hashem only does everything for the best, we will truly transform our experience of life.

The verse in Divrei Hayamim states, “Ki Mimcha Hakol umiyadecha natanu lach” - everything we have is from Hashem, and from your hand, Hashem, have we given back to you. This verse teaches us an incredible fundamental principle about our lives and all of our accomplishments. Hashem put us into a world where we are meant to make an effort and try to succeed in our endeavors and accomplishments. However, it is so vital to remember the advice and guidance from Hashem expressed in this verse, which states that anything and everything that we give back to Hashem is in actuality returning a gift that Hashem gave to us in the first place. So, let's say a person has been blessed with wealth, and they would like to use this blessing in service of Hashem, and they decide to perform many acts of charity, helping many people in a tremendous way. One in such a position might be led to feelings of pride at times. This verse reminds us that if one has been given the blessing of wealth and is now using it to perform charity, of course that is a very commendable act, and they're passing the test of having been given wealth, because again, somebody could choose to use their wealth just for self-gratification and not to perform acts of charity. But this verse reminds us that even if somebody is performing acts of charity with their blessing, with their wealth, they nevertheless should remember at every moment, that the only reason they can perform this mitzvah is because Hashem gave them this blessing in the first place. And therefore, we ought to sing Hashem's praises in gratitude for allowing us to perform this mitzvah. And in the same way, take an individual who's currently feeling very down, and I have the type of relationship with this individual that I might be able to help them feel more upbeat. The Gemara teaches us that it is a tremendous mitzvah to make other people happy. Let's say I'm successful in my endeavor, and I succeed in bringing a tremendous amount of light into this individual's life. Of course, that is an incredibly elevated and commendable act, because one could have chosen to ignore that individual and not taken responsibility to help out. However, at times, after helping someone else out, one might be led to feel feelings of self-pride, perhaps arrogance. And this verse is reminding us anything in the world that we are able to do is only because Hashem has blessed us with that blessing in the first place. Let us take the opportunity every moment of our lives to capitalize on the opportunities that Hashem does send us with our blessings, to use them in the right ways in performance of our service of Hashem in helping other people in acts of kindness. And at the same time, let us internalize that any act of kindness that we are ever able to perform is in itself always a gift from Hashem in the first place. “Thank you, Hashem, for all the tremendous blessings that you've given me.”

We discussed the verse that teaches us one of the foundational ideas from the Torah, that we are to internalize that anything and everything that we might accomplish is always a gift in itself from Hashem in the first place, to have been given that opportunity to be able to accomplish. One of the reasons that we experience challenges where sometimes Hashem takes our ability away from being able to perform a certain act or achieve a certain accomplishment is because Hashem is reminding us how to have the true and correct perspective. When a person is accomplishing, I'm succeeding in my endeavor to give charity and help other people out. I'm trying my best to make those around me happy and smile. I'm successful in my Torah learning. I have an impeccable record of being super honest in all of my business endeavors and all situations where a person can consider themselves to be succeeding in their spiritual endeavors. Oftentimes one might be led to believe that due to their own efforts they have found such tremendous success. This can lead to feelings of arrogance and self-pride, which is one of the most serious transgressions in the Torah.  The reason for that being is because when a person believes that they themselves are the source of their own blessing and successes, in a sense they are denying the existence of Hashem. We need to remember the many Torah sources that teach us that a person cannot lift a finger without Hashem first decreeing that to happen. So many times one of the reasons Hashem sends challenges and suffering to an individual in the form of that individual losing their ability to perform their acts of kindness and succeed spiritually in the way that they were previously able to, many times the reason for that is because Hashem is reminding us that the only reason we were able to perform those acts in the first place is because He sent us that blessing. Let's take for example a world-class piano player which is world famous for their ability to play the piano in a way almost nobody else can. To remain humble in their situation is not an easy ordeal. Imagine for a second that this piano player would break a bone in their hand which would now prevent them from being able to play the piano anymore. Of course, we cannot claim to know Hashem's exact intentions in why He sends people what He does because Hashem is so much greater than us that we can never know His workings and reasons why He does things. But the commentaries do explain that sometimes one of the reasons Hashem might do such a thing is to humble the piano player, to remind him, “now you cannot play the piano.” And as a result of that the piano player can internalize that any time he did have the ability to be able to play the piano was always as a result of Hashem's blessing to him. And in one instant if Hashem takes away that blessing, one can no longer succeed in their endeavors. It is so important to remind ourselves about the message of this verse. Anything and everything that we accomplish is always a gift that Hashem has given us that we are now giving back to Him. Of course, it is very commendable to use our successes and our blessings and opportunities in life to serve Hashem and use them meaningfully to perform mitzvos with the blessings Hashem has given us. However, another very fundamental principle to remember and internalize is that the only reason we are talented in whatever area we may be excelling in is because it is exclusively a gift from Hashem.

Everybody understands that the ultimate destination of life is death. It is absolutely vital, therefore, to remind ourselves exactly what our purpose is on a moment-to-moment basis in this world. As discussed, many times, when dealing with any question, the way we will answer it depends on the perspective we take. And in the same way, the way we answer this question of why do I exist? What exactly am I supposed to be doing on a moment-to-moment basis in my life, a life which I know will ultimately lead to death at a maximum of 120 years? What is the absolute true perspective of the purpose of my life on a moment-to-moment basis?  And as we've discussed many times, the Torah commentaries explain that Hashem created the world for one objective. He wanted to share His goodness with us. That is the only reason that Hashem decided to create the world - all of humankind and everything else that is contained within our universe. It is so important for us to remember Hashem's thought process in why He chose to create the world in the first place, because when we are experiencing an ordeal, to be able to have that perspective in mind, that Hashem only created me in the first place just because He wants to share His goodness with me, could help one to deal with their ordeal in a much healthier and more positive way. Of course, things can be painful regardless of our perspective, however, when we are able to keep the right perspective of why Hashem did create us, to share His goodness with us, it becomes so much easier to use the challenges that Hashem sends us as a ladder in order to climb higher in our emunah endeavor.  Because when an individual is experiencing a challenge that has been sent to them by Hashem, one can either respond in a way that distances oneself further from Hashem, complaining, saying, “Hashem, why are You sending me this suffering? I've been trying for so long to find a marriage partner. Hashem, can You not see that I've been trying to do so many mitzvos? Why is it that so many of my friends are getting married and I seem to be the one being unable to find my marriage partner? It feels like You don't love me. How could You do this to me, Hashem? Why are You ignoring me?” Many times, the challenges that Hashem sends us can lead to bitter feelings which distance oneself from Hashem. But in truth, if we can keep the right perspective - Hashem did not need to create us; the only reason He created us is in order to share His goodness with us. And therefore, if He is sending us suffering and challenges, that is only because He wants to share more of His goodness with us. That is the only reason He created us.  And if we are able to maintain this perspective, we are able to say, “Hashem, my loving Father, I know You love me and I love You too. I know that the only reason that You created me is because You want to share Your goodness with me. Thank You so much, my Father, for loving me and giving me the opportunity to experience Your goodness and kindness. Master of the universe, I am currently in tremendous pain. Many of my friends have already advanced on to being able to find their marriage partner. And as you know, I am struggling so much unsuccessfully. Hashem, I am in pain, and it's okay for me to feel pain because You made me a human being which does feel pain. At the same time, Hashem, I have emunah and believe that if You are sending me some form of suffering, it can only be for the good. And I trust You. Hashem, please send me my marriage partner. Thank You so much for sending me the suffering because I know that everything You do is only for my best.”

Hashem created us with the sole objective to be able to share His goodness with us. We are taught that the main destination where we are to receive and experience Hashem's goodness is not this world, but rather the next world - Olam HaBa. Of course, there are many times where we do experience Hashem's kindness and goodness, even in this world. However, it is so important to remember what the Torah commentaries teach us, that this world is not the ultimate destination for experiencing Hashem's goodness and kindness. This perspective makes it a lot easier to deal with challenges and ordeals that Hashem sends our way. Because if we're expecting to experience the goodness and kindness all the time in this world, we all know that as a matter of fact, there are many times that we experience bitter and challenging episodes in this world. In fact, some Torah commentaries write that an individual experiences more pain and difficult times throughout their excursion in this world, than happy and pleasant times. So, keeping this perspective that the ultimate destination where we are to receive Hashem's real goodness is not this world, but rather the next world, Olam HaBa, is of paramount importance. We've discussed many times that the Torah commentaries teach that the main reason we're in this world is to earn our share in the next world, because Hashem in His great wisdom understands that if we earn our place in the next world, it will be so much more enjoyable and pleasurable than if we were just given that experience of His goodness as a free gift. We've also discussed many times that the Torah commentaries write that if we are to summarize our job in this world of how we earn the next world into one word, the word is Emunah. So ultimately, the Torah's perspective, which is the only true perspective, is that we are alive in this world in order to express our Emunah to Hashem.  Emunah, being the tree and core of our entire life's mission, leads to the many branches which offshoot from Emunah. When we live a life of Emunah, we do our best to perform all of Hashem's commandments, because if we believe in Him, obviously we choose to follow His guidelines and instructions. In the same way, we would choose to learn His guidebook to life, otherwise known as the Torah, and everything encompassed within that, including performing acts of kindness, working on our character, and many other things. We've also discussed many times that one of the most basic expressions of Emunah is talking to Hashem, because if I believe that Hashem exists, can help me more than anyone or anything else, and is listening to every word I utter, I certainly will choose to talk to Him and have a personal relationship with Him. And therefore, ultimately, in order to fulfill the reason that we exist in this world, Emunah, we need to focus on all the branches, performing the mitzvos, learning the Torah, working on character development, acts of kindness, and everything else. Whilst at the same time, it is so important not to forget the trunk of the tree itself, which is believing that Hashem exists Himself. And again, one of the main ways we express that is when we talk to Hashem. “Thank you, Hashem, my Father, for the opportunity to talk to You on a moment-to-moment basis. You, Hashem, could have made it that I have to pay $100 every time I would want to open up my mouth to speak to You, but in Your great kindness, Hashem, You gave me the opportunity to talk to You at any given moment, wherever I may be. Thank you so much, Hashem, for the opportunity to have a personal relationship with You.”

We've learned many times that only through the eyes of Hashem's perspective can we be successful in living a life to achieve our maximum potential, because most things in the world, at face value, very often are deterrents to a life of emunah, to a life of truth, to a life of real service to Hashem. It is so important to seek constant inspiration to be able to live a life of emunah, a life of the real true perspective of Hashem, because with the wrong perspective one can, God forbid, be led to make some grave mistakes in the way that they live their lives. Without real emunah, although one might acknowledge the fact that there is a Creator, Hashem, one might nevertheless feel like Hashem owes me something. When I am sick and it's difficult for me to breathe, one who is not privy to be living by the values of emunah and bitachon might be led to complain and say, “Hashem, why are you making it so difficult for me to breathe? What did I do so wrong that you're punishing me in this way?” And in the same way, when I speak to those around me and I am asked, how are you doing, my response could be, terrible, what could be worse? My life is miserable. This all, ultimately, is a result of one's perspective being, Hashem owes me the ability to breathe well, and if He is not giving that to me, then I have a right to complain. With the perspective of emunah and bitachon, however, one realizes that Hashem does not owe me anything. In fact, the fact that He created me at all was just a gift of His in the first place, and therefore, when something goes wrong, I certainly have no right to complain.  When this individual is experiencing a difficult time breathing, they might say, “Hashem, thank You so much for all the times in my life that You've given me the privilege to be able to breathe so seamlessly and effortlessly. Thank You, Hashem, also right now that You've taken away that ability, because I know that anything that You do can only be for my best. Not only that, You might be teaching me a lesson to appreciate all the times that You have given me the ability to breathe so effortlessly by taking it away momentarily, right now. Thank You, Hashem.”  There's a story that I came across of a 95-year-old man who became ill with Covid. He had to go into a ventilator in the hospital for a number of weeks. He eventually recovered, and as he was about to be discharged, the hospital presented him with a very large bill, and those around him suddenly saw that this man burst into tears. And trying to comfort him, they came and said, “Listen, don't worry, we will help you to raise the money. Thank God you're better. You could have died or have been left with serious consequences from this illness, the way it affected you. Thank God you're better. Let's not worry about the fact that you have this bill to cover now.”  And the elderly man turned around to them and said, You think I'm crying about this bill? We'll make a plan one way or another. At the end of the day, thank God I am alive. And that is the most important factor here that cannot compare even slightly to this issue of the bill. I am not crying over this bill in the least. I am crying in appreciation to every other day of my life that I have had the opportunity and ability to breathe for 95 years of my life in the most incredible, effortless, seamless way without the need for any ventilators. Not only that, every single day I had 24 hours of fresh breath without having to pay a penny. And here I am in a hospital, just for a number of weeks, breathing with much difficulty via a ventilator, and here is a bill for an exorbitant amount of money. I have an obligation to thank Hashem for all these years He has given me to breathe. “Thank you Hashem for the incredible gift to be able to breathe in such an effortless way every single day at every single moment.”

What is the greatest miracle in the world? Out of all the answers we might give, the truth of the matter is that the greatest miracle in the world is the creation of the world itself, because every other miracle that might exist is encompassed within the creation of the world itself.  The Sfas Emes points out that there are about 30 verses in the Torah devoted to relating the story of the creation of the world, whereas when it comes to the Mishkan, the special tabernacle where Hashem's Shechinah was known to rest on and be much more potent than anywhere else, the Torah then dedicates a few hundred verses outlining that episode. And the Sfas Emes comments that we see from here that the Mishkan was actually greater than the creation of the whole world itself, because if Hashem in the Torah decided to dedicate about 30 verses to the creation of the world, but when it comes to the Mishkan He decided to dedicate a few hundred verses, Hashem seems to clearly be indicating to us that the Mishkan is more important than even the world itself, and perhaps because of the tremendous holiness that one can experience and tap into in the Mishkan, in one's connection to Hashem, so many verses are dedicated to describing its details in the Torah. But there's something even greater than the Mishkan, says the Sfas Emes, and that is, we are taught that there was a command to build the Mishkan on every day of a regular weekday. But when it came to Shabbos, the building of the Mishkan had to stop, because Shabbos is more important than the building of the Mishkan. So first we have the miracle of the creation of the world itself, thereafter even greater than that is the Mishkan, which has more verses devoted to it, and even greater than the Mishkan is Shabbos, where one is not permitted to build a Mishkan on Shabbos. And to remember this easily, says the Sfas Emes, one can find these three concepts in an acronym of the three letters of the word Shema - Shin Mem Ayin, the Ayin stands for Olam, the world, the Mem stands for Mishkan, and the Shin stands for Shabbos. But it doesn't stop there. There is something even greater than Shabbos. The law is that if the life of a Jew is in danger, then we have an obligation to do whatever it takes to try to save or prolong his or her life. And says the Sfas Emes, you can see this in the words Shema Yisrael, as we explained the three letters of the word Shema, Ayin, which stands for Olam, the world, Mem, which stands for Mishkan, and Shin, which stands for Shabbos, signify some of the greatest and most important creations that Hashem created in His world. Firstly, the greatest miracle of all, the creation of the world itself. And something that's greater than that is the Mishkan, and something that's even greater than that is Shabbos.  But something that's even greater than all those three things is Yisrael. The life of a Jew is so great. "Hashem, my King, there are many things in my life that I need, and I do reach out to You about those things. Sometimes I experience things as sweet and sometimes as bitter, of course ultimately knowing that You always do do only what's best for me. However, we are taught that we are supposed to doven for what will be sweet in our eyes. Hashem, I do want to take a moment just to reflect and realize that the greatest gift of all is the gift of life itself. And even if I have experienced and am experiencing hardships, the fact that You have gifted me with another day of life is the greatest gift in the world. Thank you, Hashem, for the gift of another day and another moment in my life."

We have been discussing how the greatest gift, greater than any and all miracles in the world, is the gift of life itself. And as we learned from the Sfas Emes, greater than the miracle of the creation of the world itself is the Mishkan, and even greater than that is the mitzvah of Shabbos, and even greater than Shabbos is the gift of life, because as we know, all the laws of Shabbos fall aside when the life of a Jew is in question. Just to view this from a different angle, to appreciate exactly how blessed we are to have another day of life, and Bezrat Hashem turn those feelings of appreciation into expressing our gratitude to Hashem. We know that when it comes to the three cardinal sins, idol worship, immorality, and murder, we are obligated to stop at nothing to prevent ourselves from committing those most severe transgressions, even if it means losing our lives by doing so. Besides for the three cardinal sins, when it comes to other sins that Hashem has commanded us not to commit, the Halacha in Shulchan Aruch states that a person is obligated to give up all of their money if that can prevent one from committing a sin. So imagine for a moment a situation where the only way I can prevent myself from not needing to desecrate the Shabbos is by giving away every single cent in my bank account. And imagine I might be a wealthy philanthropist where I have hundreds of millions of dollars in my bank account, and many, many organizations are dependent on my funding. And here I have a situation where I need to desecrate Shabbos in the slightest way, one little desecration. But hypothetically in this situation, if I give away every single cent that I own and become a pauper, and of course am now unable to help any organization or individual, the Halacha is that I am obligated to give away every cent that I own in order to prevent myself from breaking the law.  Now just to digest that, all the money in the world that I might own is not as great as not desecrating one of the laws of Shabbos. Yet we are taught that when it comes to the life of a Jew, the life of a Jew is so holy that if we might be able to add even one second to a Jew's life, we break every law in order to do so. So imagine a 110 year old man who is sick in hospital on every machine. It is absolutely clear that this man will not live longer than one more hour. But if I desecrate Shabbos, I might, not even for sure, I might be able to add one second more to this man's life. The law is that in such a case, I am absolutely obligated to desecrate any law of Shabbos in order that there might be a possibility to add one second to this man's life.  "Thank you Hashem for the gift of just being alive. I know that I can't fully internalize to appreciate what it means, the value of being alive, but I believe Hashem in what you are teaching me in your Torah, that although you have given us the opportunity to perform your mitzvahs, which their value is immeasurably great beyond anything we can imagine, with incredible reward in store for us for the future, however as we learn in your Torah, nothing in the world whatsoever can be greater than the gift of life itself. Thank you Hashem for the incredible gift of life that you've given me."

Another one of the incredible gifts Hashem has given us is Pesach Sheini - the second Pesach. We know that during the festival of Pesach itself, one of the highlights was the opportunity to bring the Korban Pesach - the sacrificial offering that we brought to Hashem. The law is that in order to be permitted to bring the Korban Pesach, one has to be pure according to Halacha. The Torah records that there was a group of people that were ritually impure when Pesach arrived, and because of that, they were unable to bring the Korban Pesach. They therefore came and asked, “seeing as we are currently impure and therefore not permitted to perform the mitzvah of Korban Pesach on Pesach itself, could we perhaps be given a second chance to be able to perform the mitzvah of Korban Pesach and not lose out on this tremendous mitzvah and opportunity?” The Torah records that this group was given permission to perform this mitzvah exactly one month later. This day is known as Pesach Seini.  The incredible lesson comes out from this episode - it's never too late; one is never too far to have to give up. These people could have easily turned around and said, “we've lost the opportunity this year to perform the Korban Pesach, and God willing, we'll get another opportunity next year. However, for this year, it's too late, we've already missed the boat.” Although they could have viewed the situation through that lens, they nevertheless opted to rather try find a solution to be given a second chance to perform the mitzvah. And because of their desire to do so, an entire new holy day called Pesach Sheini was created. The incredible message that we can take from this day is that - it is never too late. One is never in a situation that they are forced to give up. Just because I missed out on the first opportunity, or perhaps just because I didn't do it right the first time, in no way does that mean that now it's too late and nothing can be done.  So, let's say, for example, I had an opportunity today to do a mitzvah. Somebody approached me for charity, and because I was so busy and caught up with my own things, I just dismissed the opportunity. Thereafter, one might consider that they acted inappropriately just because they were caught up with their own things. One might therefore say, “I didn't act in the right way in this situation, and I missed out on the tremendous opportunity of the mitzvah of charity that Hashem presented me. Although I didn't perform it this time, hopefully next time I will do it right.” That would be the approach of, “it's too late, I'm giving up, there's nothing more to do.” Whereas Pesach Sheni teaches us that, no, one can say, “I may have done it wrong, and I didn't do the mitzvah that I was presented the opportunity to perform, however, it's not too late, I can do it now; let me go out actively now and find that mitzvah opportunity to perform.” What an incredible message to internalize. It is never too late to come back to Hashem.

