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 fulfilling 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. The 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 simcha, 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 greater 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 simcha, 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 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."

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 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.”

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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."

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 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."

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 mitzvos 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 mitzvos 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 man 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 man 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 mann. 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.

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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."

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."

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 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."

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."

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 know that the Torah sources refer to Hashem and the Torah as one. One of the most potent things that we can do in our endeavor to connect to Hashem is to learn Torah. The Gemara, as outlined by the Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewish Law, also teaches us that even if one does not have this high motive of just connecting to Hashem and learning the Torah just because He commanded us to, even if one is learning for some personal motive to some degree, for example, one feels that they will receive more honor from other people if they know more Torah, or for whatever other similar personal agenda, nevertheless, we are still encouraged to learn the Torah even for the wrong reason, because eventually we will come to learning the Torah for the right reason.   Of course, ideally, we aim to learn the Torah for the absolute right reason, just to connect to Hashem. I once came across a great analogy that helps digest this concept. There was an individual who bought a microwave oven from an electronic store. Before leaving the store, the individual asked the store owner to please give him a good overview of how to work this microwave with all its details. After his crash course, the microwave was packed away in the box and the individual went home. When he pulled out the microwave, he started doing exactly what the shop owner had showed him, but nevertheless, he could not get the microwave to work. Because of that, he returned to the store and said to the store owner, I don't understand. I am doing everything you told me, but I can't get this microwave to work. There must be a fault in the machine. And the store owner says to him, “please show me what you're doing, and let's try work it out”. So, the man touches all the buttons to make the microwave work, and he does everything right, but it still doesn't work. And the store owner says, you've done everything right, but you've just forgotten one thing: You forgot to plug in the machine.   When we learn Torah, even if we are not plugged in in that connection with Hashem, we are still advised to learn the Torah because the potency of Torah is so strong that eventually it will lead us to be able to be plugged in and connect to Hashem in the right way. However, even today, we can all make our effort to bridge that gap of Torah learning and connection with Hashem, and again, the answer to all questions and the solution to all problems. We all have the opportunity to talk to Hashem. In fact, there is a prescribed prayer that the Halacha outlines for us to say before we learn Torah and after we learn Torah. And in that prayer, we pray to Hashem for success in our Torah learning beforehand, and we thank Hashem thereafter for the Torah learning and success that He gave us in our Torah endeavor.   In addition to those prescribed prayers, we all have the opportunity on a constant basis to say, “Master of the universe, Hashem, my Father, I am currently about to learn Torah. I am going to try my best to understand the wisdom in Your true perspective, in the only true perspective that exists. But Hashem, I ask You, sometimes I get involved in the technical details, which I am supposed to, because that is the mitzvah of Torah learning. But Hashem, sometimes it's difficult to bridge the gap and feel a strong connection to You, as if we're bonding together as a result of my Torah learning. Please, Hashem, help me to be plugged in. Help me to really and truly connect to You and feel that connection to You whilst I am learning Your Torah.“ What a privilege we each have on a constant basis to learn Hashem's Torah and to connect with 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.

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.

I acknowledge that Hashem's perspective is the only true perspective. Hashem teaches us in the Torah that one of the greatest activities to be involved in is Torah learning. The value of Torah learning is equal to the value of all 613 mitzvahs put together. For many people, although one might see the incredible value of Torah learning, however due to our other commitments, many of us have a very limited amount of time to involve ourselves on a daily basis towards Torah learning.   Step number one to remember is that when we meet our Creator one day, as the Gemara tells us that one of the very first questions we will be asked relates to our Torah learning. The question will not be, show me and tell me exactly what you learnt. To help us understand this idea better, it's worth mentioning an idea discussed by the Torah commentaries. We know that all Jews are commanded to keep all of the 613 mitzvahs, and the question that the Torah commentaries ask is, we know that some of the mitzvos are specifically related to men - that women will not be able to fulfill, and likewise the other way around - some of the mitzvos are related to women that men cannot fulfill. And in the same way, in order to perform certain mitzvos, one needs to be a kohen, and if one is not a kohen, one can never perform that mitzvah, and in the same way, many of the mitzvos can only be performed whilst the Temple - the Beis Hamikdash, is in our midst, whereas today, when the Beis Hamikdash has been destroyed, those mitzvos can no longer be fulfilled. So, the list of 613 is actually much smaller today.   So, the Torah commentaries ask, how then can we be commanded to fulfill all 613 mitzvahs, when in essence, many of those mitzvos cannot be fulfilled on a personal basis? And the answer the Torah commentaries give is that every mitzvah is comprised of two parts. You cannot perform a mitzvah unless you learn how to perform that mitzvah. So, the first part of each mitzvah is to learn about that mitzvah and its details. The second part of each mitzvah is taking that information that one knows, and actually practically going ahead and fulfilling that mitzvah. So, for many of the mitzvos that we do have the opportunity to fulfill in a practical way, even today, we are privileged to be able to fulfill both components of the mitzvah. A: To learn about it; and B: To actually practically perform it.   However, the Torah commentaries explain that for those mitzvos that we are unable to perform in a practical way, nevertheless, we can still fulfill the first part of the mitzvah - to learn about the mitzvah, and by doing so, we are showing Hashem our desire to perform the mitzvah even though we are unable to perform that mitzvah in a practical way. This is a very powerful idea that we can also bring into the concept of Torah learning. Of course, the ideal would be to be involved in Torah learning 24-7, because again, this is the holiest endeavor in the true perspective in Hashem's books. However, for most of us that do not have the opportunity to be exclusively involved in Torah learning 24-7, we nevertheless can express our desire to Hashem in our personal words.   “Master of the Universe, thank you for the privilege to learn Torah. I am so grateful for the time that you have given me on a daily basis to be able to learn some of your Torah. Thank you so much, Hashem, for giving me that opportunity. At the same time, Hashem, I'm trying to internalize that Torah learning is so valuable and precious, and I would so appreciate if you could give me more time. And I know that you can do anything, Hashem, because you are the Master of the Universe. You are the one who can take care of my commitments and help alleviate some time, that I should have more time on a daily basis in order to learn your Torah. Please, Hashem, my desire is to have more and more time to learn your Torah.” Although we may not have that time available, the true question we will be asked after 120 years is “did you desire with all your heart to make your maximum effort to learn 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 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.

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.”

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 mitzvahs, 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 this 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

As the festival of Chanukah comes to its culmination, let us remind ourselves of what the Ramban writes about open miracles, that although usually the world operates under the veil of nature, however when Hashem performs open miracles, one of the main objectives is to give us the opportunity to derive inspiration and motivate us to living lives according to the values of emunah and bitachon - that ultimately every single moment of our lives, although they might appear to be moving according to the laws of nature, are actually being orchestrated directly and personally from Hashem Himself.  We discussed of what Rav Yosef Albo in the Sefer Ha'ikarim writes, that the opportunity to rely on Hashem and reach out to Hashem for help, as opposed to going to a different address, is part of the laws of nature of how Hashem made the world operate. If one chooses to rely on Hashem, Hashem will come through, and in the words of Rav Yosef Albo, just like we know the sun is expected to rise tomorrow, to the same extent if I rely on Hashem, I can expect that He will come through for me. Although on the one hand, when we take to heart the miracles of Chanukah, it can be inspiring and motivating to live our lives according to the values of emunah and bitachon, however on the other hand, it can sometimes be disheartening when we bring to mind those miracles, because after all is said and done, most of us in today's day and age do not experience such outright miracles. Does that mean, perhaps, that the opportunity to have emunah and bitachon is only available to super-righteous individuals, and maybe it's not applicable to me?  There could be many reasons why in general Hashem wants the world to work under the veil of nature. One reason that many commentaries mention is to give us the opportunity to have emunah and bitachon, and believe, specifically when we aren't able to understand why He is doing what He is doing. But as discussed, there are times where Hashem decides to come through in a more apparent way, sometimes in an outright miraculous manner, such as in the episode of Chanukah, and at other times perhaps more relevant to each one of us, although it might not be in an absolute outright miraculous manner, but there are times where we might make a prayer and see Hashem come through for us in the way we requested, and the like.  One might say, "okay, I understand, Hashem certainly does exist and runs every detail of the world, and certainly He can do miracles and break the laws of nature, because ultimately He created nature and runs every detail of the world. But that's very nice for people who have reached a high level of righteousness. But what about me? How is this applicable to me? Why would Hashem come through for me in my life? Perhaps I've even committed many sins." Let us remind ourselves of one of the most fundamental, but sometimes most misunderstood principles when it comes to bitachon. The opportunity to have bitachon and rely on Hashem is completely independent of our actions. As the Ramban in his sefer Emunah Bitachon, explains, the verse states, Betach b'Hashem va'aseh tov, trust in Hashem and do good. The Ramban points out that the verse specifically states, "trust in Hashem" first, to teach us that one is able to trust in Hashem independent of our actions. And this idea that anyone, regardless of our spiritual scorecard, is able to trust in Hashem is brought down by countless Torah sources, from the Midrash to the Rishonim such as Ramban and Rabbeinu Yonah, all the way down to the later authorities such as the Chofetz Chaim in Nefutzos Yisrael, chapter 8, who state that even if a person does not have merits and might even be classified as a rasha, an evil individual, just like the sun rises in the morning, the opportunity to have bitachon is available to every one of us. And if we practice our reliance on Hashem, Hashem will come through for us.  "Hashem, my Father, as we come to the culmination of Chanukah, these holy days that You've granted us, please will You bless me and help me not to fall into the trap of those that trust and rely on other individuals, because as we learn from the Chovos HaLevavos, when one does so, I actually become under their auspices. Whereas, when I choose to rely on You, You will come through for me, and it is completely independent of my spiritual level. This act of relying on You will be the greatest asset that I can have, both in this world as well as for my eternal reward in the next world."