We discussed the most incredible message that we learn from the day of Pesach Sheni, where people who missed out on the official opportunity to perform the mitzvah of Korban Pesach nevertheless did not give up trying find another way to make up that lost opportunity. And because of their desire to do so, an entire new holy day called Pesach Sheni was created. This message - that we always have a second chance, is one of the most important messages for us to internalize. Hashem created us as human beings, and part of our nature and makeup is that we make mistakes and mess up. One of the greatest gifts that Hashem has given us is the power of teshuva - to be able to rectify what we have done wrong. Sometimes we might make a mistake, unintentionally doing something against what Hashem has commanded us, and at other times, because of our human nature and limitations, we might have even performed a sin against Hashem's will on purpose. Of course, initially, if we believe in Hashem, we need to make our maximum effort to do what He says to do, and to stay away from what He tells us to stay away from. However, when we have already messed up or performed a sin against Hashem's will, both willingly or by mistake, we need to remember that Hashem Himself designed the world in the way that we always have the opportunity to do teshuva - to return to Hashem and rectify what we did wrong. This most incredible gift of teshuva that Hashem has given us is one of the most fundamental ideas in our service to Hashem for us to internalize. What is the greatest sin that exists? The Torah commentaries explain that although there are many severe transgressions, and of course, we need to make our maximum effort to not transgress anything Hashem has commanded us to stay away from, however, the biggest transgression of all is the feeling of guilt that we sometimes feel after having messed up, intentionally or unintentionally. Of course, it's not a good thing to transgress, but often what happens is after one has already fallen and transgressed, one falls into a sort of depression, feeling I am not worthy. “How can I, who transgresses, be considered someone worthy to be able to have a personal relationship with Hashem?” Although yesterday maybe I felt like I could talk to Hashem personally, learn Torah, perform mitzvahs and be happy, after transgressing sometimes we could be led to believe that we are not worthy anymore to perform mitzvos, learn Torah or have a personal relationship with Hashem.  The Torah commentaries point out that feeling this form of guilt after transgressing is actually a more serious transgression than the transgression itself. Because when one feels worthy of having a personal relationship with Hashem, one can always find it within themselves to return to Hashem and say, “Hashem, I'm sorry for what I did. I'm going to try better.” Because when one feels worthy, one is able to get up and try again and rectify the situation and move forward in a happy and positive way. Remember, one of the most fundamental principles from the Torah is that there is always a second chance.

Let's consider the following case again. I currently have a respectable job, however my family does struggle financially. I am offered an alternative job opportunity where I would now receive double the salary and be relieved of my financial pressure, but I would be required to work one month from home and one month overseas, away from my family. Would it be right for me to pursue this opportunity? There is no objectively right answer. For some individuals, it would be absolutely right to take this job opportunity, and for other individuals, it would be absolutely wrong to take this job opportunity. How do I make my decision? What's important to realize when making this decision is, is it coming from the right place?  Let's say I really dislike traveling and being away from my home environment. It could be that the right thing for me to do would be to take this job opportunity, but because of my discomfort of being away from home, my logic starts to dictate to me why it would be better to not take this job opportunity and why it is wrong to be away from my family every second month. And conversely, let's say I love traveling and therefore the idea of traveling every second month excites me tremendously. It very well could be that in my situation and for my family circumstances, to be away from home for long periods might be detrimental to my family and outweigh the financial gain and the removal of financial pressure, but because of my excitement to travel, my logic starts to dictate why it is the right thing for me to take this opportunity and it would be wrong for me to turn it down. Sometimes our logic is correct and in line with Hashem's approach, but many a time we have vested interests and because of the powerful brains that Hashem has given us, we can convince ourselves of many things even when they are not the ideal course that Hashem would have wanted us to choose. And therefore, the most advisable thing to do before making any decision, especially bigger decisions that will impact our lives significantly depending on what we choose, is to take the advice of what the Torah teaches us in many places, to talk to Hashem and ask Him what is the right thing to do.  “Hashem, thank You so much for sending me this new job opportunity where potentially I could be relieved of my financial stress. I don't know if the right thing here is for me to take this opportunity that You've given me as a gift, maybe just to relieve me and my family from the financial stress that we are going through. However, it also could very well be, Hashem, that You are sending me a test because I know that the whole point of this world is to be tested. And it might be that although it is enticing to take this job opportunity which would relieve the financial pressure tremendously, nevertheless, being away from my family for long periods could bring about new complications, and I don't know if this is right for me. Hashem, You know the ins and outs of how I work and how my family works, and all other things I don't even know how to mention because they are so complex. And therefore, Hashem, I ask You with all my heart, please guide me to make the right decision.” The more we believe in Hashem, the more we will invest in talking to Him. If we sincerely believe He is listening, we might not settle on 30 seconds of a small conversation with Hashem, but rather devote 30 minutes or perhaps longer in asking Hashem for clarity and guidance in this situation. Many times, the reason that we are not particularly motivated to talk to Hashem, especially for longer periods, is because we don't hear Hashem, nor see Hashem, and therefore, it is hard to believe that He is actually listening to what I am saying. But we who are working on internalizing our life's mission, emunah, internalizing the belief that Hashem does exist, does listen to me, can help me, wants to help me, the more we grow in our belief that Hashem is there, the more we will be dedicated in talking to Him and asking Him to guide us in making what will truly be for our best.

This holy day, Lag B'Omer, is another one of the incredible gifts Hashem has shared with us. We know that the festival of Shavuos is the time we celebrate the giving of the Torah. The commentaries explain that Shavuos refers to the time the revealed parts of the Torah were given to us. However, the revelation of the hidden secrets to the Torah took place on Lag B'Omer. One of the greatest classics in Torah literature, which contains most of the secrets and more hidden material to the Torah - the holy book of the Zohar given to us by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, was revealed on Lag B'Omer. We are also taught that each of the 49 days of the Omer correspond to a specific sephira or spiritual level that applies to that day of the Omer.  Out of all 49 levels, the sephira and spiritual level which corresponds to the day of Lag B'Omer, Hod Sheb’hod, is actually the lowest of all 49 spiritual levels. And the question becomes, “if there was such a great revelation that took place specifically on the day of Lag B'Omer, one would have expected this revelation to take place on the day of the Omer that corresponds to the holiest spiritual level. Why is it that Hashem decided to make this tremendous revelation specifically on the absolute lowest spiritual level out of all the 49 days?” And the commentaries explain, if I were to take a candle under the broad sunlight, the light from my candle is going to be unnoticeable. If I move to a darker room, the light from the candle suddenly becomes much more noticeable. And the darker the place, the more light we are able to experience from the candle. Specifically, because on some level the spiritual dimension of Lag B'Omer is the lowest of the 49 days of the Omer, there is now room for so much light to be noticed and experienced. And that's why specifically this day with the lowest spiritual level was chosen for the highest spiritual revelation, the revelation of the hidden Torah.  And one of the incredible messages we can internalize is that specifically when we have fallen and transgressed, falling into a place of darkness, that is now specifically the opportunity we have if we are now in a place of absolute darkness. We now have an incredible opportunity to truly light up that place. We have the constant opportunity every single day to do teshuva, to try to rectify anything we may have done wrong. And again, the process can be simple. One acknowledges to Hashem in their own words what they've done. One tries their best to repair any repercussions from their transgression. And one commits to Hashem to try their best in future. And again, even if one cannot make that commitment, one can nevertheless ask Hashem to help them and that would also be classified as teshuva. Of course, we can capitalize on the incredible opportunity of teshuva at any given moment, even when we are being spiritually successful. However, it can be tremendously comforting to realize that specifically when we have transgressed, perhaps severely, and we're now in a place of tremendous darkness, that is sometimes the time that Hashem's arms are the most wide open, waiting for us to come back. Sometimes, the darker the situation, the more opportunity there is to bring in the light.

One of the six constant mitzvahs is the mitzvah to love HaShem. It is difficult sometimes to fulfill this mitzvah of loving HaShem because I don't see HaShem, I don't hear HaShem and in many ways it's hard for me to relate to HaShem - this abstract figure. How do I come to loving HaShem?  The Rambam writes that the way we come to loving HaShem is by taking note of the things that He has created and admiring them and doing so will bring us to loving the Creator, the One who created all those things. As we've previously discussed, when one's approach towards HaShem is one of "You owe me", then of course we do not particularly feel grateful for the blessings that He sends us and why should we feel reason to love Him. Whereas when one lives the emunah approach and one internalizes, HaShem doesn't owe me anything and if I take note at the countless blessings in my life and internalize that each one of them is actually a gift from HaShem. When someone gives you a gift, you appreciate it and when they give you enough gifts just for no reason at all, just because they love you, that certainly is an incentive to love them back.  "Thank you HaShem for all the tremendous gifts that You've given me. Let's start with my eyes, because we've just learned that one of the ways that I can come to love You is by taking note, appreciating and admiring Your creations. By having given me eyes, HaShem, You have now enabled me to be able to see and take note and appreciate and admire Your incredible creations. Be it a beautiful sunset, the countless stars in the sky, the many animals that You've created with such great wisdom, all the many miracles that exist in a human being, which I see so many of. Thank you HaShem for these incredible eyes to be able to see Your incredible creations and thereby come to love You. HaShem, thank You so much for all the incredible gifts that You've given me. The fact that I can hear is not something You owe me. What a gift to be able to hear with these ears that You've given me and thereby be able to have a conversation and a relationship with another human being. You know HaShem, I would like to imagine for myself for a moment that I cannot hear, and I experienced many years being deaf, and suddenly You come and offer me a gift where I will be able to hear. In that situation, if I was able to, I would come and hug and kiss You for such a tremendous gift. The truth of the matter is that You've given me a greater gift than that, because You created me that right from the time I was born I didn't even have to suffer one day without hearing. HaShem, You have taught us Your perspective in many Torah sources that one of the most severe transgressions is to talk loshan hara and gossip about other people. And just as severe as it is to talk lashon hara is the transgression of listening to somebody else talk lashon hara. Now if You wanted to, You could have created a world where loshan hara didn't exist. But in Your great kindness, You gave me the opportunity to earn my place in the next world to enjoy Your goodness eternally. Thank You HaShem for giving me ears where I do have the ability to potentially listen to lashon hara, and I now have the choice to opt not to listen to the lashon hara that is being spoken, whereby I would be performing one of the greatest mitzvahs that can exist. And if I didn't have ears and the ability to hear, I would not be able to perform this mitzvah. Please HaShem help me not to be ungrateful, but rather to notice all the tremendous gifts that You give me, and thereby sincerely be able to say to You, I love You HaShem."

We've been discussing one of the six constant mitzvahs, the mitzvah to love Hashem, which on the one hand is such an important fundamental mitzvah, whilst at the same time can be so difficult, because Hashem is not something tangible, not something we can see nor hear, and therefore how does one bring oneself to this place of being able to truly love Hashem?  We mentioned the Rambam who says that by noticing Hashem's creations and admiring them, that is one conduit that brings feelings of love towards Hashem. We also mentioned that when one views life through the correct perspective, that everything that I receive is actually a gift from Hashem, nothing that He owes me, then when I take note of all the tremendous gifts that He is constantly blessing me with, that will automatically bring me to a tremendous love of Hashem. The verse states that at a certain point in history of the Jewish people, they became well-to-do and thereafter kicked back at Hashem. The natural tendency of a poor person is to appreciate everything they receive because they have nothing, and what you give them is so appreciated because they're in so much in need of it, whereas sometimes someone who is very well-off and doesn't necessarily need anything may have a harder time to appreciate the gift that is given to them because they don't really need that gift. And as this verse points out, when the Jewish people became overly well-to-do and spoiled, they kicked back at Hashem and did not take Him as seriously. The Zohar states that if we were to realize just how much Hashem loves us, we would run so fast with the passion of a lion towards Hashem because of the strong burning love we would have back. Hashem just wants to shower all the blessings in the world upon us. Hashem loves us more than we can even begin to imagine. But at the same time, much of the time when Hashem gives us too much, that can lead us, God forbid, to becoming spoiled and kicking back at Hashem, which would be so bad for us in the bigger picture, because now instead of being able to reciprocate our love back and build a close relationship with Hashem, one gets accustomed to not needing anything and therefore not appreciating anything, finding it much harder to love Hashem.  Hashem wants to give to us, and as the verse states, when we experience pain, He experiences that pain together with us. And in fact the commentaries explain that when we experience pain, the Shechina experiences much more pain from the fact that we're experiencing pain, than the pain that we ourselves are experiencing. Hashem just wants to give us unlimited gifts, but if He sees that it will be bad for us because we will begin to kick back and stop appreciating and ruin our relationship, then He sees that in the bigger picture it is better not to give to us. It would be wise to make every effort that we can to try to appreciate everything that Hashem gives us, from the smallest to the biggest things, thereby building our love with Hashem, whatever we are experiencing, whilst at the same time giving Hashem reason to give us more, because ultimately Hashem just wants to give us. But if it will be detrimental to us, then it is better that He doesn't give us. "Thank you Hashem for loving me so much and for giving me so many gifts. I love you. Hashem, I want you to know that even though I am limited by my human limitations and sometimes it's hard for me to express this with absolute sincerity, but just know that the true feeling inside me is, Hashem, I love you."

We've been discussing one of the most important and fundamental mitzvahs, the mitzvah to love Hashem. That although it is such a fundamental and basic prerequisite to the Torah, nevertheless, at face value, it is quite a difficult mitzvah to fulfill, seeing as Hashem is an abstract being that is difficult for us to connect with due to our human limitations. We've discussed that when one views life through the lens of everything that I experience is a gift from Hashem, that is one of the greatest conduits to bringing me to sincerely loving Hashem, because if I internalize the values of Emunah, that Hashem is the only one providing me with everything I have in my life, and that He owes me nothing and anything that He gives me is not because it is due payment to me, but rather because He is just sending me a gift, by internalizing this mode of thought, one certainly will come to loving Hashem.  And as always, the solution to all challenges and problems, I have the opportunity constantly to talk to Hashem about anything and everything, and if I have a mitzvah to love Hashem and it's difficult for me, the first thing to do should be to talk to Hashem and say, "Hashem, I want to love You and fulfill this mitzvah in the right way, but I'm actually finding that it's quite difficult to love a being that I don't see, I don't hear. Please can You help me, I really want to fulfill this mitzvah in the best way possible, and I'm asking You to guide me to know how to do so. If there is some inspiration and perhaps Torah literature available, to teach me how to love You, please Hashem, guide me to find that course that will be best for me to follow. And I've learned that the Rambam teaches the way to come to love You, Hashem, is by seeing and taking note of Your creations. Please Hashem, grant me the opportunities to be able to see and experience and take note and admire Your incredible creations. When there is a beautiful sunset, let me not just take out a camera in order to share the picture with someone else, but rather let me stop for a moment and appreciate the beautiful sunset. And at the same time, Hashem, please help me to be so grateful for everything that You give me.  Please Hashem, help me to sincerely internalize that You owe me nothing, and that really, I am the poorest person in the world, because without You, I have absolutely nothing. No money, no food, no clothes, no health, and You don't owe me anything. But nevertheless, You have blessed me with countless gifts every moment of my day, every moment of my life. Please Hashem, help me to make a commitment to You, to talk to You every day, and as part of our personal conversation, let me dedicate a certain amount of time to thank You for all the gifts."  We all get busy with many endeavors, and without making a commitment of a certain amount of time that we dedicate and commit to talking to Hashem, our personal relationship can very easily fall through the cracks. It would be very advisable, in addition to committing to talking to Hashem about anything that we might want, to commit to a certain period of time every day where we just thank Hashem and try take note of all the tremendous miracles, all the tremendous gifts that He blesses us with all the time. "Thank you so much Hashem for all the incredible gifts that You have blessed me with."

Every single moment of life is an opportunity. There is always a mitzvah to perform in every situation, and sometimes just being mindful of something can change a situation from being a waste of time, or even perhaps a sin, to a great mitzvah.  The halachic authorities teach that there are six constant mitzvahs that can be performed at any and every single moment. Just by thinking of them, we fulfill the mitzvah. It is worth having these mitzvahs at the forefront of our mind, and by doing so, we can gain countless opportunities to perform mitzvahs whenever we have an extra moment. If we find ourselves waiting in line to collect food from the restaurant, or at the doctor's waiting room, waiting at a bus stop, and the like, many a time one might be tired and may sit idly, doing nothing necessarily productive. We are so privileged to have the opportunity to make an active effort to be consciously mindful of certain thoughts, and just thinking these thoughts provide us with a great mitzvah to our eternal bank account.  Furthermore, the Gemara teaches that when a person is idle, that leads to sin, because when one is not focused on anything specific, one's heart, eyes, and imagination start to wonder, sometimes looking at inappropriate things, sometimes speaking or listening to inappropriate talk, and sometimes just simply wasting time by pulling out one's phone again and again just because I have an extra moment here and there. Instead of letting these moments, which will never come back, go to waste, it is so worthwhile to be mindful of the six constant mitzvahs. Let's discuss them.  The first one is the mitzvah to have a emunah.  The second one is the mitzvah not to serve idols. The third one is the mitzvah to know that Hashem is one.  The fourth one is the mitzvah to love Hashem.  The fifth one is the mitzvah to fear Hashem. And the sixth one is the mitzvah not to stray after our hearts and eyes.  There is much Torah literature available for one interested in studying more about these six constant mitzvahs, but being mindful of even the simple understanding of these mitzvahs will go a long way beyond anything we can even begin to imagine.  "Thank you, Hashem, for giving me the constant opportunity to fulfill your mitzvahs and gain eternal Olam Haba at any given moment. Hashem, I ask you, please will you help me not to waste time anymore. When I have an extra moment, of course, if I need to do something on my phone, then I should do so. But I know that much of the time I pull out my phone again and again and again just because I have a few extra seconds here and there. Please will you help me, Hashem. As a start, just for today, that as many times as I can, instead of re-pulling out my phone, let me think of these six mitzvahs again and again. And instead of wasting my time and perhaps sometimes even doing something that might be inappropriate, let me turn this moment into something great eternally."  Let us remind ourselves of the steps that are discussed by many Torah commentaries that we've mentioned numerous times as to the reason of why Hashem decided to create the world. Step number one, the only reason Hashem decided to create the world is in order to give pleasure to every single one of us. Step number two, the ultimate pleasure that we receive does not take place in this world in the least, but rather in the next world, in Olam Haba. And step number three, the reason that we are obligated to make an excursion through our lives in this world is in order to earn our eternal reward in the next world. Every single moment in this life is an opportunity for eternity.

We've been discussing how every moment of our lives is really an opportunity and throughout the many extra moments that we might find for ourselves, instead of wasting the time idly just because maybe we can't center ourselves to a full-out task, because we're currently busy with something else and we only have a few spare moments at hand, it would nevertheless be so wise and recommended to use that time as an opportunity to gain eternal Olam Haba, using these moments that will never come again in a tremendously constructive way.  We discussed the six constant mitzvahs. For quick reference, if one is not yet familiar with the six constant mitzvahs, they can be found at the back of some Siddurim, or alternatively, it is very easy to find them via online or other resources, in order to be able to have them outlined in front of us, because remember, the way that these six constant mitzvahs are fulfilled is just by thinking about them. So having them listed in front of us would be something wise and advisable until we are familiar with them and able to think about them at all times, whenever we choose to.  There is something else also which is worth mentioning on this point. The Code of Jewish Law outlines, right at the beginning in the first chapter, that there is a mitzvah of shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid, which means to place Hashem before me constantly. Simply speaking, what that means to say, as explained by the commentaries, is to remember that I am in Hashem's presence at all times, and to behave with the appropriate conduct as if I was standing before not only a great king, but the greatest of all kings, Hashem Himself.  And similarly, the commentaries explain that the meaning of this is to concentrate on Hashem's four-letter name in one's mind, and as the Arizal writes, by doing so, that is tremendously conducive to growing in one's yirat shamayim - one's fear of heaven. It has been pointed out that although we should do our utmost to avoid situations and settings where there might be inappropriate things for our eyes to see, nevertheless sometimes we are required to be in certain places that are not ideal, and we are taught that by concentrating in one's mind on this four-letter name of Hashem, the yud and the heh and the vav and the heh, that is conducive to protecting ourselves from unholy thoughts. I saw a motivating teaching that helps illustrate this concept. When we reach the heavenly court one day and have to give an accounting for our actions in this world, every detail will be accounted for, for all of our actions that were performed in this world. And when they go through all the halachic requirements, we might be stumped in certain areas and say, "you know what, I didn't do this right." But imagine the trial starts with question number one, the first paragraph of the Shulchan Aruch, which outlines shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid - I will place Hashem before me at all times, both remembering that Hashem is in our presence at every moment, and also to think in one's mind of the four-letter name of Hashem, it is something worthwhile to try our best to succeed in. Especially seeing as this is the first paragraph of the entire code of Jewish law, when our trial begins in the heavenly court one day, we would like to respond affirmatively that we succeeded in this law.  "Hashem my father, please help me not to use any time idly, but rather any free moment that I might have, help me to use my time wisely and think of the six constant mitzvahs as well as of shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid."

We've been discussing one of the six constant mitzvos is to love Hashem. And as the Rambam teaches, the way of coming to love Hashem is by taking note of His amazing creations with admiration and that will bring us more and more to be able to love Hashem. There is a Mishnah in Pirkei Avos which teaches that if somebody is on the road and whilst traveling they are thinking Torah thoughts or discussing a Torah topic with another individual, that is very commendable. Firstly, because they are fulfilling a great mitzvah - the mitzvah of Torah learning and additionally, because Torah learning provides a person a special protection and when a person is on the road traveling, sometimes through dangerous places, they might need a special protection. And the Mishnah goes on to say that if whilst one is traveling and involved in Torah, one stops and looks at the tree and says, "what a beautiful tree", then if something happens to this individual, they are responsible for causing themselves damage, because beforehand they were protected by the special protection of the Torah, and now because they stopped their learning of Torah in order to view this beautiful tree, that is considered a sin and thereby makes the person lose their special protection. And the question after learning this Mishnah is, didn't the Rambam teach us that the way to coming to love Hashem is by viewing His beautiful creations? So if one is to stop and say, "wow, what a beautiful tree that is", didn't the Rambam teach us that that is a commendable thing to do, a mitzvah, and in fact, the path to be able to come to fulfilling the great mitzvah of loving Hashem? And if that is the case, why does the Mishnah say that it is a sin to stop one's learning of Torah in order to view the tree, Hashem's wonderful creation?  And there's a beautiful teaching said in the name of the Kotzker Rebbe and others that gives us some guidance about how we ought to live our lives. They explain that what the Mishnah means to say is if a person is on the road and learning Torah, which is providing them a special protection, and then stops their learning of Torah, meaning to say, they now disconnect from Hashem - when they were learning Torah, they were connected; now they're disconnected. And when they say, "oh wow, what a beautiful tree", they don't mean it in a way of, "wow, Hashem, what a beautiful tree You've created", but rather just, "that's a beautiful tree that I just feel like enjoying, taking a break from the Torah". That would be a sin, where one loses their special protection, because beforehand they were deeply connected with Hashem through the potency of the Torah learning, and now by taking a break, especially being on the road in a dangerous situation, the special protection is gone. Whereas if a person is learning Torah and connected to Hashem, but stops in the middle of the learning in order to view a tree and continues the connection with Hashem, saying, "wow, Hashem, that's an incredible creation of Yours, thank You for such incredible trees and creations that You've given us in Your world, I love You so much, Hashem", then certainly one is not committing a sin, because one is continuing the connection with Hashem.  We ought to take this advice to heart, that throughout our lives, whatever we're doing, whether we're in the holiest of places, whether we're learning a Torah passage, and also when we might find ourselves on the road and in other places which are not particularly holy in our minds, nevertheless, we are able to continue that connection with Hashem wherever we go. We're able to notice Hashem's creations and appreciate them and admire them. And in the same vein, we have the constant opportunity to talk to Hashem wherever we go, whatever we're doing. "Thank you, Hashem, for the constant opportunity to be connected with You."

As we approach this holy day of Shavuos, it is worth delving into what exactly we are celebrating. We know that the main celebration of the festival of Shavuos is because that is the time that Hashem gave us the Torah. Now one may say, what is so great about the Torah? Is it not possible to have a close relationship with Hashem even without Torah? I acknowledge Hashem exists. I acknowledge that He runs the world. I acknowledge that He is personally involved in every detail of my life. I have Emunah. So, in a sense, why do I need the nitty-gritty of the Torah and all its details? And let us remind ourselves of one of the most important principles that we've previously discussed. And that is, everything in life is based on perspective. The classic example that is offered to portray this concept is: if I draw a 6 in front of me, the person sitting opposite me does not see a 6, he sees a 9. Who is right? Neither of us are actually wrong, because we are just experiencing and reporting what we are seeing from our perspective. However, many times the perspective one is looking from could be incorrect. Similarly, many people are currently opting to follow and vote for Hamas over Israel. And what about all those many people that chose to side with Hitler, many of those who were not “silly” people. It's not just that because they were so silly, they opted to take the side of Hitler or Hamas. It's just because that was their perspective. And once they're living with a certain perspective, many thought processes, results, and decisions are made based on their perspective that they're following. How does one know if one is following the right perspective? Because again, if I'm following the wrong perspective, any decisions that follow from that perspective will be wrong, even though it will make 100% sense to me, and perhaps any other way of looking at it will appear to be wrong, but again, according to my perspective, this is the correct way of looking at things. So how does one know if they've found the true right perspective? The truth of the matter is that anybody, however wise they may be, is always limited in that they can always make a mistake due to our human limitations. The only one beyond human limitations that cannot make a mistake is Hashem. The only absolute true perspective is Hashem's perspective on the world, on our lives, on what we should be doing on a moment-to-moment basis. For whatever reason, Hashem in His great wisdom decided not to reveal Himself to us in an open revealed way on a constant ongoing basis. Hashem usually does not come and appear to us and tell us in His voice that we can actually hear - what His perspective is. However, instead of that, He decided to give us His book, a book that has clear guidelines to all the details of our lives, what we should be doing, where we should be aiming, how exactly we are to live our lives. We are so privileged to have received the Torah from Hashem.

As we approach this holy day of Shavuos, it is worth delving into what we are celebrating. We celebrate Shavuos to commemorate Hashem giving us the Torah. Now one may say, What is so great about the Torah? Is it not possible to have a close relationship with Hashem even without the Torah? I acknowledge that Hashem exists; I acknowledge that He runs the world; I acknowledge that He is personally involved in every detail of my life. I have emunah. So, why do I need the Torah and all its details? Let us recall an important principle that we previously discussed viz. that everything in life is based on perspective. The classic example to portray this concept is this: if I draw a 6 in front of me, a person sitting opposite me does not see a 6; he sees a 9. Who is right? Neither of us is wrong, because we are just experiencing and reporting what we are seeing from our perspective. Often enough, one’s perspective could lead one to incorrect conclusions. Since 7th October 2023, millions of people around the world have supported Hamas against Israel. And millions of people, many of whom were not stupid, sided with Hitler. They did so and do so because of their perspective. Once that perspective is forged, many thought processes and decisions follow. How does one know if one has the right perspective? If I have the wrong perspective, any decisions which follow will be wrong, even though they will make perfect sense to me. Any person, regardless of his or her wisdom, is limited by the human condition. The only being without human constraints is Hashem. Hashem's perspective is the only true perspective. In His infinite wisdom, Hashem decided not to reveal Himself to us constantly. We do not hear His words or see visions. Instead, He gave us His book, a book which contains clear guidelines to human life – what we should be doing, where we should be aiming. We are so privileged to have received the Torah from Hashem.

One of the traditions of the festival of Shavuos is that we eat honey. The Torah commentaries explain that the reason for this custom is because the verse compares the sweetness of Torah to honey, which is so sweet. The Torah, the mitzvos, and everything that is encompassed within the Torah is the sweetest thing in the world. I once heard a beautiful idea based on a famous verse which states that Torah is so great that it is better to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. The verse specifically mentions the items in this order. Torah is so great that it is greater to me than gold, first and thereafter, than silver second. Now, we all know what is worth more, gold or silver? Of course, gold. So, if the verse already compared the value of Torah and told us that it is greater than gold, why thereafter does it also say, and it is also greater than silver? If the verse has already stated that Torah is greater than gold, of course it is greater than silver, because gold is greater than silver and it seems superfluous for the verse to go out its way to thereafter tell us that Torah is also greater than silver. And the following most beautiful explanation sheds some light on what our perspective should be in the way we relate to Torah in our appreciation to this amazing gift that Hashem has given us. Torah is such a great gift, so much greater than any money in the world, than any gold in the world, than any silver in the world, that when we compare Torah to gold and silver, it is so far removed from them that gold and silver kind of look like the same thing. Everybody knows that $2 is more than $1. So, if I say $10 is more than $2, which is more than $1, that would make sense. However, if we're comparing $10 billion to $2 and to $1, we wouldn't anymore find it necessary to say $10 billion is the greater of the three, then comes $2 and then comes $1. We would rather register that $10 million is so much greater than both $2 as well as $1, that they can't be compared to one another and we would just say $10 million is in a different league to those smaller amounts. In the same way, when we compare Torah to gold or to silver or to any amount of money in the world, Torah is so much greater than any amount of money, be it $1, $10, a million dollars or $10 billion. It is so insignificant in comparison to the value of our true gift, the gift of Torah, that we just group the items together; gold, silver, it doesn't matter. It's so insignificant in comparison to the Torah. And that's why the verse lists the items seemingly out of order, first saying Torah is greater than gold and thereafter saying Torah is greater than silver, even though it seems superfluous to say so, because gold and silver are so insignificant in comparison to the Torah that one doesn't accord any more value to any one of the two when comparing to Torah. Torah is the sweetest item in the world. With Torah, we remain with the true perspective of what Hashem wants from us in the world of how to live a meaningful life. We are so privileged to have been given the Torah directly from Hashem.

We are so privileged to have received the Torah from Hashem, the only perspective that can be absolute truth. We know from many Torah sources that the Torah itself is considered the sweetest item in the world. But what am I supposed to do if I just don't feel the sweetness of Torah? I might believe the fact that if the Torah and Hashem's perspective tells me that the Torah is greater than anything else in the world, and sweeter than anything else in the world, that that is of course true. However, what if I don't experience Torah that way? When I open up a book, I fall asleep, I'm not so interested in hearing a lecture. So, what does one do? As we've discussed many times, the solution to all problems, always, step number one. If I believe that Hashem exists in the world, and I believe that He can hear my voice, and He is interested in what I have to say and, in my life, the most basic expression of our belief in Hashem and His existence is to talk to Him. “Master of the universe, Hashem my Father, I know that you have taught us that Torah is the sweetest possible item in the world. Hashem, I want to believe that with my full heart. But the truth of the matter is that when I learn Torah, I don't feel that excitement. In fact, a lot of the time, I find many areas of the Torah to be quite boring, and when I have to make a choice between learning Torah or spending some extra time doing something on my phone or something else, much of the time, I choose to do the other option rather than learn Torah because it's hard for me to learn Torah. Hashem my Father, I know that the truth of the matter is that if you teach me in so many Torah sources that Torah is the sweetest item in the world, and this is the most important area where we should be investing our time and energy. Please Hashem, I'm asking you with all my heart, please, can you make the Torah sweet in my heart. Please Hashem, can you help me that I should find the Torah exciting and not boring? Hashem, I know you can help me in a second. I know that sometimes I've experienced certain areas of Torah which have excited me and I have been very interested in and I have found to be sweet, whereas other areas of Torah I have found to be boring. How do I know, Hashem, to find the right areas which will speak to me and excite me the most? Please Hashem, guide me to those areas of Torah. Guide me to hear lectures or to find the right books of those particular areas that I will find to be sweet and meaningful for me. And Master of the Universe, you know that a lot of the time learning Torah is not easy for me. I might not have had a background in Torah education, or even if I have, many areas of Torah might be difficult. Please, Master of the Universe, you are the one, Hashem, who created the Torah. Please, Hashem, can you help me to feel that sweetness and to be so successful in my Torah learning? Thank you, Hashem, for the gift of the Torah.”

The Code of Jewish Law outlines that all people, men, women and children, are obligated in the pursuit of Torah learning. Women have a mitzvah to learn and master all the areas of Torah that are related to the practical fulfilment of the mitzvos, as well as areas that focus on the development and improvement of our character traits, as well as the areas of Torah that talk about how to bring us closer to Hashem, how to derive inspiration, to fear and love Hashem more, how to live with more emunah, faith, on a constant basis. Men, of course, are obligated in the same way as women to learn about the performance of the practical mitzvos and make efforts in character development to seek inspiration, our fear of Hashem, our love of Hashem, and of course growth in our emunah and our personal relationship with Hashem, whilst at the same time there is an additional mitzvah, commandment, for men to constantly be involved in Torah, meaning to say, at any given opportunity where there is an extra moment, there is a commandment for a man to delve into Torah, even if in theory he knows the entire Torah already. We've discussed many times that the Torah commentaries teach us that the purpose of our existence is to have emunah, to believe, specifically to believe when we don't see, we don't know, we don't understand. We read a mishnah every morning as part of the morning prayers that says that the value of Torah learning is equal to all 613 mitzvahs put together. When one sits down and learns Torah to the best of their abilities, it doesn't always feel as inspiring as if one has given a huge sum of money to charity or performed some other act of kindness. However, the Torah is teaching us the true perspective. Torah learning is so powerful, even when we don't feel inspired from it, that it is equal to all 613 mitzvahs put together. Our job is to internalize that belief. One might ask, seeing as Torah learning is so great, perhaps one should not spend their time on any other mitzvos and just learn Torah the entire day. In theory, that would make sense. As mentioned, we have a mitzvah to learn Torah at any available opportunity, and seeing as the value of Torah learning is equal to all 613 mitzvahs put together, it would make sense that the most ideal course would be for me to be involved in Torah learning as much as possible, even at the expense of missing out on doing other mitzvahs. Again, there are always different ways to look at anything, it all depends on perspective, but when we want the truth, the only place to look is the Torah. The code of Jewish law, the Shulchan Aruch, outlines exactly what to do. When there is a mitzvah that can be taken care of by someone else, then the law is that it would be better for me to continue my Torah learning and not interrupt in order to go fulfill that mitzvah. So, let's say I'm currently learning Torah and I notice from the corner of my eye that there's somebody who is feeling very upset. We know one of the greatest mitzvos is to cheer somebody up. Now let's say I see that next to this person who is feeling down, a very good friend of his is sitting there, and if I continue to learn Torah, that very good friend will go and cheer up the individual who's feeling sad. If that would be the case, I would be exempt from that mitzvah, and the right thing to do would be to continue to learn Torah and not interrupt to perform that mitzvah. However, let's say that that individual that is feeling down has a special close bond with me, and I know that I am the only one who is in a position to cheer him up, then the Torah commands us that we are obligated to stop learning Torah and go perform that mitzvah, because this is now a mitzvah that cannot be performed by anyone else. Again, whether we understand the perspective or not, if we are following the guidance of the Torah, we are for sure on the right track. We are so privileged to have been given Hashem's perspective, the Torah.

Human nature is to appreciate things that we understand to have value and be important, much more than things we are just told to believe are important, but are sometimes difficult to relate to and difficult to see their true value and importance. After one performs the tremendous mitzvah of visiting a sick person, and the sick person thereafter tells you, “you just made my day, I didn't feel like living on anymore, but since you came, you put such a deep smile on my face, that you've given me a new drive for life.” After performing such a mitzvah, one usually feels quite accomplished and good about themselves because we've done something truly meaningful. Whereas, when one listens to a shiur, or one sits down to learn a piece of Torah, many times one does not feel that same sense of accomplishment. And again, the reason for that is because we don't see the value of our Torah learning. We are supposed to believe, to have emunah, that our Torah learning is so vitally important, to the point that the Mishnah tells us the value of Torah learning equals the value of all 613 mitzvahs put together. One of the things that helps us to build our emunah is when we see different Torah sources that outline to us what exactly Hashem's perspective is. The Gemara tells us that when a person is undergoing some form of suffering, the first mode of response should be to introspect and think about if there has been something perhaps that we have done wrong, that maybe because of that, Hashem is sending us a reminder to correct our ways. The Gemara then continues and says, if a person did introspect and didn't find anything in particular that they feel Hashem might be communicating to them about, to try to mend their ways in that particular area, the next step is to attribute the reason for Hashem sending us this suffering because of the sin of bittul Torah, of wasting time and not learning Torah when we could have. The sin of bittul Torah is clearly placed very high on the scale of Hashem's perspective of what is important to the point that the Gemara is teaching us: if you don't see any other particular area for Hashem talking to you, it is probably because we have not been as careful as we could with the mitzvah of learning Torah. The Gemara elsewhere also tells us that one of the first questions we will be asked when we meet our Creator after 120 years is, did you set aside time for Torah learning? This passage reveals to us a fundamental concept of how Hashem's perspective works. When we meet our Creator one day, He will not ask us, why weren't you the greatest sage of the generation? However, He will ask us, did you set aside time to learn Torah to your maximum capacity? Both in quantity and quality, we will be asked if we made our maximum effort. So, if somebody has not had the privilege to have many years of Torah background to be able to learn Torah independently, of course one is not then expected to learn passages in Torah which one needs to be an independent learner for. And when one meets Hashem after 120 years, that will not be part of the equation. And in the same way, someone whose path to life is that Hashem has given them numerous hours a day available to learn Torah, when they meet their Creator one day, their question will be based on how many hours were available to them. But someone who had a very minimal amount of time available and really made their maximum effort to learn Torah every day, even if it's one passage and that's all they were able to achieve, but that was their maximum, they will receive a hundred percent on their score on this question. Torah learning is one of the cornerstones of Judaism. It is not about how much we learn or how successful we are being in what other people might define as success. Hashem's true question is going to be, did you do your best?