We've been discussing how Chanukah is a tremendous opportunity to springboard a boost in our emunah and bitachon endeavor. Although most of us are not on the level to experience outright open miracles like we experienced during Chanukah, however, when we fulfill the mitzvos of Chanukah and give ourselves an opportunity to contemplate on the reason why we're lighting the Chanukah candles, that we're commemorating the outright miracles Hashem performed for us, be it the oil that burned for much longer than any of the laws of nature would dictate, or be it the unprecedented victory of just a handful of people against a large army - one of the main take-homes of these episodes, and one of our focuses during Chanukah, should be the basic conclusion that many Torah sources teach: bitachon works. It is not something that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. When one relies on Hashem, it works.  In the words of one of the Rishonim, Rav Yosef Albo, in his Sefer Haikarim, he writes that just like we are sure that the sun will rise tomorrow, to the same extent one can be sure that if you rely on Hashem, He will come through for you. The only qualification to this rule is like the verse in Ashrei teaches, that Hashem is close to all who call out to Him, as long as they call out sincerely. One level of having bitachon is to say, "of course I rely on Hashem and He is my address to go to, however, I have a back-up plan in case Hashem doesn't come through for me." Although it is commendable that one is including Hashem in the picture, however, this is certainly far from the ultimate bitachon. As the Chovos Halevavos writes to the introduction of his Sefer, that when a person places their trust in another individual or circumstance, Hashem actually removes His own providence from that individual and places them in the hands of whoever they are relying on, or whatever circumstance they might think they are bound by.  This is a frighteningly powerful statement. On the one hand, it is clear from countless Torah sources, that when one truly places their trust in Hashem, Hashem will come through for them. And as Rav Yosef Albo in the Sefer Haikkarim taught us, this is a basic equation: Just like Hashem placed it in the laws of nature for the sun to rise in the morning, so too, if one relies on Hashem, Hashem will come through for them. However, on the other side of the spectrum, the Chovos Halevavos is teaching us another principle of how Hashem operates in this world - that if one does choose to rely on another individual or circumstance, then Hashem removes Himself from the situation, and I become bound to the control of this individual or situation that I am relying on.  And of course, there are many levels between these two extremes. Sometimes we rely on Hashem, but at the back of our mind, we have a backup plan in case Hashem doesn't really come through for us. And although that is commendable that we are relying on Hashem to some degree, however, because we are not doing so to its full degree, we then become in the hands of other individuals or circumstances to some degree. The tremendous miracles of Chanukah are teaching us that yes, although we have a mitzvah to make our effort to do our hishtadlus in the world, however, a step before that is to take to heart, without a shadow of a doubt, that Hashem exclusively is orchestrating every single detail in my life. And the more I will choose to rely on Hashem, the more He will come through for me, and the less I will choose to rely on other people and circumstances, the less I will be bound by their auspices. "Hashem, my Father, as we approach this final day of Chanukah, please can You help me to truly place my trust in You, to the extent that I really internalize that anything and everything that happens in my life is completely from You, and I have the constant opportunity to reach out to You exclusively and rely on You. And Hashem, You've taught me in Your Torah sources that if I rely on You exclusively, that is the time specifically that You will come through for me. Hashem, it's difficult in this world, because the way the natural world looks, it seems like I'm dependent on people and circumstances. But the scary thing is, that when I do depend on them, You actually put me in their hands, as the Chovos Halevavos has taught us. Please Hashem, help me to not rely on anyone nor anything except for You exclusively."