The information that is found in the Torah is so much that sometimes it can be overwhelming. How am I supposed to learn all of the information in the Torah? Even if somebody is completely dedicated to Torah, it is almost an impossibility to get to know all of the different diverse areas of the Torah. Certainly, for most of us who are limited, it can be overwhelming. Again, here we have Hashem's perspective guiding us as to how we are to lead our lives. Although we are taught the incredible value and importance of Torah learning, at the same time Hashem teaches us in a Mishna, in Pirkei Avos, that we are not obligated to completely finish our study of Torah learning. That is an impossibility. However, the same Mishna tells us that although we are not obligated to complete every area of Torah, we are nevertheless to make our maximum effort to do the most that we can. When we meet our Creator at the end of 120 years, the question that we will be asked will not be, did you finish the Torah from cover to cover, including all of the Rabbinic literature and everything that it covers. The question will be, did you make your maximum effort?   One might argue that one of the biggest challenges in Torah learning is the language barrier. For many people, Torah terminology can be difficult, especially if one is not Hebrew speaking and especially if one has not had a significant background in Torah education. We are so privileged in today's day and age that almost everything is available in English. If one is interested in a particular topic, there are thousands of books, thousands of online resources that offer guidance at all levels, even for one who has had no Torah background. In times of old, it was only the absolute elite that had the privilege to have access to all the areas of the Torah. Because of the difficult language barrier, most people were unable to delve into many areas of Torah. In today's day and age, in a sense, there is no excuse. When we reach our Maker one day, we cannot say, “look, there was a language barrier and it was difficult for me to learn”, because almost everything is available to us in English.   Something else worth discussing is, because of our limited time, of course we have to choose which areas of Torah we are to focus on. There is a whole section in the Shulchan Aruch, in the Code of Jewish Law, which is devoted to the laws of Torah learning, which outlines many of these details. Some points worth mentioning are that one of the highest priorities in Torah learning of every individual is to learn the practical laws, because again, if we have not learned the practical laws, we will not be able to fulfill the mitzvos in the correct way. We are also obligated to make efforts in the study of character development, with the many books to choose from in today's day and age. And of course, one of the highest, as we've mentioned many times, is constant inspiration about emunah, our belief in Hashem.   The Gemara also tells us that one of the main areas a person should focus their Torah learning on is in an area that they enjoy, because when we enjoy something, we will be motivated to continue that venture, as opposed to if we constantly are involved in something boring, it would be very difficult to keep that practice up. How do I know which is going to be the area that is going to speak to me the most, that will excite me? And even if I do already know which area of Torah I should focus on, how do I find the right platform, online, in a book, or wherever it may be, to guide me in my learning? Although there is so much Torah literature available today, I may connect to one particular Torah educator more than another. How am I to go about finding exactly what will be best for me? Again, the answer to all questions: Talk to Hashem.

We've learned many times the incredible, potent value of Torah learning. There is no question that the more involved we are in Torah learning, the more we come closer to HaShem, because we are taught in Torah literature that HaShem and the Torah are in essence one and the same. In a sense, the closest that we can get to HaShem is when we take the Torah and delve into it and learn it to the best of our abilities. Of course, each one of us in our own right ought to make our maximum effort in our personal Torah study. However, the Shulchan Aruch, the code of Jewish law, codifies what one is to do if one is limited in their time that they are able to dedicate to Torah study. The Shulchan Aruch codifies the well-known concept known as Yisaschar Zevulun. The Torah records that of the twelve tribes, the tribe of Yisaschar was completely devoted to the mitzvah of Torah learning, but of course, in order to do so, they also needed to have some sort of plan where they would be able to receive their sustenance to be able to provide for their families. An arrangement was made where the tribe of Zevulun committed to financially supporting the tribe of Yisachar and an official agreement was made that while the two tribes would share the financial benefits of Zevulun's work, in the same way the two tribes would share the spiritual benefits and reward that will be due because of the Torah learning of Yisaschar. Of course, even if we have partnered with somebody else, we are all obligated on our own part to commit to our maximum degree to delve into the Torah with whatever time Hashem has given us available. Whilst at the same time, it is worthwhile to remember this investment that Hashem has given us - the opportunity to reap the benefits and rewards of Torah study, even if we ourselves are unable to devote ourselves completely to Torah study. Just to appreciate how valuable Torah study really is, in the same passage that the Shulchan Aruch records this arrangement that can be made between two people, where one says, I will be the supporter and the other says, I will be the one who will devote myself to Torah study - we will share the financial benefits as well as the spiritual benefits. In the same passage, the Shulchan Aruch records that this can only be done for a future project. One can make an arrangement that for the future, we will share the rewards for the Torah in exchange for sharing financial benefit together. However, if one has already learnt some Torah and another individual comes over and says, “I am prepared to pay you $10 million just for the reward of one word that you ever said in your Torah learning, we are absolutely prohibited from selling our reward even for all the money in the world. And that is because the value of Torah learning is so great that all the money in the world cannot buy even one word. As discussed many times, our job in this world is to believe specifically when we don't see, when we don't understand. When two people come together and make an agreement, the one will contribute the spiritual benefits that the Torah gives and the other will contribute the financial benefits to be split between the two, oftentimes, it will be a lot easier for us to relate to the amazing kindness that the financial provider in this partnership is doing for both of them. Whereas the individual who's learning Torah, in a sense, sometimes it feels like he's reaping financial benefits and not necessarily contributing as much as the other individual. Let us remember that our job in this world is to believe specifically when we don't see, to follow Hashem's perspective. We cannot see Hashem's perspective with our own eyes. We are obligated to believe Hashem's perspective. What a privilege each one of us has to constantly make an effort to grow in our personal Torah learning. And at the same time, Hashem has also given us another way in addition to our personal learning, that we are able to partner with others and also reap the benefits together.

One of the great classic works, the Sefer HaChinuch, writes that anyone who recites the Birkas Hamazon, the grace after meals, with concentration will not lack in their sustenance. As we've discussed many times, an extension of our belief in Hashem is to believe in the Torah and what the Torah commentaries teach us, which is really an extension of Hashem's word. Of course, the main reason that we should perform the mitzvah of Birkas Hamazon is because Hashem commanded us to do so and we thank Him for the food that He's provided us. However, the Sefer HaChinuch is teaching us that somebody who recites Birkas Hamazon with intention and meaning and concentration will not lack in their sustenance. One of the great halachic commentaries, the Bach, brings down a Torah teaching that if we look at the entire text of the Birkas Hamazon, we will not find even a single time the letter Pei Soifis, the final Pei. And the reason for that, he brings, is because somebody who is careful with the mitzvah of Birkas Hamazon will never be able to be at the hands of the destructive angels known as Af and other names which end in the Pei Sofit letter. Reciting the Birkas Hamazon with intention has many benefits. Foremostly, we are fulfilling Hashem's commandment. We are thanking Hashem for the food that He has given us. And fulfilling this mitzvah with extra intention is particularly conducive to financial success. And in the same way, the destructive angels which sometimes have the power to bring suffering on us will have no jurisdiction over us and our happenings. There is a famous story recounted about Rav Meir Shapiro, the founder of the Daf Yomi, who once came to a group of students and taught them this teaching that anybody who recites the Birkas Hamazon with concentration will never be under the jurisdiction of the destructive forces and will also have financial success. One of the students who heard this teaching really took it to heart with real sincerity and decided that from this moment on, he was going to recite the Grace After Meals with tremendous concentration every single time.  When the times of the Holocaust struck, it just so happened that this individual was placed to be the cook in his camp. And he already realized the bracha that Hashem was sending him even during these trying times. Hashem was showing that he was always going to have his sustenance by his side because of his devotion to this mitzvah of Birkas Hamazon. It once happened that one of the Nazi officials, Yemach Shemam, came over and noticed that this Jew was in very good shape because he always had food accessible to him. And because of his hatred to the Jewish people, he chased him out of the kitchen and he said you will no longer be the cook here. And in fact, he threatened him and said, I give you four hours to dig me a pit of a huge size, which was an impossible feat. And if you don't do so, he threatened him, I will kill you at the end of the four hours. And then the Nazi officer stormed away. During these hours, the individual turned up to Hashem and he said, “Hashem, you know that I've always been careful with my mitzvah. Please will you come through for me in one way or another?”  And at some point there was a truck of soldiers who passed by. And because they noticed that he was a Jew, they all took out pieces of fruit and threw them at him. And soon after that, a different truck approached. But this time it was full of officers who were so particularly hungry. And because this individual was surrounded by a whole lot of fruit, they assumed that he must be a soldier and wasn't a Jew. And because these soldiers were so hungry, they asked him if they could have some of the fruit around him. And he said, I will give you all of the fruit as long as you come out with your equipment and dig me a pit. And within those four hours, he had his pit dug. When the Nazi officer returned, he said, you Jews always have a way to somehow come through. We do not understand Hashem's ways. But if Hashem has taught us that the mitzvah of Birkas HaMazon is extremely important and reciting it with devotion will bring about abundant blessing, it is certainly worth our while to believe Him.

We know that there are two days that Purim is celebrated. The first of the two is usually referred to as Purim, while the second is usually referred to as Shushan Purim. Whilst most places in the world observe Purim on the first of the two days, Yerushalayim and some other places observe Purim on Shushan Purim. However, it is important to highlight that the Megillah states that the miracles and celebration of Purim was enacted as Yemei Mishteh V'simcha, days of celebration. Meaning to say, that although the main celebration for most of the world applies on the first of the two days, whereas in Yerushalayim it applies on Shushan Purim, however, ultimately, we all have a mitzvah to celebrate and rejoice on both of the two days. Halachically speaking, although one performs the main mitzvos of the day, such as the reading of the Megillah, Mishloach Manot, Matanot L'evyonim and the like, in most of the world only on the first of the two days, and in Yerushalayim on Shushan Purim, however, there is a mitzvah for everyone to increase their festivities on both days by having a meal with meat and wine and the like, and singing songs and words of praise and gratitude to Hashem.  We've discussed many times what so many Torah commentaries teach us, that our ultimate job in this world is to develop our emunah, our belief in Hashem. And although there are many things that a life of emunah will lead to, as we've been discussing on this daily inspiration, however, ultimately, perhaps the highest form of true emunah is when one reaches a state of complete joy and happiness. Although it is certainly a tremendous accomplishment when one has a difficult time in their life to reach out to Hashem and pray for things to change, and that is certainly a value which an emunah will lead to. However, perhaps even higher than that is when I stop thinking about my own life and needs and I'm just grateful for the fact that I have been chosen to have a personal relationship with Hashem. I have the opportunity every single day to learn Torah, which if we've learned any Torah sources about, one will understand very quickly, is the holiest of the holy. To fulfill Hashem's mitzvos, words cannot describe the tremendous opportunity that we have. And every single moment we have the opportunity to reach out to Hashem in our own words.  "Thank you Hashem for these tremendous days of Purim that You've given us the opportunity to experience. Days that all the gates of heaven are open, and we are able to reach the highest heights. Please Hashem, help me to take the energy of Purim with me to the rest of the year, to truly be able to internalize what a tremendous gift I have, that I have been chosen to serve You and tap into the holiness of what it means to have a personal relationship with You. Thank You so much, my Father, for the tremendous gift to be able to perform all Your mitzvos. Hashem, there are many things that I can take with me from Purim to the rest of the year, but perhaps one thing that I ask You in particular to help me, is Hashem, I know that the ultimate expression of emunah is to just be happy, because I trust that You will always only do what is best for me. And therefore Hashem, I ask You, please help me to be so grateful for the opportunity to have been chosen to perform this mitzvah, which as we've been taught, is more potent than anything in this world that I can even begin to imagine. Of course, I'm only going to be able to witness that in the next world, because this is the world of emunah, of belief. But help me, Hashem, to internalize that true emunah, that true belief. And similarly, Hashem, in general in my life, even when I'm not actively performing a mitzvah, please help me to constantly be in a state of true joy and simcha, because if I trust that I am in Your hands, the Creator of the world, the One who has planned my life from beginning to end, already from the time of creation, and who has power over anything and everything, and is watching over every single step. I have so much reason to just sing and dance, even when things do not look rosy in my situation, because I do not live my life by what I see. I know that as the Gemara teaches, this world is an upside-down world. What we see is upside-down to what true reality is. But we are so privileged to have been given the gift of emunah, to trust and believe, that Hashem, everything that You do will always only be for my best."

If we were to ask many people as to what the purpose of their existence is, why do they live on a moment-to-moment basis? Many people, well-meaning people, but perhaps who haven't learnt the topic and sources from a perspective beyond our own which can be mistaken. Many people would tend to answer that the reason we are alive is to be happy, to seek happiness. And in fact, many people try to find ways throughout their lives to fulfil this need and want to be happy. Now again, we've learnt before that we are privileged to have the view of Hashem, to see from His viewpoint, the view of the Torah, the undistorted, absolute perfect perspective that only Hashem can have as to why we exist. Very briefly, we broke it down into four steps from the Torah sources. Number one, Hashem created us only to give to us. That's the only reason. He had a desire to give to us. He needed a recipient in order to receive that goodness, and therefore He created us. Number two, we said that goodness truthfully takes place in Olam Haba, in the next world, not in this world. Although sometimes we may have pleasant experiences in this world, ultimately the real true goodness that we are to receive is not due in this world; it's due in Olam Haba, in the next world, which as the Gemara says, our brains cannot even begin to comprehend the level of pleasure and goodness that we are due to receive there, it is so great. Step number three, that being the case, why did Hashem put us in this world at all? We all know that there are many challenges in this world, so why put us here? Just send us straight to the true intended address, to the next world, to bask in Your great light. And we answered that again from the Torah sources, that we're in this world for one purpose, in order to earn the next world. Hashem in His great wisdom understood that if we have the opportunity to earn something and we're successful in that endeavor, our pleasure in the next world will be much greater than if He just gave it to us as a complete gift.  Step number four, how does one earn the next world on a moment-to-moment basis? What do we do to go about earning the next world in the most efficient way? And as we've discussed many times, the answer is one word, emunah, faith in Hashem. So again, backtracking, although many people believe that the ultimate purpose of their life is to find happiness, we know from a much deeper place, from Hashem's point of view, that the ultimate purpose is actually not necessarily happiness. The ultimate purpose is to practice emunah, bitachon, and everything that that stands for, and ultimately one day bask in Hashem's goodness and there truthfully be happy in Olam Haba.  However, many, many verses and other Torah sources from other Torah literature, which B'ezrat Hashem, in the future, we will go through more intricately, many Torah sources explain that somebody who has emunah and bitachon, somebody who's living their life according to the values of emunah and bitachon, will be happy, even in Olam Hazeh, even in this world. So again, we're not ultimately seeking happiness if we're serious about being alive and our purpose, but if we're doing what we're supposed to, striving to live and grow by the values of emunah and bitachon, ultimately, not only are we achieving our purpose in this world, but we will also actually achieve happiness. That goal that many people see as the purpose of their life, somebody who lives with emunah and bitachon will be the happiest person to their maximum potential.  Let's explain this a little bit further. It's fascinating to point out that the Torah recounts many curses that could befall the Jewish people, and the Torah says that ultimately, the reason those curses could befall us is because we did not serve Hashem with simgah, with happiness. How can there be such severe consequences for somebody who's not being happy? Maybe they just don't feel it today. How can the Torah proclaim that many curses will befall the Jewish people? For which sin? For one sin. Because you didn't serve Hashem with simcha. Maybe we fulfilled all the commandments perfectly, but if we didn't do it with simcha, with happiness, we are potentially, chas v'shalom, susceptible to those curses. How can the Torah be so strict with us and require us to be happy?  And the simple answer is that somebody who's living with sincere emunah and bitachon feels completely calm and relaxed because they know that Hashem is running their life. The most powerful being in the world, who has control and power over anything and everything else, is intimately involved in my life, orchestrating each detail. What great happiness could there be? Sit back, relax, and enjoy, because I'm in the greatest possible hands, hands that cannot fail, hands that are wiser and more powerful than anything and everyone else, and care about me more than I could care about myself. So when we perform the mitzvos and live our life according to the right practices, but we don't do so with simgah, with happiness, in a sense we're ignoring Hashem. We feel like we're doing something, we're in control, and therefore we come to anxiety, we come to a lack of happiness. Whereas when we truly include Hashem in our lives, we will be the happiest people that can possibly be.

We've spoken about the fact that when one practices emunah and bitachon and makes this the central focal point of their life, making every effort to grow and grow in our emunah and our bitachon, besides the fact that we're fulfilling our life's mission in being created, as the Ramban and many others say, the only reason that we were created, to have emunah and bitachon. Besides for fulfilling our life's mission, emunah and bitachon leads to a life of bliss, a life of happiness. As recounted by many Torah sources, one who is living by the values of emunah and bitachon will live a happy life, an anxious free life, a life full of serenity. Now, a person may say, well, that's very nice, but I'm not there. I have many downtimes in my life. Does that mean emunah and bitachon is not for me, perhaps? And the answer is, God forbid. Our life's work is not to succeed in emunah and bitachon and everything that that comes with. Our life's work is to make an effort to try our best to succeed and excel in emunah and bitachon. We do not determine the results in any area of our lives, including how successful we will be in our emunah and our bitachon. But what we do have the capacity to do is to make our maximum effort to grow each day, each moment.  So if I'm not a hundred percent happy in my life, but I'm growing, and a certain situation that could have triggered me to be 10 out of 10 anxious or 10 out of 10 angry, and now because of my efforts in striving to grow in my emunah, learning about emunah, trying to seek inspiration about emunah and bitachon, and today that same situation presents itself and I'm only anxious 9 out of 10. Still very anxious or still very angry, but only 9 out of 10. This is one of the greatest success stories that there can be. It's not about achieving what people usually see as success. It's about growing each moment. So again, our effort needs to be to grow in emunah and bitachon, which ultimately leads to simcha, to happiness.  I once came across a fantastic analogy from Rav Shalom Arush that explains this concept beautifully. He said there was a child in a certain family who was absolutely adamant that he had to be the driver of the car, and every time they would get in the car he would go to the driver's seat and they'd have to move him out, and every time they'd move him out he'd scream and shout. So what they did one day, they installed a fake steering wheel in the passenger seat, and this child was placed in the passenger seat, and as they were driving he was steering his wheel thinking that he was driving the car. We all understand that the child was actually doing nothing. The adult in the driver's seat is driving the car.  In the same way, when we feel that we're the boss of our own lives, when we feel that we're orchestrating and navigating the details to our own lives, that is one of the greatest causes for anxiety, for lack of serenity, for lack of peace, because there are so many dangers, so much evil, so many things that could catch us out, people, situations, and therefore sometimes we act like that little child, as if we're steering the wheel, and sometimes we have momentary fake happiness, thinking, oh wow, look how well I'm steering the wheel of life, look how well I'm running my life. However, when we realize that we're not actually driving the car, or when we have an accident, and then it really hits us how we had no control, all that happiness fades away, and one realizes it wasn't true happiness.  When one lets go to the real driver and acknowledges and internalizes everything in my life from A to Z is orchestrated exclusively by Hashem, I may have a mitzvah to make efforts, but my efforts do not affect the way the car drives, the way my life will navigate. It is exclusively, only up to Hashem. When I live that way, there can be no greater simcha in the world, and that's why the Torah recounts so many times in many Torah sources that one who lives with true emunah will be serene, will be happy, because I know that the most powerful being, Hashem, is exclusively leading my life.

The most important question that we can ask ourselves, why do I exist? Why am I alive? We've discussed the Torah's viewpoint to this question, is Hashem created us only to give to us, and ultimately that reward we will receive in the next world, we're in this world just to earn our place in the next world, and ultimately our most potent method of earning the next world is by practicing and building our Emunah and Bitachon. Although our ultimate purpose of being alive is exclusively to have Emunah and Bitachon, nevertheless, as we've discussed, an amazing fringe benefit, even in this world, of living a life of sincere Emunah and Bittachon, is that one lives with happiness, with serenity and calm.  The reason for that is because when we feel that the destiny to our lives belongs in our own hands, that feeling can potentially lead to tremendous anxiety, because if it's all up to me, I've got to be super careful that I don't mess up, and if I do make a mistake, maybe everything is going to go downhill going forward. Whereas, when one is able to acknowledge and accept that everything in my life is personally orchestrated by Hashem to the most minor detail, one is able to live with serenity and calm because I know that the all-powerful Master of the universe is personally orchestrating my life and only does what is good for me.  Therefore, when one lives with Emunah and Bitachon, automatically one feels a tremendous sense of serenity, of peace, of calm, of happiness, because my happiness is now not related to circumstance. There can be many challenging circumstances that one may have to face, but my happiness is not based on my circumstances. Even if I am experiencing challenges, my feeling of calm comes from the fact that I know I am in the safest place that can possibly be. The verse in Tehillim compares our reliance on Hashem to the reliance a young baby who is still nursing has on its mother. A young baby who experiences any form of stress, maybe it's cold, it's hungry, as soon as the baby begins to feed from its mother, it automatically feels a tremendous sense of calm because the baby knows that this is its safest place in the world. The mother is always the one who has been there for the baby to sustain it and feed it and give it everything it needs.  The Vilna Gaon based on this verse in Tehillim compares this to the Jewish people's Emunah that we have for Hashem. Just like a baby who relies on its mother feels a tremendous sense of peace, calm and tranquility, so too when we rely on Hashem, we feel happy, calm, peaceful, but not to the same extent that a baby feels towards its mother, a billion times stronger. Because as loving as a mother is, a mother is a human being and limited. Even though she may have the most well-meaning heart, nevertheless, she is still limited by her human limitations, whereas Hashem is completely unlimited, independent of anything and everything else. When we choose to rely on Hashem, we will live a life of happiness, calm and serenity.

As we've discussed, one who lives with sincere emunah and reliance on Hashem will be happy, calm, serene, because they're not anxious about the curveballs that life throws at them, because I know that Hashem is in control of every single most tiny detail in my life, and Hashem is bigger and stronger than any curveball. So besides fulfilling our reason for being alive, as many Torah commentaries discuss, the main way to earn our Olam Haba, our reward in the next world, practicing and growing in our emunah and bitachon, there are many Torah sources that highlight that when one lives with emunah and bitachon, that will lead to happiness.  When one is anxious, unhappy, much of the time that could be due to the fact that I'm not sincerely relying on Hashem, that He is taking care of me, because if I know I have His insurance through any and every situation, it would certainly make me feel a lot calmer through all of life's tests. Being unhappy when we're able to be happy is a sin to the point that the Torah actually mentions numerous curses that could befall the Jewish people, and the Torah says that the reason these curses could befall the Jewish people is because we did not serve Hashem with happiness. We may have performed all of the mitzvos in the most perfect way; we may have learned Torah; we may have davened and even succeeded and excelled in our personal relationship with Hashem through personal prayer; but if we serve Hashem without enthusiasm, happiness and joy, the Torah warns that numerous very serious and severe curses could befall us just because of our lack of simcha, of joy, of happiness.  Why is it so important to serve Hashem with simcha? Maybe today we just don't feel the happiness, but at least we're performing everything in the way that Hashem said. It is absolutely vital to perform the mitzvos in exactly the way that Hashem prescribed, because if that's what He said, it must be that is the best way to connect. However, we need to remind ourselves that the Torah specifically highlights curses that could befall us even if we do everything right on paper. But if we're missing the ingredient of joy and happiness in our service to Hashem, we are missing one of the main components of serving Hashem, and that is because our purpose in this world, as mentioned many times by many Torah commentaries, is ultimately to express our belief, our emunah in Hashem. And by being calm and relaxed, that is a result of our true reliance on Hashem, because if we know that He is in absolute control, we will be the happiest people in the world.

50 (0 46) We've discussed many times that when a person lives with sincere emunah and bitachon, that automatically leads to a life of joy, happiness, calm, and serenity, because I know that I'm not in control of the circumstances that will transpire through my life, and therefore I'm able to let go, relax, enjoy, and live calmly, because I know that Hashem, the all-powerful Master of the universe, is running every single detail and occurrence that will transpire in my life. We know from numerous Torah sources that the more we grow in our emunah and bitachon, the more we will feel calm and happy knowing that we're in Hashem's hands.  We have many mitzvos that Hashem has given us. Hashem commanded us to keep Shabbos, to keep kosher, to shake a lulav, to eat matzah, to light Chanukah candles. We have many mitzvos. The question is, why is there no commandment to be happy? If being happy is such a fundamental principle in Judaism, to the point that the Torah outlines that although we may have performed all the mitzvos perfectly, if we don't do so with joy and happiness, there are numerous awful curses that could befall us. So it's clear that happiness and joy is something very fundamental for our service to Hashem. If having happiness and joy is such a fundamental principle to Torah and being a Jew, why do we not have an explicit commandment in the Torah, commanding us, you are obligated to be happy?  And in the same way, we could ask if the sole reason that we exist in this world is to have and grow in our emunah in Hashem, as taught by the Torah commentaries. Some Torah commentaries understand that the obligation to have emunah is actually the first of the Ten Commandments. So important is it to have emunah that it starts right at the beginning, the first of the Ten Commandments. However, other commentaries understand that there is no mitzvah in the Torah to have emunah. The first commandment is referring to something else. Now let's not make a mistake. According to everybody, even those who learn and understand that to have emunah is not a commandment in the Torah, they nevertheless agree that the only reason we exist in this world and the purpose and reason for all of the mitzvos and anything we do in our service to Hashem is for the sake of our emunah and bitachon.  Why then, according to many commentaries, is there no mitzvah in the Torah to have emunah? And the answer is, as the commentaries explain, emunah is such a fundamental cornerstone and foundation of Judaism to the point that the whole Torah, in a sense, can't apply unless it is built on top of the foundation of emunah. So it's not that emunah is not important enough to be a mitzvah, it's exactly the opposite. It's because emunah is so important, it can't even be a mitzvah because nothing can apply if we don't have emunah.  So again, why is there no explicit commandment obligating us to serve Hashem with happiness? And why is there no explicit commandment, according to many Torah commentaries, to have emunah in Hashem? And the answer is, not because it's less important to work on becoming happy, joyful, and live a life of emunah, but exactly the opposite. Because emunah and simcha are the foundations to the whole Torah, and in a sense, the entire Torah is stated thereafter, taking for granted that obviously emunah and simcha and the like are the foundations of Judaism and are of even higher priority than the entire Torah. So because having emunah and simcha are so important and a foundation to the entire Torah, that is why there is no outright command to practice them. The foundation to being a Jew is living a life of simcha and emunah.

The main reason that we are striving to grow in our emunah endeavor, is because Hashem has commanded us to do so and has told us that by doing so, this will be the main way that we will earn our place in eternity. However, it is motivating to highlight that there are many fringe benefits to living a life of emunah. A life without emunah leads to anxiety, anger, and blaming others, whereas a life with emunah leads to calm, happiness, and situations where we don't try to blame other people for our challenges. Let's take the following example. I have a critical appointment scheduled in one hour from now. I intend to get on the next bus, which is scheduled to arrive in the next five minutes and will be a 40-minute drive, and therefore I will arrive 15 minutes early at this critical appointment, which is perfect. When the bus arrives, I get on and take a seat. After about 15 minutes of being on the road, I notice that we are not moving, and I look out the window and see that the traffic is at a completely unusual, absolute standstill. I start panicking. I know that I've got a critical appointment coming up very soon that it now looks like I am going to miss. I start feeling angry, perhaps at Hashem for making this happen, and perhaps at the driver for taking this route. I might even blurt out and say, "why did you take this route? There's another very perfect route that has no standstill traffic currently on. You know that I have a critical appointment today, and because of you choosing to take this route, I am going to miss it."  An absolutely absurd response, but sometimes what anxiety and panic can lead to would be for me to try and push the seat in front of me forward as if that's going to make the bus go faster, which would of course be ridiculous. Whereas the approach of Emunah would say, "I'm on the bus now. There is a standstill traffic jam. Okay, this is obviously what Hashem willed." If I am able to do something practical such as there is a side road that I can catch a cab, which would get me there quicker, there is certainly nothing wrong with doing that. Let's say that is not an alternative solution. I can say to myself, you know, although this is a critical appointment, I was not irresponsible in the time that I left; I even gave myself an extra 15 minutes, and there is almost never traffic like this on this main road. It is clearly Hashem sending me this challenge. And if I am going to miss this critical appointment, as detrimental as the ramifications might seem to be, this is obviously what is best for me. And let's say the driver even did mistakenly take the wrong route. If I have an approach of Emunah, I will not go up to the bus driver and scream at him for taking the wrong route and now delaying me, because I will realize that the bus driver is just a puppet of Hashem, and if he took this route today, it is only because Hashem planted that idea in his head. Of course, I am always entitled and it is recommended to make an effort in advance. For example, if I know that a certain road might have a lot of traffic today, before we leave on the journey, it is certainly permitted and recommended to go up to the bus driver and say, "you know there is traffic on a certain road today, let's not go that route." But once all has already happened, what is the point of getting angry?  Anger leads to bitter feelings. One can ruin someone else's day, someone else's life. And the truth is that when one gets angry, one ruins one's own day, one's own life. "Thank you Hashem for giving me the gift of Emunah, not only to fulfill my purpose in this world, which is the ultimate reason for doing so, but also the amazing benefits of being able to live a calm life, a life where I don't get angry at other people, and a life full of happiness."

Although the main benefit of living a life of Emunah and Bitachon is that we thereby are fulfilling our purpose in this world, which is ultimately for the sake of our reward in the next world, however, as discussed many times, one who lives with Emunah and Bitachon gains tremendous fringe benefits in terms of the quality of one's life in this world itself. Many Torah commentaries, such as the Vilna Gaon to Mishlei, chapter 18 verse 14, as well as the Metzudas David to Mishlei, chapter 17 verse 22, write that when an individual is always in a happy state, even when illness strikes, God forbid, that individual will come out of the sickness due to his state of happiness. Happiness is a cure for the body, whereas low spirits cause illness.  Many Torah commentaries bring this idea on similar lines - that when we keep in a state of happiness, not only does that prevent us from falling to illness, but even if one is currently ill, being in a happy state might be one of the greatest medications that we might try and seek out. And again, when one is living a life without Bitachon, there is so much reason to feel feelings of fear, anxiety, and depression for many of the things that are transpiring. When one takes a look at the news and sees the tremendous suffering that so many are experiencing, without an attitude of Bitachon, one realizes how there is actually so much reason to feel anxious, depressed, and other bitter feelings.  And similarly, with regards to my own life, if I don't have it loud and clear in my heart and mind that Hashem is running every minute detail in my life, there is so much reason to fall to depression and anxiety much of the time. Whereas, when I truly internalize that Hashem is exclusively pulling every single string in my life, and I internalize that Hashem is incomparably greater than any other being that exists in our human world, regardless of how much power they might seem to have, I am then able to move towards a life of complete calm and serenity and happiness. The more emunah and bitachon that we build in our lives, the more serene, calm, and happy we will feel.  And as discussed, perhaps two of the main factors that can contribute to our growth in emunah and bitachon is firstly, to constantly expose ourselves to Torah study, and perhaps in particular, Torah inspiration about emunah and bitachon, because when doing so, we then learn Hashem's perspective and are able to contemplate on those ideas throughout our day; and secondly, we have the tremendous gift to reach out to Hashem about anything. And always, the solution to all problems that is available to every single one of us is the opportunity to ask Hashem, the Creator of the world and the One who guides each moment of our lives and everybody's lives, to help us in what we are trying to succeed in.  "Hashem, please, can You help me to succeed in living a true life of emunah and bitachon. I know that this is ultimately the real reason that You created me for - to be close with You and experience my true reward in the next world. And as You've taught us by many Torah sources, the main way to do so is by me making efforts in growing in my emunah and bittachon. Hashem, please, can You help me to really grow and be sincere in living a life of reliance on You, and not relying on anybody else, nor anything else.  And at the same time, Hashem, You've taught us that when one does live a life of emunah and bitachon, that will then lead to a life of true happiness. Because why should I worry about anything when I know that You are completely running every single moment and every single detail to my life, so what is there to worry about? Even if at times it might seem like the situation might be dire, however, I know, Hashem, that You exclusively are running the show and You will only do what is best for me. Please, Hashem, help me to truly internalize the values of emunah and bitachon, and thereby live a life of true happiness."

We've been discussing one of the tremendous fringe benefits of living a life of emunah and bitachon, that not only do we thereby gain the highest place that we can for ourselves in the next world, which is ultimately the purpose of being alive, but additionally, the quality of our lives can be transformed completely when we choose to live a life of true emunah and true bitachon. Because again, if I believe that I am slave to my circumstances or people around me that might be more powerful - perhaps I might be dependent on them in one way or another, then, when my situation seems to be quite dire, and this individual, who has always been the one to help me, might have had a change of heart, or perhaps the army, that I might have always relied on to be unshakable and unbreakable, had a huge breach in an unthinkable way, if I forget to bring Hashem into the picture, it is very easy to fall into feelings of hopelessness, sadness, and depression.  And similarly, if I have been married for numerous years and always dreamed, hoped, and prayed for the opportunity to be able to mother a family, but for whatever reason, Hashem has not blessed me with children, of course we are allowed to feel our feelings of pain. And in fact, the halacha is that when a close family member dies, we are supposed to mourn. However, the halacha also dictates that after the period of mourning, we are supposed to make our maximum effort to continue with the happy and vibrant lives that we have the opportunity to live, and if I as a mother have not been blessed with children, if I do not have it loud and clear in my heart and mind that Hashem is absolutely in control of every intricate detail in every single one of our lives, it might be quite easy to fall into a depression and feelings of hopelessness. It seems unfair. Why is it that so many around me, with barely any effort, perhaps they didn't even pray for it, but they had the privilege of mothering many children, and me, after many hours of prayer, it seems to be that Hashem is not listening to me. Does that seem fair?  As we've discussed many times, there are many levels to what it means to live a life of emunah and bitachon. And of course, the highest levels would dictate that a person is happy to the point of singing and dancing throughout their lives, regardless of what might be transpiring, because they are so clear that everything that is happening during their lives is completely and exclusively ordained by Hashem. However, we are not expected to be more than we can be. All Hashem does expect from us is to make our maximum effort to be the best that we can. And every day we have the opportunity to grow a little bit more, in relying a little bit more on Hashem, and moving more towards the direction of feelings of calm and happiness, regardless of my circumstances. "Hashem, my Father, I am reaching out to You because of this terminal illness that You have diagnosed upon me. My instinctive response, Hashem, is to feel feelings of panic and anxiety. Hashem, please help me not to panic, and to truly internalize that I am not dependent on the doctors nor on the medication. Hashem, just like You brought this illness upon me, in a flash You could take it away, even if statistics have predicted otherwise. Because I know, Hashem, that You are not bound by the normal laws of nature, but rather You are the one who creates nature every single moment. And if You would decide to make me better, You could do so in an instant. And therefore, Hashem, I am begging You, please will You heal me.  However, perhaps even more importantly, Hashem, I am begging You to help me to remain in a state of true emunah and bitachon, that regardless of what I am going through, please, Hashem, help me to truly internalize that it is exclusively coming from You. Although You have given me a mitzvah to make a practical effort at times to see doctors and medication, however, please, Hashem, help me not to fall into the trap of believing that that is what is helping me. Thank You, Hashem, for giving me the opportunity to work towards a life of true happiness."

We've been discussing how when one lives a life of true emunah and bitachon, there are tremendous benefits to the quality of our lives. When circumstances present themselves that might instinctively lead towards feelings of anxiety and depression, the more we move towards a life of true reliance on Hashem, internalizing that no individual nor circumstance can contribute anything towards my life, because I have learned in the verse that ein od milvado - there is nothing else except for Hashem, and ultimately everything that transpires throughout my life and to the world at large is completely an expression of Hashem Himself personally orchestrating every single detail, and that being the case, knowing that Hashem only wants the best for mem and there is no individual nor circumstance that can even slightly impinge upon Hashem's plans, there is nothing to feel anxious and upset about.  It is so important to highlight that when we learn these Torah passages, the objective is to realize that emunah is our life's work, and it's so important to encourage ourselves that even the slightest step that I might take is a true success story. Hashem expects from us to take the inspiration that we are learning and just become a little bit better each day. So if I am currently employed and financially comfortable, but my contract expires in a year's time from now, and I might have feelings of tremendous anxiety, perhaps sometimes having sleepless nights, or perhaps at other times going into long periods of depression and worry, I may not be expected to climb to such a level of emunah and bitachon, where I feel no feelings of anxiety; but perhaps if I am able to just take a few minutes to myself to try and contemplate on the fact that Hashem was the one who gave me this job opportunity in the first place, and just like before I found this opportunity, I had no idea what my future course was going to be and even though it appeared like I suddenly received this opportunity due to luck or due to my connections, I know that in truth, Hashem was pulling all of those strings, and He was the one who made the situation present itself as it did, and just like He provided for me then, He will not abandon me in a year's time.  "Hashem, I am feeling tremendously anxious. I know that You are the one who has run my life up until now, and You are the one who gave me my current job opportunity. And even though in truth, Hashem, I am trying to work towards a place of internalizing, that You will always come through for me, and in a year's time when my contract expires, You will help me and provide for me with the next opportunity that You will send me, however, I am feeling tremendously anxious. Hashem, please help me to internalize that it is You exclusively who runs my life, and just like You came through for me previously, You will come through for me again."  And although I am now called on to make a practical effort to try to find a new opportunity for the coming year, however, when I am able to internalize that my efforts are not what is going to provide me my opportunity, and even if I feel like I might have not found the right solution to my problem, but if I am able to internalize that only Hashem exclusively is the one who is able to find a solution to my problem, I might then be able to move towards a slightly less anxious life. As we have learned many times from Torah sources, emunah and bitachon is available to every single one of us. Hashem created us and has tailor-made all the details to my life to be best suited exactly for me. And regardless of my spiritual level, I have the constant opportunity to reach out to Hashem to help me for more emunah, for more bitachon, and for more simcha.

We've been discussing how Emunah and Bitachon is something available to every single one of us. It's tremendously encouraging to take to heart what the many Torah sources teach us, that Emunah and Bitachon are completely independent of our actions. And although we are certainly called on to do our best to avoid sin and do as many mitzvos as we can, nevertheless the opportunity to have Bitachon and rely on Hashem is completely independent of our scorecard.  Sometimes the evil inclination makes us feel that only when we are thriving spiritually, then we have a license to talk to Hashem to help us succeed in all areas of our lives. But as we've learned many times, that is not the case. The opportunity to rely on Hashem is available to every single one of us, regardless of our actions. And as the Ramban, Rabbeinu Yona, Rav Tzaddok HaKohen, and other Torah commentaries point out, that even a thief who certainly knows he's doing the wrong thing by making an effort to go and steal from another individual, if he stops for a moment and chooses to rely on Hashem to some degree, Hashem will help him in his endeavors.  The power of Emunah and Bitachon is beyond imagination, and it is so important to realize that it is available to every single one of us. And therefore, we all are called on to make use of this tremendous gift that Hashem has given us. We've been discussing how the more Emunah and Bitachon we bring into our lives, the more feelings of calm, serenity, and happiness we will feel. Torah commentaries teach that at face value, there are more times of challenge and difficulty that we all experience throughout our lives than times of calm, peace, and tranquility. And without an attitude and perspective of Emunah and Bitachon, much of the time we will instinctively fall into feelings of depression, anxiety, and worry. And again, although we are certainly not to feel feelings of guilt for having these emotions, because we are human and Hashem created us, seeing the right perspective helps us to aim in the right direction.  If I am currently looking for a marriage partner, and the years are passing, and for whatever reason Hashem has not yet blessed me to find my marriage partner, without making a concentrated effort to moving towards living a life of true Emunah and Bitachon, which will lead to feelings of happiness and serenity, instinctively, this situation will cause feelings of anxiety, depression, and the like. Just taking one step towards a life of more Emunah and Bitachon can transform our lives to degrees beyond our imagination. "Hashem, Master of the Universe, thank You so much for giving me the opportunity to talk to You. I know that truthfully, the only thing that can help me in my situation to feel more feelings of calm and less feelings of anxiety, is if I reach out to You. Because although I've learnt Your perspective and the real truth of the situation, that You Hashem are completely exclusively running the show, and if I have not yet found my marriage partner, that is because You have not yet sent him, and regardless of what efforts I might make, if You choose to not send him to me, there is no way I can find him, and at the same time, when You decide it is the time for me to find my marriage partner, there is no question that I will find my husband without even a second delay after the time that You have decreed, and if I am able to take this to heart, Hashem, there is no question that I will feel much less anxious about each moment that passes without finding my marriage partner. At the same time, Hashem, much of the time, I am feeling tremendous feelings of anxiety and it is tremendously painful. Please Hashem, help me that You do send me my marriage partner as soon as possible. And additionally, Hashem, please help me that in the interim, until You do send me my marriage partner, that I remain in a place of true emunah and bitachon, and each day I grow more and more to living by Your perspective, that You are exclusively running the show, and thereby, Hashem, please help me each day to move more towards living a life of true happiness."