The incredible miracles of Chanukah serve to inspire us throughout our lives, that just like Hashem performed miracles against all the laws of nature, such as causing oil to burn for much longer than anything nature would allow, as well as causing a handful of people to win a war completely against any and all of the laws that nature can dictate, when we make an effort to internalize these miracles, it can serve as a tremendous springboard to inspire us throughout our lives and remind ourselves of what we've learned countless times from so many Torah sources: Our purpose in this world is to excel in our emunah endeavor. And what it means to have emunah is specifically to believe when I don't see and I am not able to understand the reason why things are happening. Throughout my life, usually, things play according to the laws of nature. But our job is to constantly make an effort to find Hashem through the natural occurrences and taking to heart the miracles of Chanukah can serve as a tremendous springboard to be able to live our lives according to those values.  Just like Hashem has blessed us with these holy days that serve to inspire us throughout the rest of our lives, that all of nature in essence is an outright miracle, and the same Hashem who caused the mann, the miraculous food that fell from the heavens for the Jewish people during their journey in the desert, is the exact same Hashem who provides for our paranosah today; and the same Hashem who split the sea for the Jewish people when they were surrounded by danger from all their sides and had nowhere to escape, is the same Hashem who has saved us in our personal lives so many times in so many ways. There are people that die daily in car accidents. How many times have I been in a car without having an accident? If we open our eyes, we will see that our life is full of constant miracles of how Hashem comes through for us, but again, our job is to find Hashem in the course of nature.  Without the emunah mindset, one's thought process might be, "yes, although I didn't have a car accident today, however, most people in the world do not die daily in car accidents. Although it does happen to some people sometimes, however, why should I expect that that should be something that could transpire to me, and therefore why should I necessarily be appreciative about that fact?" Whereas when we are able to look past the veil of nature and realize that just like Hashem was the One who so apparently and obviously was our Savior when we were surrounded by danger from all sides and split the sea in a way that there was no question that Hashem was the only One who could do that, and there was no nature to attribute that miracle to, similarly, when we go through a day without a car accident, or the other million miracles that we experience on a daily basis, our job is to link those happenings to Hashem's doing as opposed to just assuming that that is the course of nature, God forbid, excluding Hashem from our lives.  Many people have experienced Hashem coming through for them in their lives in one way or another. Although usually in our times this is not in an apparently obvious and miraculous manner, however countless people have told their experiences of having seen Hashem come through for them in their lives. When a person prays to Hashem for a new business opportunity and it just so happens that a couple days or perhaps even hours later one receives a call from another individual with a new opportunity, or perhaps one is just looking for a parking spot, and just as one makes that prayer and asks Hashem to help them, it just so happens that someone is leaving just then, making the spot available. If we are just to open our eyes, we will quickly see that Hashem is everywhere and we can constantly witness Him under the veil of nature on a moment-to-moment basis. Our job is to open our eyes and through these days of Chanukah we have a special power and energy to internalize that ultimately every single moment of our lives is an outright miracle.