We've been discussing what the Torah commentaries teach with regards to the tremendous benefit of living a life of happiness. And as pointed out by the Vilna Gaon to Mishlei, chapter 18, verse 14, as well as other Torah commentaries, when one is in a happy state, even when illness strikes, God forbid, one will come out of that illness due to the state of one's happiness. And as we've been discussing, much of the time, feeling feelings of happiness as opposed to anxiety is an extension of living a life of emunah and bitachon. Because the more I believe that I am in Hashem's hands exclusively and there is nothing to worry about because He is in absolute control and He only does what is best for me, the more I will feel feelings of calm, serenity, peace and tranquility. Because if I am learning about emunah, although I might know that in truth I am immune to circumstance and other individuals, but to truly internalize that knowledge is our life's work, as we've discussed many times. And as mentioned, we are only called on to make a little bit more effort each day to try and grow more and more to living a life of true emunah and bitachon, which will lead to a life of true happiness.  The Gemara in Kesubos, page 111b, states that a person who smiles at his fellow is better than one who gives him milk. Imagine for a moment that someone were to go around giving people free milk every day. That would certainly be a notably commendable act. Whereas when someone walks around just smiling at those around them, instinctively it doesn't appear to us like such a commendable act. From Hashem's vantage point, smiling at people is considered even greater than going around and giving people milk. We've discussed previously how to internalize the concept of what it means to go to the next world, to Olam Haba, in comparison to this world. There's a famous analogy offered by Torah commentaries. Imagine you have a large stadium filled to the top with sand, and every 1,000 years a little bird comes and removes just one grain of sand. Let us try conceptualize how long it will take to empty out the stadium. This is not a number that can fit on the calculator, it is so big. When we compare 120 years of living in this world to what it means to live for eternity, our lives in this world is not even like one grain of sand in that stadium. Certainly then, when it comes to the opportunity to performing a mitzvah, even though we might have to invest financially in terms of our time or in other areas, in order to be able to perform this mitzvah, one with the right perspective will certainly be prepared to do so, because again, what is the point of all the money or all the time in this world compared to the eternal reward and blessing of one mitzvah in the next world? However, after all is said and done, we do have to choose into where we're going to invest, both in terms of our time, our money, and the like, because as human beings we are limited. For many mitzvos, there might be a great time investment, as well as it might cost a lot of money to have the opportunity to perform them. And although we are certainly encouraged to do so, as mentioned, we are limited and won't be able to do that on a constant basis. Whereas there are some mitzvos, such as giving somebody a smile, which is so easy, doesn't cost anything, and nevertheless the Gemara is teaching us that giving somebody a smile is more of a mitzvah than giving him milk, taking the time and investing the money to bring him his supplies. We are certainly encouraged to help out in all areas, even when we do have to invest time and financially. However, it is motivating to internalize that each one of us has the constant opportunity to perform a huge mitzvah many times a day, just by giving somebody a smile.

We've been discussing the tremendous opportunity that every single one of us has to perform the great mitzvah of giving somebody a smile. And as the Gemara in Kesubos, page 111b states, that a person who smiles at his fellow is better than one who gives him milk, and as mentioned, although we certainly are encouraged to invest both in terms of our time, energy and money to perform all of the mitzvos, because what is anything worth in this world compared to the eternal value of a mitzvah, however, some mitzvos are so easy to fulfill both in terms of our time, energy and financial investment that they are available to us constantly throughout the day, every day.  Smiling at another individual is a huge mitzvah that is available to us constantly. Many a time, just giving a smile to somebody else can turn around their day from feelings of hopelessness and anxiety to just that little bit more upbeat. One of the reasons that it is such a big mitzvah to smile and bring happiness to another individual is because as Torah commentaries teach, when one is in a happy state, we are much, much more productive and able to excel in our endeavors, both with regards to the day-to-day activities that we might need to perform, and in particular with regards to excelling in our spiritual endeavors. When one is not feeling upbeat and happy, it is much more difficult to reach out to Hashem and talk to Him, to learn Torah, to perform an act of kindness and the like, whereas when one is feeling happy and in a good space, much of the time there is much more feeling of motivation to do good. With just a little bit of an effort to give somebody a sincere smile, one can change the day and the life of an individual who is experiencing loneliness, depression, anxiety from whatever challenges they might be going through. The Gemara in Taanis 22a records the following episode and states, Rabbi Beroka often spent time in the marketplace and Elijah the prophet - Eliyahu Hanavi, would appear to him. Once Rabbi Beroka said to Eliyahu Hanavi, "Of all the people who come here, is there anyone worthy of the world to come?" And as the commentary of the Torah Chaim to Sanhedrin 88b explains, that although the overwhelming majority of people do have a portion in the world to come, however for many people there is first a need for suffering in this world and to experience some suffering in Gehinnom in the next world to first cleanse their soul. And what Rabbi Beroka was asking Eliyahu Hanavi was, "is there anybody in this marketplace that is on such a high level that they are immediately worthy right now of the world to come without needing prior suffering neither in this world nor in the next world before earning their eternal share?" And the Gemara continues that Eliyahu Hanavi pointed to two individuals and said to Rabbi Beroka, "These two individuals are currently worthy of the world to come." Rabbi Beroka then went over to them and inquired, "What is your occupation?" They said to him, "We are jesters and we cheer up the depressed."  Let us internalize what Hashem's perspective, the only true perspective is. Although at times it might not seem like such a super mitzvah to make an effort to make other people happy, however in this Gemara we are learning that out of all the people in the marketplace, many of whom may have been involved in great and holy endeavors, there were only two who were on such a high level that they were ready for the next world without a need for any cleansing. And these were two people who were constantly involved in cheering people up, in making people happy. Each one of us is presented with many opportunities in different forms to help others and bring happiness into other people's lives. Let us internalize that whatever efforts we might be able to do to bring happiness to those around us is a huge mitzvah.

The level of our belief in Hashem and His Torah and the guidelines that follow will make a big difference in how serious we are when it comes to following the advice that is given to us. Torah literature outlines numerous ideas that are conducive to financial success. We know that one of the fringe benefits of giving charity is that that act itself is conducive to one's own financial success on a spiritual level. If the Torah tells us that giving charity is going to be conducive to the success of our financial endeavors, there is no question in the world that that is the truth. Whether we see it or we don't, whether we understand it or we don't, we believe Hashem's perspective. If one is trying to catch out Hashem, it is very easy to find an excuse to do so. There could be many reasons why a person who gave charity nevertheless does not experience wealth. One never knows the heavenly calculations. Maybe this individual was destined to go into tremendous poverty and now they are not in tremendous poverty but they don't have tremendous wealth. For their situation, this is actually considered tremendously wealthy. There could be many other reasons that are beyond our understanding but are of course calculated with absolute precision in Hashem's books. This fundamental principle is applicable to the performance of all of the mitzvahs that we do and all forms of our service to Hashem.  If we are humble enough to realize that Hashem is so much greater than anything that we can imagine, completely incomparable to anything that we are and anything that our minds can comprehend, we certainly will be wise enough to stay out of Hashem's calculations of why certain things happen and rather perform our mitzvahs and service to Hashem based on the fact that we believe we have emunah in Hashem.  Another endeavor which is conducive to our financial success, as outlined by the Torah commentaries in the name of the Gemara Yerushalmi, is for a person to recite the Torah passage about the mann every day. The passage about the man discusses the episode in times of old where food would fall from heaven to the Jewish people. The Torah commentaries point out that the main idea behind the recitation of the parashas Hamann is not the recitation itself, even though that is also important. But the main idea is internalizing the message of what one is reading.  The message of the mann is very clear. Hashem exclusively provided food for the Jewish people. It might be that in today's day and age we don't witness the man falling from heaven at our doorstep. However, the Torah commentaries are highlighting to us that the principle is the same, even though we might have to go to work and we might experience the way we receive our sustenance in a different way, however, in essence, our sustenance comes exclusively from Hashem, and when one is able to internalize that mode of thought, that itself is conducive for financial success. Be it giving tzedakah or be it reciting the section of the man. Ultimately, all of these ideas branch out from the underlying foundation of emunah. If I believe in Hashem, I will certainly choose to follow His guidelines and His advice.

The Shulchan Aruch codifies a statement from the Gemara which says that if one performs the mitzvah of netilas yadayim, washing one's hands for bread in the correct manner according to the prescribed laws, as well as being extra generous to use water in an abundant way when they wash their hands, one will be blessed with wealth. And in another law, the Shulchan Aruch codifies that if somebody undermines and degrades the mitzvah of washing for bread, they will receive serious punishment and consequences for their actions, namely that they will a) Considered to have been excommunicated, b) They will come to poverty, and c) They will be uprooted from the world.  Now, according to our basic human logic and intuition, one would not have considered the mitzvah of netilas yadayim, washing for bread, to have been so important in our own eyes. Of course, if Hashem says I should perform it, I will, but one would never have expected without having learnt the statements made by the sages about washing for bread that have such tremendous consequences, both for the negative as well as for the positive. Again, our approach when performing mitzvos needs to be we do them because we believe Hashem has instructed us to do so. If we follow our own logic and understanding, we might consider this to be a minor mitzvah and therefore may not be as serious in the way we deal with all its intricacies and details, whereas if we perform this mitzvah for the sole reason that Hashem commanded us to and we believe Him that if He said this is important we will do so, we will have a whole different perspective in our commitment to this mitzvah. It is so important when it comes to all mitzvos for us to perform them just because Hashem said so and not because of our understanding. The Rambam writes that when it comes to Torah learning, we have a mitzvah to try to understand as much as we can. That is the mitzvah that Hashem wants us to try our best to understand. However, after all is said and done, we have to realize and internalize that we ultimately have no understanding whatsoever in Hashem's calculations for His mitzvos. It very well could be that something which seems like an insignificant and small detail to a certain mitzvah could be one of the highest and most potent and sensitive cords in our spiritual connection to Hashem or in the connection of the spiritual worlds to this world. We are so privileged that Hashem has blessed us to be able to have a guideline, a book which outlines His perspective to all of these principles. And besides for the fact that we are supposed to treat the mitzvah of washing our hands for bread with paramount importance, we are also being taught that as a fringe benefit, one who performs this mitzvah in the right way with all its intricacies and pours water in a generous manner to make sure that they've done the mitzvah in the most perfect way will be blessed with wealth. Now again, one might say, “I made sure to learn the laws perfectly and I performed the mitzvah in the most impeccable way, and at the same time, I'm still suffering from poverty. How can that be?” With Emunah, I have no need for questions. Without Emunah, there are no answers. If Hashem tells me that this mitzvah is conducive to financial success, there is no doubt about that. The fact that in certain situations a person may have performed the mitzvah and nevertheless not experienced financial success, the commentaries point out that could be because of ulterior reasons such as a person sinned in a different area, and because of that sin, this wealth and financial success is now prevented from coming to fruition, or many other reasons that could be beyond our human understanding. What a privilege we have to perform so many mitzvos on a constant basis and thereby follow Hashem's guidelines to how to live our lives.

What a tremendous opportunity we have today to be experiencing the holiest day of the year, a time where all the gates of heaven are open. Let us make use of these 24 hours in the most potent way. Let us remind ourselves that Purim is a day that will never cease to exist because this is a day on par with the holiness of the future, a day so holy beyond even Yom Kippur and all the other tremendous festivals that we have in the Jewish calendar. "Thank you Hashem for the tremendous privilege you've given me to be chosen to perform your mitzvos, so many mitzvos every single day, and in particular right now the tremendous mitzvos of Purim. But not only to perform them with the intricate details exactly as you've prescribed to us in your halacha, but also to do my best to perform them with true enthusiasm and joy and simcha. What a tremendous opportunity I have to be a Jew. Thank you Hashem for the tremendous opportunity to fulfill your mitzvos."  And the climax of Purim, as we've discussed, is that a person is obligated to get so happy and elated on Purim to the point that we don't know the difference anymore between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordechai. And a beautiful idea that the Nesivos Shalom brings from the Maharal is that there are three types of relationships. One type is our relationship with Hashem. The second type is our relationship with other people. And the third type is our relationship with ourselves. And on Purim, we are obligated to reach such a state of happiness where we don't know the difference anymore between the cursed is Haman times and the blessed is Mordechai times.  And as the Nesivos Shalom explains so beautifully, when it comes to our relationship with Hashem, sometimes Hashem sends us beautiful rosy times. Those are the times that are signified by blessed is Mordechai. And at other times, we endure tremendous suffering and hardships. And those times are signified by the cursed is Haman times. On Purim, we reach a state of such happiness and closeness to Hashem that it doesn't matter anymore, Hashem, whether You send me the greatest gifts in the world or the greatest suffering in the world. I love You so much, Hashem, with all my heart, because I know that You created this world just to give to me. And I trust, even when I can't see with my own eyes, that You will only do what is best for me. Thank You so much, Hashem. I love You so much. Thank You for all those times that You gave me all the money I needed. And thank You for all those times that I was so short of money. Thank You, Hashem, for all those amazing times with tremendous health. And thank You for all those times that I suffered from tremendous illness, because although I cannot see why that is good for me, but I trust that You will only do what is best for me.  And on Purim, we are also obligated to get so Livesumei that we don't know the difference between the blessed is Mordechai times and cursed is Haman times, with regards to our relationship with other people. Some people are in the category of blessed is Mordechai. You're such a good friend; You always do good for me. I love You so much. Whereas some people might be in the category of cursed is Haman. I really don't like You; I have many reasons why I don't feel good feelings towards You. On Purim, we are obligated just to be so happy and friendly to everybody around us, to not know the difference anymore whether someone is truly the closest friend or perhaps an enemy, because I just love everybody. I have a mitzvah of Ahavas Yisrael; I have a mitzvah to love all those around me. I love everybody to the highest degree; everybody is my best friend.  And thirdly, when it comes to my relationship with myself, there are times of blessed is Mordechai when things are going so well and I'm succeeding spiritually. I woke up today on time, I davened beautifully; I learned Torah; I gave charity; I dressed in a modest way, and I'm truly succeeding spiritually and I feel great at the end of the day that I'm so close to Hashem. And then there are other times of cursed is Haman where I didn't wake up on time; I missed davening; my Torah learning didn't exist today; I didn't dress in an ideal manner, and I might have committed other sins. And on Purim we reach a state of happiness that regardless of what we've done, of course usually if we have transgressed, we make our maximum effort to repent and for going forward, we do our best to only do mitzvos and stay away from aveiros, whilst at the same time on Purim we reach such a state of simcha that regardless of whether I'm feeling inspired and upbeat from how I've been succeeding spiritually, it's not about what I see and experience about myself but rather what I believe Hashem has taught me - that I am His precious child regardless of my actions, regardless of anything. This close relationship with Hashem can never be tainted.  "Hashem, my dear Father, please help me to internalize Your true perspective that although I am to make my maximum effort to do Your mitzvos and to do my best in the best way, whilst at the same time my personal relationship with You, the relationship of a parent and a child, can never be broken. And on this day, Purim, Hashem, help me to reach the true state of just being b'simcha and singing and dancing for the fact that I have a personal relationship with You and help me to love everyone around me and help me to love myself and Im Yirtzeh Hashem, Hashem, help me to take this energy not only for Purim but throughout the year. Thank you Hashem for the most incredible opportunity to be a Jew. Thank you Hashem for the most incredible opportunity to have the great and holy day of Purim." A Freilige Purim to everyone!

A fundamental belief in the history of the Jewish people is that after the exodus from Egypt, when the Jewish people encamped in the desert, the way that they received their sustenance was by HaShem raining down the special heavenly food, the mann. When the Jewish people were in the desert, it was absolutely clear to them that their sole provider was HaShem. According to many Torah commentaries, there is a daily mitzvah to recite the Torah portion which describes how the mann fell daily for the Jewish people. And as the Mishna Berura in the first chapter of the Shulchan Aruch explains, that the reason for this is to instill in us the belief that it is not our own efforts that bring us our provisions, rather it is HaShem who provides for us exclusively.  Although HaShem has decided that in our day and age we do not have this open miracle of our food falling down from the heaven, however it is important for us to take the message of the mann to heart; just like HaShem was the one who provided for the Jewish people in an openly miraculous way by bringing down the mann from the heavens for them during their journey in the desert, so too, HaShem is our exclusive provider. Although the form that He gives us our food in, in today's day and age, appears to be different, where in the past it was apparently obvious that HaShem was giving us the food, whereas today HaShem gives us our food in a roundabout way, such as a person going to work, earning a salary and then using that money to go to the store and buy their provisions, although to us it seems like a whole different process and for whatever reason in HaShem's calculations, this is the right way for the world to operate - it is the same HaShem that provides for us today to the same degree that HaShem provided for us then, with the mann that fell from the heavens.  We can therefore understand why it is a mitzvah to recite the Torah portion about the mann, and as the Mishna Berura points out, although reciting the passage itself is a mitzvah, the main purpose behind reciting the passage is internalizing the message that HaShem is our sole provider. It is not our wisdom; it is not the boss; it is not the business; it is not our efforts. Although we might have a mitzvah to do hishtadlus - to make our own efforts, it is so important for us to remember what the Mesillas Yesharim and many others teach - that our efforts do not affect the amount of sustenance we will have even slightly. One might feel, if I work harder, then I will make more money. Yes, in terms of the obligation to fulfill the mitzvah of hishtadlus, one is obligated to work hard, and there are many levels to this which we are not going to go into right now.  One who is interested in pursuing this topic further is invited to see our eight-part course on hishtadlus. However, for our purposes, what is so vital to remember is that whatever efforts we might be making has absolutely no connection to the results we are trying to achieve and to the provisions we are trying to bring in. Again, if Hashem runs the world exclusively, can He not bring me my sustenance without me having to make an effort? And the answer is, of course He can. One of the reasons that Hashem instructs us to make our own efforts - to perform hishtadlus, is to give us the opportunity to believe, where on the one hand, we have a mitzvah to make our own practical efforts to do whatever we can to be successful, but on the other hand, to be constantly vigilant that our thoughts never take us to a place that we believe we are our sole providers. Even if we are to believe that Hashem helps us 90%, but it is just our little bit that helps Hashem on to give us what we need, that is completely incorrect, because - ein od milvado - means that Hashem runs my life exclusively and provides for me 100%, not 99.9%. And as we read in the principles of faith of the Rambam, "v'hu levado", that Hashem alone, exclusively, pulled every string of my life in the past, is currently orchestrating every detail of my life in the present, and is the One who will dictate the exact and precise course of my life in the future.

We discussed how although there is a mitzvah, according to many Torah commentaries, to recite the Torah passage of the mann every day, however, as the Mishna Berura and others point out, the main purpose behind the recital of the parashat hamann is to internalize the message that just like Hashem was our sole provider in those times where the food would fall directly from the heavens, so too today Hashem is our exclusive sole provider. And although it might appear like an apparent contradiction: if Hashem really does do everything exclusively, why does He need me to work and make my own efforts? And the answer, as explained by the Torah commentaries, is that Hashem does not need me to work. The mitzvah to perform hishtadlus - our own efforts, is just that, a mitzvah, an obligation, that has absolutely nothing to do with bringing about the sustenance that we require. The Mesillas Yesharim in chapter 21 writes the following: "The need to work for a living is a curse that was decreed on mankind when Adam disobeyed God's command and ate from the tree. In truth, sustenance comes exclusively from Hashem. The need to work is only a fulfillment of this curse whereby one is required to make a hishtadlus - our own efforts." The Mesillas Yesharim then goes on to compare the requirement for us having to work to the payment of tax. Everyone knows that paying tax does not help me even slightly to bring in more profit. Paying tax is just an obligation that I have to live with. The Mesillas Yesharim is teaching us that our sustenance comes exclusively from Hashem. There is a separate mitzvah to endure the curse of hishtadlus and therefore make practical efforts for our sustenance. It is not our place to question or ponder on why Hashem decided in times of old to run the world in the way that it ran then, where people were not required to make their own practical efforts and their sustenance came in an obvious, clear fashion directly from Hashem, whereas today Hashem's desire is that our sustenance should come to us in a way that appears to be as if we have earned it ourselves. There are different ideas offered by the Torah commentaries. The bottom line is Hashem in His great wisdom understood that the best thing to do then was as it was then, in an obvious, miraculous manner, whereas today it should not be like that. One of the advantages of living in times of old, where the miracle was apparent and obvious, was that the struggle to attribute one's parnassa to one's own doing did not exist because it was absolutely clear that Hashem was raining down the food every single day without my having to make any effort. We today, however, have a tremendous opportunity, perhaps even more than those who lived in times of old had, because on the one hand we are learning from all the Torah sources that Hashem provides for us exclusively. Hashem does not need me to make an effort. And the same Hashem who provided exclusively in times of old is the same Hashem who provides for me exclusively today.  Nevertheless, this additional mitzvah, to make a hishtadlus - our own efforts, provides us with an opportunity to truly grow in our emunah - our belief, that Hashem is the one who is exclusively providing for us. Because if there were open miracles that Hashem was providing for us, in a sense that's not belief anymore; tt is just clearly seeing Hashem as our sole provider. Whereas today, as explained by the Torah commentaries, one of the main reasons behind the obligation to perform the mitzvah of hishtadlus is to give ourselves the opportunity to make an effort, work hard, and make it seem like I am the one contributing towards my financial success, whereas the truth is that Hashem is exclusively providing for me and does not need my efforts. Just like when I make a tax payment, I know that that does not help me even slightly to bring in more revenue. It is just an obligation that I have to fulfill. In the same way, when I make my own efforts, it does not help me even slightly to bring in more paranasa because Hashem exclusively is my sole provider.

We discussed how although there is a mitzvah to recite the Torah portion of the mann, however the Torah commentaries point out that the main purpose behind this is for us to contemplate on the message of the mann, that just like in those times it was apparently obvious that Hashem was our exclusive provider because the mann fell in an obviously miraculous way from the heavens, and it was absolutely clear that our efforts had nothing to do with bringing in our provisions, so too in today's times, although Hashem doesn't operate in an obviously miraculous manner, the same Hashem who was the sole exclusive provider then is the same Hashem who is our sole and exclusive provider today.  And as discussed, if Hashem is our sole provider, how does it make any sense that we have a mitzvah to do hishtadlus, to make our own efforts? And we mentioned the Mesillas Yesharim in chapter 21, who explains very clearly that although Hashem provides for us exclusively, there is a separate mitzvah completely unrelated to the concept of Hashem sending us our sustenance, where we have an obligation to make our own efforts. And as mentioned, the Mesillas Yesharim compares the need to work to the payment of tax. Just like when I pay tax, it does not help me one iota to bring in more sustenance, it is just an obligation that I have to take care of. In the same vein, my efforts, my hishtadlus, is an obligation that I have to take care of as a result of the curse that was decreed on mankind when Adam initially disobeyed Hashem's command and ate from the tree.  Although we have an obligation and mitzvah to perform hishtadlus and make our own efforts, it is also important to highlight the dangers of hishtadlus, of making an effort, if one does not have the correct perspective. Many Torah sources teach us how in times of old, one of the strongest yetzer hora's, or desire for sin, was in the area of Avodah Zarah, of idol worship. And although, as the Gemara explains, that particular evil inclination was taken away and we today cannot understand the true extent of what it means to have a real, strong desire to serve idols, however, it seems very difficult to conceptualize why is it that the Torah makes such a strong emphasis to say shema twice a day, that there is only one God. For most of us, that is quite an obvious equation, that there is only one God. Some Torah commentaries explain that the way it would work was that there were certain magical procedures that one was able to practice, and by doing so, one would actually receive what they needed. That makes it a lot easier to understand why the Torah would place such an emphasis to not go after those practices, but rather exclusively rely on Hashem. Because imagine, I need money, I know that if I perform a certain practice, be it with a stone or some other form, I will receive exactly what I need. That's one option. Or, I go pray, and maybe Hashem will send me what I need, or maybe He won't. What do I choose?  In today's day and age, as pointed out by Torah authorities, we have a different type of idol worship. When somebody goes to work, the apparent result of that is I receive sustenance from that particular endeavor. And although we are called on to perform the hishtadlus, it is so important to highlight that if one is led to God-forbid believe that that is providing me with my sustenance, and therefore I am turning to that, even slightly, instead of turning to Hashem, that could be a comparable form of idol worship in our times. Let us take the words of the mesillat yesharim to heart, that the only reason we are commanded to work for a living is because we have to live out the curse that was decreed on mankind. Working for a living is a payment of tax that has absolutely no connection whatsoever to how we will receive our sustenance. Our sustenance comes exclusively from Hashem.

We've discussed the daily mitzvah to recite the parashas hamann and how the Torah commentaries teach that the main purpose behind reciting that Torah passage is to imbue in us Hashem's true perspective, which is apparently different to what meets the eye. In our eyes, we see a direct correlation between our efforts to make money and the money that we receive. However, as we learnt in the Mesillas Yesharim chapter 21, sustenance comes exclusively from Hashem and the only reason we need to work is to live out the curse that was decreed on mankind when Adam disobeyed Hashem's command and ate from the tree. And as the Mesillas Yesharim taught us, we are to constantly be mindful that our efforts are a tax that have no correlation to the results that they might seem to produce.  As we've discussed many times, there are many levels to what it means to have emunah and bitachon, and this certainly applies to the area of parnassah - of sustenance. Although the highest level might be to internalize to such a degree that my efforts have absolutely nothing to do with the sustenance that Hashem sends me, however, as always, the reason we are learning these passages is to teach us where we are to aim, and Hashem is very proud of us and happy with us if we are just doing the best that we can. "Hashem, my Father, thank You for teaching me that You are my sole provider, to the point that You don't need me to make any personal efforts whatsoever. Hashem, please help me to internalize the truth of Your perspective, that my parnassah - my sustenance, comes exclusively from You, and the exact amount that You want me to have, in the exact form that You want me to receive it, is determined exclusively by You. The extent of Your involvement in sending me my sustenance today is no different to how it was when You would send people man from the heavens. The only difference, Hashem, is that because of the curse that You placed on mankind, we are obligated to make our own efforts, and it now seems like if we don't make an effort, we will not receive our sustenance.  And granted, Hashem, that I am therefore obligated to fulfill this mitzvah of making an effort, but please, Hashem, help me to take to heart the words of the Mesillas Yesharim and other Torah commentaries that we've learned, that the efforts that I make have absolutely nothing to do with the sustenance that I receive. And Hashem, I know You don't expect me to be more than I can be, and it is very hard to go to work and imagine that the work that I'm doing is actually not helping me to bring in my sustenance, but rather I'm just going to work to fulfill the mitzvah of performing hishtadlus. Hashem, I'm asking You to help me grow more and more each day, to live with more sincerity by the values of emunah, that You exclusively are my provider, and it is not me. God forbid, Hashem, I don't want to fall into the trap of idol worship in our day and age, where I might be led to believe that it is not You exclusively who provides for me, but rather my efforts help me bring in my sustenance.  And just like in times of old, the forms of idol worship that were available to people was a real challenge, because people were able to go practice a certain magical procedure, and by doing so, would receive the sustenance or other needs that they might have needed. And similarly, in today's times, it makes it quite challenging that You have commanded us to fulfill the mitzvah to make our own efforts - to perform hishtadlus, because it is so difficult to divorce my efforts from the sustenance that I receive, when it seems so apparently obvious that if I don't go to work, You have no way to provide for me. Of course, I am obligated to fulfill the mitzvah and go to work, but if I might be sick, or when I might not be able to perform my hishtadlus for whatever other reason, please Hashem help me to then feel completely calm, that I am not worse off whatsoever, because You, Hashem, are my exclusive provider."

It's worthwhile to constantly remind ourselves of this passage of the Mesillat Yesharim in chapter 21, where he writes that our efforts that we have a mitzvah to make - hishtadlus, is a tax payment and has no connection whatsoever to success in the endeavor that we are trying to achieve. Ein Od Milvado teaches us that Hashem exclusively runs the world and He does not need our help, nor do our efforts even slightly contribute to the results that He sends us.  The Mishnah right at the end of the Gemara Kiddushin 82b states the following: Rabbi Shimon Ben Elazar says, I never saw a deer work as one who dries figs, nor a lion work as a porter, nor a fox work as a storekeeper, and yet, they earn their livelihood without toil. But all these creatures were created only to serve Me. I, however, a human being, was created to serve the One who formed Me. If these animals, who were created only to serve Me, can earn their livelihood without toil, then is it not logical that I, who was created to serve the One who formed Me, should earn My livelihood without toil? But us humans have committed evil actions and have therefore lost our livelihood. This is another Torah passage where we learn Hashem's perspective loud and clear. Our sustenance comes directly and exclusively from Hashem. If not for the fact that we had committed a sin and are now under the effects of the curse that requires us to make our own efforts, we would then receive all of our sustenance without having to make any effort and be free to devote our time and energy in complete service to Hashem. Whereas because of the curse, we are now obligated to fulfill that curse and make efforts towards our parnassah. But again, just because we have a mitzvah to make an effort does not mean we have a license to borderline avoda zara - idol worship, God forbid, where one would be led to believe that their efforts are even slightly contributing to their successes. It is so important to internalize that yes, we have a mitzvah to make an effort, but God forbid to make any correlation between that effort and the sustenance that I receive. Hashem is our exclusive and sole provider.  It is important to remind ourselves of what our purpose is in this world. Perhaps a worthwhile question would be: if Hashem would remove this curse and thereby not require us to make efforts to receive our sustenance, but rather would just send us our sustenance as He did in times of old, what then would I be doing with my time? The verse states that man was created to toil. The purpose of life is not to reach a place of retirement and pleasure. Rather, man whilst alive is meant to work and as the midrash teaches, if he merits, he will toil in the world of Torah and mitzvos, and if not, he will have to toil in other areas. Ideally, our lives should be devoted as much as possible to talking to Hashem, which as we've learnt many times is a huge mitzvah in its own right, to the learning of Torah, performance of mitzvos, and the many other spiritual areas which are the true reason for our existence. The Midrash Rabbah to Kohellet chapter 1 states the following: Money does not satisfy. When one has ten, he desires twenty. And were a person to have a thousand, he would desire two thousand. As this midrash and many other Torah sources also point out, the nature of money is that we always desire for more. Even were a person to be the wealthiest person in the world, much of the time, if they do not have the proper Torah perspective, their desire will be to be twice as wealthy. We sometimes believe that were we to have a certain amount of money, all our problems would disappear. But as we've learnt many times, that is certainly not the case. The only true source of comfort is emunah in Hashem, because with belief in Hashem, we are always safe and content with our allotted portion.  We need money to live, but our purpose in this world is to serve Hashem, and the only reason we have this mitzvah of hishtadlus which has no correlation to the sustenance we receive is because of the curse that Hashem placed on mankind. And as we learnt from the midrash, we were made to work, and the more we make efforts to dedicate our lives towards serving Hashem, the less we might be required to fulfill this curse. "Thank you Hashem for teaching me your true perspective."

We've learnt many times that Hashem is exclusively running every single detail in all of our lives. And with regards to our sustenance, there is no exception to this rule. As the Rambam states in the 13 principles of faith, "v'hu levado" - "and He exclusively orchestrates every detail to my life." And as we learnt from the Mesillas Yesharim, when we approach the topic of hishtadlus - of making our own efforts, we have to emphasize and make it loud and clear to ourselves that our efforts have zero effect on what we are trying to achieve, which sometimes can seem irrational and unrealistic to one not coming from a Torah perspective. Because can't you see? You make an effort and you get what you're trying to achieve; You don't make an effort, you don't get it. The mann clearly doesn't fall from the heavens anymore.  Many people therefore mistakenly might be led to assume that Hashem used to be with us in the past, but He does not provide for us anymore. God forbid! Such an approach to hishtadlus is certainly borderlining on avodah zarah, on idol worship, believing that I am the one who dictates my destiny. And as we know, idol worship is the most severe sin that we have in the Torah, to the point that for real idol worship, one is obligated to even give up their life rather than succumb to it. So when we approach hishtadlus, we certainly don't want to go anywhere near anything that might even borderline slightly on the concept of idol worship. We've also mentioned previously the Sefer HaChinuch, which is quoted in the Biur Halacha in chapter 1 of the Shulchan Aruch, where he states that if somebody does believe in Hashem but believes that there is also some other power that can contribute in addition to Hashem's power, that is idol worship. It is so important when approaching the subject of hishtadlus to internalize the words of the Mesillas Yesharim in 21, that the efforts that we make are just a tax, which means that our efforts have no correlation to the result and income that we bring in.  The Gemara in Pesachim 118a teaches that Hashem's task in providing one's sustenance is equal to the task of splitting the sea, is more difficult than the task of bringing the ultimate redemption, and is twice as hard as the task of childbirth. Now of course, Hashem has access to all the money in the world. So when the Gemara here is teaching us that the task of Hashem providing for us is equal to the task of Him splitting the sea, more difficult than bringing about the ultimate redemption, and twice as hard as the task of childbirth, we are learning here that it is a big gift for one to receive one's sustenance. Although Hashem can do anything, He nevertheless desired that the way the world should work should be in a way that usually we have to struggle to some degree to receive our sustenance.  We all are currently alive and have received sustenance in some form or another till this very day. Imagine for a moment we would have the opportunity to experience Hashem splitting the sea for us in order that we make our way through to safety. Most of us would talk about that and be inspired from that event for a long time. What about the ultimate redemption that we're all praying for to come speedily in our days? And anyone sincerely looking who has witnessed the tremendous miracle of childbirth can see clearly what a tremendous miracle that is. However, this Gemara is teaching us that the miracle of Hashem coming through for us and giving us our sustenance is so big that it is comparable to the sea splitting and greater than the miracle of childbirth and the ultimate redemption. "Thank You so much Hashem for providing for me every single day of my life in one form or another that until this very point in my life Hashem, You have always given me my sustenance. Thank You Hashem for being my exclusive provider."

We are so privileged to have the opportunity to celebrate Pesach every single year. What exactly are we celebrating? Simply speaking, we're celebrating the fact that we were redeemed from the slavery in Egypt. It is worthwhile learning about what the Jewish people went through and experienced to appreciate what we're celebrating. It's important to highlight that our slavery in Egypt is not a fairy tale that didn't really transpire, God forbid. Just like we can relate to the Holocaust and similar atrocities throughout history, in the same way our enslavement in Egypt was something real that was experienced on a very real level by the Jewish people.  To just give one example of one of the atrocious things amongst many others: We know that the Jewish people were tricked into working for Pharaoh and they were given a certain quota of what they had to complete on a given day. If they had to collect material in order to make bricks to build a wall and they were short just of one brick of their expected quota, which was almost impossible - it was so much, they were forced to bring their own little cute precious child and stuff the child into the wall, thereby killing them, thereafter applying cement on top of the child. So painful even to say such a thing, but it's so important to digest what the people went through, and this is just one of many, many tremendous atrocities that the Egyptians imposed on the Jewish people.  So, on Pesach, we are celebrating that we came out of Egypt. What a tremendous celebration. “Thank you, Hashem, for taking us out of Mitzrayim.” But many of us would ask, “why Hashem did you put us there in the first place? Why did you cause us to suffer all those years? Why did Hashem put us in Egypt in the first place?” And the answer to this question is because Hashem wants to have a personal relationship with every single one of us. Let's explain this a little bit further. The Torah records that during the first few days after the creation of the wrodl, the snake sinned, and part of his punishment was, “your food snake will be the dust of the earth.” And the question that the commentaries ask is, what type of punishment is this? One of the biggest struggles that we all have to deal with throughout our lives is our parnassah - our sustenance. We have to be able to put food on the table. And here, Hashem says to the snake, “your food will be dust”, meaning to say, wherever you go in the world, there's always dust around. So, you, Mr. Snake, you will never ever lack parnassah. The snake is never ever short of food. So where was the curse that Hashem gave to the snake?  And the answer is, Hashem was saying to the snake, “I hate you so much that I never want you to talk to me again. I don't want anything to do with you.” So much so that if you one day would lack food, I know that you will reach out to me and say, “Hashem, I'm hungry. Please help me”, In the snake's own language. Hashem didn't want the snake to talk to him anymore because Hashem is not interested in a personal relationship with the snake, which represents something so evil and disgusting. Therefore, Hashem says, “you, Mr. Snake, you will have your food wherever you go.” When it comes to the Jewish people, however, Hashem says, “you, my children, I want to have a close, intimate, personal relationship with every single one of you.”  And in order to do that, very often He sends us challenges and very often He saves us from those challenges. One who is building their emunah and has their eyes open to bring Hashem into the picture uses both the challenges as well as the salvation from the challenges to build their relationship with Hashem - to build their love for Hashem. “Yes, Hashem, you are the one who put us into Egypt, into the Egyptian slavery in the first place so that eventually you could redeem us with the most phenomenal miracles that showed us how you were there all along. And it was you who placed us in there in the first place. And just like you are the one who redeemed us in the most unnatural, miraculous way, so too you are the one who placed us there in the first place because Hashem wants that personal relationship with every single one of us.” This is the message of Pesach. Hashem is interested in having a personal relationship with every single one of us. And that's why He put us into the Egyptian slavery in the first place and eventually redeemed us from that slavery. So, what we are celebrating on Pesach is that Hashem wants to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us.

We've discussed that the message of Pesach is that we are celebrating the fact that Hashem took us out of Egypt. We discussed how we ought to learn about the tremendous atrocities that the Jewish people experienced to help us appreciate what it means to come out of the Egyptian slavery and how we ought to celebrate to the highest degree. We also discussed why is it that Hashem put us into the Egyptian slavery in the first place. And as we spoke about, the answer to that is because Hashem cares about every single one of us. Hashem wants to have a personal relationship with every single one of us. And in order to do that, Hashem requires us to need Him. The snake, the epitome of what symbolizes evil in the world, Hashem says to the snake, “you, I don't want anything to do with, and therefore your food will be dust. Wherever you go, you will have food to eat.” But when it comes to us, on the other hand, Hashem says, “you, my children, much of the time, maybe you won't have food. Not because I don't love you, but because I love you more. I want you to reach out to me. I don't want you to be like the snake who doesn't need me and never needs to have anything to do with me.” So, on Pesach, we celebrate two things. Number one, that Hashem put us into the Egyptian slavery in the first place, and that we have that close, intimate relationship that He wants to have with every single one of us. Otherwise, He wouldn't cause us to suffer. And we also celebrate the salvation that Hashem sent us to redeem us from Egypt. This principle applies not only to our enslavement in Egypt, and the redemption and salvation that we received from our slavery. It applies to any form of suffering that we experience. If we were given the option of paving the course to how our lives will play out, many of us would opt for a life free of suffering. However, Hashem knows better. If we were to have everything that we needed, we would have no reason to reach out to Hashem. We would not have the drive to build a personal relationship with Hashem. This is one of the main reasons that Hashem sends every single one of us challenges, as explained by many Torah commentaries.  We know that matzah is called by the Zohar “nehama dimeheimenusa” - which means the bread of emunah. Throughout the year, we're trying to build our emunah - to make efforts to grow in our belief in Hashem, because that is ultimately the only reason we exist. As discussed, numerous times, the only reason Hashem created the world is to give to us, which takes place ultimately in Olam Haba. And the main way to earn Olam Haba in this world is building our emunah and bitachon. Throughout the year, we're making efforts to grow in our emunah and bitachon. But so much of the time, it's difficult. And of course, it's meant to be difficult, because this is the main reason that we're alive. This is our purpose. So of course, it can't be simple and easy. When we have an opportunity such as Pesach, where the time period lends itself to a boost in emunah, to the point that the main food of Pesach, matzah, is called the bread of emunah - if we believe in Hashem and His Torah and His mitzvos, every single bite of matzah is another boost in our emunah. Everything we're doing towards Pesach is going to boost our belief in Hashem. Let us all take the opportunity of Pesach to boost our emunah, that everything Hashem does is always for the best.

Let us not forget that the only reason Hashem created us is in order to share His goodness with us. We will ultimately experience that goodness in the next world, and the way to earn that goodness in the next world is by the things we do in this world. We've discussed that the most potent thing we can focus on in this world, as discussed by the Torah commentaries, is to build our emunah and bitachon. One very potent way of expressing our belief in Hashem, our emunah and bitachon in Hashem, is by following His mitzvos. When we follow Hashem's mitzvos, we're showing that we believe that He exists. We are thereby expressing our emunah, our belief in Hashem, that Hashem exists and Hashem is the one who commanded us to do these things, and that being the case, we will do so. And in the same way, the details, and sometimes very intricate details, that are involved in the performance of each of the mitzvos - if that is the way the Torah authorities have prescribed the mitzvos to be followed, that is ultimately the way Hashem wants us to fulfill the mitzvos, and the more we believe in Him, the more we will be careful to fulfill the mitzvos exactly as Hashem has prescribed us to do in all the intricate details.  We have right now the most incredible opportunity to be celebrating the days of Chol HaMoed. All of the mitzvos are important, and as the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos teaches, one can never know which mitzvah is bigger than another. And therefore, we are to treat all the mitzvos with tremendous importance and do our best to fulfill them all in all the intricate details, thereby expressing our belief - our emunah in Hashem. Although all the mitzvos are of paramount importance, one sometimes gets a feeling of a certain importance that Hashem shines upon certain mitzvot. Let's explore the mitzvah of Chol HaMoed to try and appreciate the tremendous opportunity we have during these days.  The Mishnah in Pirkei Avos says that one who disgraces the festivals, even if he possesses the merit of Torah and good deeds, he does not receive a portion in the world to come. The commentaries explain that this Mishnah refers to somebody who disgraces the days of Chol HaMoed by doing one of two things: either by doing forbidden forms of work during these days, or alternatively, by eating and drinking as if it's a regular weekday as opposed to a more lavish, respectable meal similar to Shabbos and Yom Tov. These are very strong words. All of the mitzvos are important, but when the Torah is teaching us that somebody who does not treat Chol HaMoed in the right way, they forfeit their portion in the next world, that gives us an indication that the days of Chol HaMoed are extremely important in Hashem's eyes.  We will explore, b'zrat Hashem, perhaps some of the reasons why these days may be so important. But again, the bottom line is, if Hashem says that these days are important to the point that if we don't treat them in the right way, we could, God forbid, forfeit our portion in Olam HaBa, if we believe in Hashem, we take those words seriously and make our maximum effort to treat Chol HaMoed in the right way. So based on this Mishnah, step number one is to do our best to learn about the laws of Chol HaMoed and to try to follow them as best as we can. And secondly, to make an effort to eat and drink during these days in a similar way to how we do on Shabbos and Yom Tov, to show that we are celebrating the days of Chol HaMoed together with Hashem.

We've discussed how following Hashem's mitzvos in this world is one of the potent ways we earn our share in the next world. We also have discussed that one who believes in Hashem and His mitzvos truthfully, will make the maximum effort to perform the mitzvos with their intricate details exactly as Hashem has prescribed, because if this is what He says to do, this is what we ought to do. We have this tremendous opportunity during Chol Moed to fulfill the mitzvos as Hashem has prescribed.  We discussed the Mishnah which mentions that one who does not honour Chol Moed in the right way, they forfeit their portion in the next world. And as the Torah commentaries explained, that refers to one who does forbidden forms of work during Chol Moed, or alternatively, one who does not eat and drink in a similar way to how one would honour Shabbos and Yom Tov with Shabbos and Yom Tov meals. Now again, one may say, “well I haven't yet learnt all of the laws of Chol Moed, so does that mean I don't have a portion in the next world?” God forbid! Hashem does not expect us to do anything beyond our maximum capacity. If we have not yet had the opportunity to learn the laws of Chol Moed, or even if we have, but we make a mistake, remember, Hashem created us only to give to us, He is not there to catch us out. Our job is to make our maximum effort to do our best in learning the laws of Chol Moed, and do our best in fulfilling the mitzvos, doing what we are supposed to do, and not doing what we are not supposed to do. But, if we try our best and still get it wrong, either because we made a mistake, or because we haven't yet had the opportunity to learn all of the intricate details, Hashem sees our efforts, and that's what will count. In terms of the mitzvah of Chol Moed itself, the Gemara says further that one who disgraces the festivals is comparable to an idol-worshipper, and again, the commentaries explain that this refers to one who performs forbidden forms of work during the days of Chol Moed. They're comparable to an idol-worshipper. Why? What is so bad? I still believe in Hashem, I'm performing many other mitzvos, I'm just maybe not treating Chol Moed as I am supposed to. Why is the Mishna and the Gemara, which is Hashem's voice, seemingly being so strict with us if we don't treat Chol Moed in the right way, to tell us that we may forfeit our portion in the next world, as well as being compared to an idol-worshipper? These are very strong words! And the answer to this question, why the consequences of Chol Moed are so strict, is as the Gemara tells us, that the reason for the days of Chol Moed, ultimately, are to give us the opportunity to celebrate the festival together with Hashem, by having festive meals, by not doing forbidden forms of labor, thereby giving us an opportunity to have more time, to learn Torah, to connect with Hashem, to have more time in our personal relationship with Hashem.  As the Maharal explains, if Hashem's whole intention in giving us the days of Chol Moed is in order to give us an opportunity to forge a close relationship with Him, if God forbid somebody is to ignore this precious time and become busy with other things, instead of focusing on building their relationship with Hashem, that is similar to slapping Hashem in the face and saying, “You're not my God, I don't want a personal relationship with you.” And that is why the Gemara is so strict and says that if one disgraces the days of Chol Moed, they are comparable to an idol worshipper, and the Mishnah teaches us that if one disgraces the days of Chol Moed, not according to its due honor, they forfeit their portion in the world to come. May we all capitalize on the opportunity of these tremendous days to build a closer relationship with Hashem, by having festive meals, by using the extra time that we have to learn Torah, to build our personal relationship with Hashem, by talking to Him, perhaps with the extra time that we have, more than usual. May we all merit a Chag Kasher Sameach.

The Gemara tells us that just like the initial redemption from Egypt took place in the month of Nissan, so too the redemption of the future, the coming of Mashiach, will also take place during the month of Nissan. Out of all the tremendous miracles that took place through our exodus from Egypt, in a sense the climax was the splitting of the sea when we were surrounded by the Egyptians from behind and the sea in front of us, and Hashem miraculously split the sea and allowed us to pass through it. We know that the splitting of the sea took place on the seventh day of Pesach, so in a sense the seventh day of Pesach is the climax of the redemption from the Egyptian slavery. The Gemara tells us that one day when we are to pass on to the next world, one of the very first things that happens in the heavenly bastion is they ask us the question, “did you hope for Mashiach?” This is such an important question that it's right at the top of the list of questions that we are asked. We can obviously understand the importance that Hashem places on our wanting and hoping for the arrival of Mashiach. Now one may say, “look my life is actually okay, I don't necessarily need Mashiach.” Whether one feels that way or not, we have a mitzvah to want, pray and hope for the coming of Mashiach, and we can see that this is extremely important in Hashem's eyes to the point that this is one of the very first questions that we are asked when we arrive in Shamayim.  It is famously told about the Chofetz Chaim that he would constantly have a bag ready and packed under his bed for the arrival of Mashiach because he so eagerly awaited Mashiach's arrival that it was something real to the point that he had to be ready to go with his things packed in his bag because the Chofetz Chaim was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Mashiach at any given moment. Now although we can understand in our heads that hoping and wanting and praying for Mashiach to come is something extremely important, many of us may not feel that eagerness for the coming of Mashiach and that doesn't make us bad in any way, God forbid. In a sense it's very hard to relate to what it's going to be like when Mashiach comes. Although we are taught in Torah sources many things about the coming of Mashiach and many Torah commentaries do offer insight into the Messianic era, nevertheless ultimately we don't know exactly how it's going to be because it's meant to be something hidden and that being the case it makes it more difficult for us to relate to as something so real because it's hidden from us.  But nevertheless, as always, even if a mitzvah is difficult or for that matter if anything is difficult in our lives there is always one solution that is the solution to all problems. We can talk to Hashem, we can say, “Hashem you have commanded me to want Mashiach whether I can relate to it or whether I don't relate to it. Master of the universe, please help me to really want and hope for and pray for the coming of Mashiach.” Be'ezrat Hashem on this holy seventh day of Pesach which is ultimately the climax of our redemption from Egypt when we came to the splitting of the sea, may we all merit the ultimate redemption, the coming of Mashiach, speedily in our days.

The classic Sefer, Messilas Yesharim, brings down the well-known idea brought by many Torah authorities that all of the happenings in our lives in this world are ultimately in order to test us. As we've learned many times, Hashem ultimately created this world in order to give us an opportunity to earn for ourselves our future in the next world. And by giving us opportunities where we are able to either pass or fail a test, we now have a chance to earn our place in the next world. Of course, our aim should be to try to pass the test initially, but in Hashem's great He has also given us the opportunity of teshuvah, to rectify mistakes or even transgressions that we committed on purpose, where we have an opportunity to rectify what we have done wrong, and by doing so that would be passing the test.  The areas that we are tested in will vary from individual to individual, and just like one cannot know the level of emunah of another individual because ultimately that depends on my personal relationship with Hashem and many factors which other people will not be aware of, including my personality, sensitivities, the way I was brought up, and many other factors. And in the same way, the areas that Hashem may give me an opportunity to be tested and hopefully succeed in passing that test, will vary from individual to individual. Rav Dessler talks of the nekudas ha-bechira, which means the point of free choice. That point of free choice will vary from individual to individual, and even within oneself may vary from day to day, or even from moment to moment on a given day. So, for many individuals, when I walk into a supermarket and I do not steal items from the supermarket, I have not performed a particularly great mitzvah because under my nekudas ha-bechira, where my free will lies, I don't even have an evil inclination to steal. It's not something that I think of to do. Whereas, when I'm about to have a drink of water, many times I'm in a hurry and I rush the saying of the bracha before and after drinking the water. My test would be, am I going to rush another bracha, or am I going to slow down and say it with meaning and intention?  And take another individual who has struggled with crime and stealing, and perhaps has even sat in prison for periods of time. For this individual, walking into a supermarket and not stealing might be a huge test that could be comparable to me having said every blessing today with ideal intention and meaning. One never knows where someone else's point of bechira, free choice, and the opportunity to pass the test lies. And even for myself, very often it is not clear exactly where the point of my test might be. However, what we are to remember is that in this world, we were created to be given tests. Not because Hashem wants to catch us out, but because each moment is and can be an opportunity to gain our place in the next world.

As discussed, one of the most fundamental principles from the Torah is that Hashem created this world in order to test us. Not because, God forbid, He wants to catch us out, but rather because He wants to give us an opportunity to pass the test. And as explained by Torah sources, when we do so, the pleasure that we will experience in the next world will be so much greater than if Hashem had just given that to us, without us having earned it ourselves. How does one go about making their maximum effort to pass the tests that Hashem sends them?  We've discussed previously that although it is much easier to find sheker, untruth, and the distorted approach to life, because that is usually what is presented by the masses around us. Nevertheless, Hashem would never give us an impossible task, something which would be completely unfair. The truth and correct perspective can be found, but again, if this is our purpose in the world, it makes sense that it's not necessarily going to be something easy to find. Let's use an example to illustrate this concept. Let's say that I have a job where the salary I receive is respectable, but my family does have to struggle because the funds are a little bit short, and I receive a job opportunity with double the pay that would now relieve my family from all of our financial stress. However, the job offer outlines that in order to be accepted for this job, I would need to work on a Saturday - on Shabbos. Many of us would understand that this is a test where failing the test would be to take the job, work on Shabbos, and receive the double salary, and passing the test would be not taking up the new job opportunity, continuing to struggle financially, but continuing to keep Shabbos. For somebody who is seriously committed to the keeping of Shabbos, this would not be much of a test, because I understand that keeping Shabbos is of paramount importance and I am absolutely prohibited from compromising on that, even for all the money in the world.  But there could be many other examples where sometimes it can be tricky to work out what Hashem wants from me. For example, what if I currently have a job where although we are struggling financially, however, I do have the privilege to return home every evening and spend time with my family. I now receive a job opportunity that again has doubled the pay, but I am now required to travel overseas every alternate month for the duration of that entire month, which means one month I will see my family and the next month I will have to be away from my family. For some people, that might be the right thing to do. For other people, that might be the wrong thing to do. How am I supposed to work out what Hashem would want from me in this situation? Ultimately, after everything is said and done, the answer is just to try your best. But again, trying my best can mean different things to different people when we're looking from different perspectives. The only perspective that we want to follow is the perspective of the Torah, which is the perspective of Hashem.

Hashem created us in this world to have the opportunity to be tested ansd to make the right decisions; to pass the tests that he presents us and earn our place in the next world. It is not always clear to know where Hashem is testing us and what He wants from us in this particular situation. The identical situation that two individuals experience, for one, the test could be to say no, and for the other, the test could be to say yes, so many factors will make up one's Nekudas Habechira, the exact point within my free choice where I have the capacity to pass this test.  We'll mention four things that one can do to make our maximum effort to pass the tests that Hashem presents us successfully. Number one, depending on the situation under consideration, if there is any Torah literature available directly related to my circumstance in question, the wisest thing to do would certainly be to learn and explore those Torah passages in order to gain Hashem's perspective of the situation. Step number two, in many situations, we are advised to consult with da'as Torah, Torah sages who are well-versed in Torah, as well as striving to be the most righteous individuals they can be. Not only do such individuals possess the vast Torah knowledge of Hashem's perspective, the Torah's perspective, in ways I might not have, but we are also taught that when somebody is immersed in Torah in a potent way, there is a certain holiness and sixth sense that will come out of the advice of da'as Torah because of the holiness of the Torah. These two steps, both researching any Torah literature that might be available and relevant to my circumstance, as well as consulting da'as Torah, may be relevant much of the time. However, many a time, neither of these may be relevant. It could be that there is no Torah literature available about my particular situation, and although it is highly recommendable to consult da'as Torah, especially about bigger decisions, however, one can understand that it is not possible, nor necessarily recommended, to consult a Torah sage about every question that arises throughout my day. So, what, then, am I to do to make my maximum effort to pass the test and succeed in choosing what Hashem truly wants me to choose? We all understand that we, as human beings, are susceptible to making mistakes. All of us will quickly realize that throughout our lives, there have been times that we have made mistakes. So, both when making small decisions, and especially big decisions that could impact our lives dramatically depending on which side of the coin we choose, how can we feel confident when making our decisions that we are following Hashem's perspective?  Using my own mind and logic, what makes sense to me, might be ultimately what I have to do just to try my best to make the best decision within my limited capability and capacity that Hashem has given me. But it is important to highlight that we are human beings that are susceptible to mistakes. And many times, we follow certain decisions not because they are necessarily objectively correct, but rather because we have a certain preference for why we would like things to move in that direction. The only perspective that can be the absolute correct perspective is Hashem's perspective.

HaShem created the world in order that we have the opportunity to pass the tests that He presents us, and by doing so, earning our place in the next world. We've discussed that sometimes, when making decisions, it would be appropriate to look at Torah literature that is relevant to our circumstance, if that is applicable in this situation. And at the same time, many times, taking Daas Torah, seeking guidance from Torah sages, is one of the basic foundations of the Torah's perspective in making decisions. If we are to ask an individual who has not particularly thought about this question, how do you expect to find the right course of action in your life? Many would answer, HaShem has given me a brain, and I am expected to use that brain to make the right decisions. Although ultimately, after everything is said and done, that might be what we are supposed to do, it is worthwhile to point out that throughout the stories of the Torah, we find many cases of individuals that were completely righteous and nevertheless committed some of the most grave form of sins. One example is the episode of Korach in the Torah, who as taught by many Torah sources, was known to have been one of the most righteous individuals of the generation, and as taught by the sages, following his thought process, thinking he was making the right decisions sincerely for the sake of HaShem. Nevertheless, we see that in the end, his decision was completely mistaken and wrong, and had very dramatically negative consequences. And in the same vein, we find throughout Tanach many characters who were on a level of righteousness that we could only imagine and dream about, but nevertheless, at the end of the story, they landed up in places that we wouldn't even fathom about doing such sinful and evil acts. One example is a very great Torah sage and personality in the times of Shlomo HaMelech, Yeravam ben Nevat, who initially was a Torah sage of highest caliber, accompanied by his righteousness to levels that again we could only dream about, and at the end of the story, he managed to convince thousands and thousands of people to serve idols in the form of golden calves. Even though we have a well-known episode in the Torah itself outlining to us explicitly what a serious prohibition that is, but based on clever and logical reasoning that he explained why what he was doing was really the will of HaShem, he was led down this mistaken and sinful path. And again, we find many examples throughout the Torah and Tanach and throughout Jewish history of people who were sincerely trying to do the right thing, living lives of righteousness beyond anything we can imagine, and nevertheless were led astray based on following their own logic and thought process and ideas of their own which eventually brought them to places of tremendous sin and gravely severe consequences. So that being the case, how can I be confident that I am not making a mistake in what seems logical to me and my thought process, knowing that I am certainly not as righteous as many of those characters that made mistakes throughout Torah literature? It would seem very worthwhile to humble ourselves, to realize that I am limited by my human nature and my human limitations, and we should also remind ourselves that it very well could be that the reason my mind and heart are guiding me to take a certain course of action and make this particular decision is because I have a vested interest in doing so, and not necessarily because this would ideally be the will of HaShem. Again, if it would be something obvious as to what would be the right course of action, for many of us, we would make the right decision, but much of the time it is not obvious as to what HaShem would want from us. So how are we to find HaShem's perspective, the only absolutely true perspective?