We are so privileged to be able to experience another one of these holy days of Chanukah. Besides the miracle of the oil, which we commemorate with the lighting of the Chanukah candles, where the amount of oil which was only supposed to last for one day, against all the laws of nature, lasted for eight days, again clearly showing that although usually the world seems to run according to the laws and course of nature, however, as the Ramban at the end of Parashat Bo, that we've discussed many times, points out that the reason Hashem performs these outright miracles is in order to inspire and motivate us for the times when Hashem is hidden under the veil of nature, to teach us that there's no such thing ultimately as nature, that ein od milvado, there is nothing else in the world that exists except for Hashem - there is no force or power or individual or circumstance that can dictate even slightly what will occur in my life, except for Hashem exclusively, and as outlined in the Rambam's principles of faith, "vehu levado" - Hashem exclusively, meaning without the help of any individual runs every single detail of nature. And as we've discussed previously, although we do have a mitzvah to make our own efforts throughout life, however, it is so important to never fall into the trap of believing even slightly that my efforts are what cause my successes, because as we've discussed, that could borderline on the tremendously grave sin of idol worship, where I believe that there is some power outside of Hashem, God forbid, and the tremendous miracle of Hanukkah is coming to teach us that just like Hashem is able to come and take oil and make it miraculously burn much longer than it is supposed to according to the laws of nature, so too any and every occurrence throughout our lives are ultimately miracles that Hashem is orchestrating every single moment.  Besides the miracle of the oil on Chanukah, the other tremendous miracle that we commemorate is the war that transpired, which according to the laws of nature, logic and statistics would make anybody laugh at the absurdity of such an attempt. We are taught that it was only a handful of people that decided to take on an entire huge and powerful army. Just imagine in our times, ten people would get together and say, "we are now going to take on this mission to go and destroy our enemy and the entire army of thousands and thousands of people." Besides the fact that we are completely, absurdly outnumbered, we also have very little military training, whereas they, on the other hand, are elite soldiers. If one were to try to take on such a task today, this would be seen as a complete absurdity, and although we do have a mitzvah to not rely on outright miracles, and we are certainly not permitted to put ourselves in dangerous situations, however, we are also to be so careful to never ever fall to the side of Avodah Zarah, believing that the world can only work according to the laws of nature. Because let us remind ourselves, this is the purpose of the world, to test us in emunah, in our belief, where the world is going to appear like it runs according to the laws of nature, but in truth, there is only Hashem pulling every single string. And when we look at the Chanukah candles and remind ourselves of the miracles that took place on Chanukah, and we meditate on the fact that there was only a few people who decided that they were going to rely on Hashem to such a degree that He would help them in a complete unnatural manner, because they had no other choice, and He would help the handful of them to wipe out an entire army, something completely against all the laws of nature, logic, and statistics, when we take this to heart, this can be a tremendous springboard for motivation and inspiration throughout any endeavor we might be dealing with in our lives, to remind ourselves that ein od milvado, that although usually Hashem does opt to work through the laws of nature, however, in truth, there is nothing whatsoever in the world except for Hashem.

What an incredible opportunity to wake up to another one of these holy days of Chanukah. Besides the tremendous mitzvah we have to light the Chanukah candles, one of the core focuses of Chanukah is "Lehodos Ulehallel" - to express our gratitude and praise to Hashem. And as Torah Commentaries outline, it is a tremendously opportune time and place if one is able to do so specifically by the Chanukah candles. "Hashem, thank You so much during the year for giving me the opportunity to believe in You. And as You've taught us from many Torah sources, that believing means specifically taking that leap of faith when I am not able to see and understand Your ways. Because although the Torah is replete with passages along the lines of "Ein Od Milvado" - that You, Hashem, exclusively orchestrate every single detail in my life and in everyone's lives, and there is no such thing as the course of nature and the normal way of the world, however, at the same time, usually throughout the year, You want me to live in a world where You are hidden behind the veil of nature, and my job is to try my best to find You through everything I'm doing. Because again, the point of my existence and my ultimate ticket to eternal pleasure in the next world, as outlined by many Torah sources, is to excel to my maximum degree in my Emunah and Bitachon endeavor, and specifically to believe when I don't understand. Whilst at the same time, thank You so much, Hashem, for giving us those opportunities where we do see You loud and clear in our lives. Because when that occurs, it gives me tremendous inspiration and motivation to be able to see through the veil of nature, throughout the year, when You are hidden.  Hashem, I'd like to just take a few moments now, whilst I have the opportunity, standing by these holy Chanukah candles, to look into my own personal life and appreciate and thank You for all the tremendous ways You've come through for me. Thank You, Hashem, so much for the gift of my health, the ability to breathe without struggle, the fact that I can see, and the fact that so much of the time I experience life without physical pain and suffering. Hashem, thank You so much for the gift to be able to have family, as well as the friends that You've given me, and the opportunity to share experiences together. Thank You so much, Hashem, for providing me from day one of my life, right up until today. Although there might have been times of struggle, and again, that You did for me also for good reasons, to help me grow in my endeavor of emunah and bitachon, however, at the end of the day, You have provided for me since day one, right up until today.  Thank You so much, Hashem, for the opportunity to be involved in a life where I am aware that my main purpose is to develop my emunah and bitachon. Thank You so much, Hashem, for sharing with us Your incredible Torah sources that allow us to grow in this tremendous endeavor. Hashem, I want to thank You deeply for all those times of challenge in my life, because I know that You love me and You created me just to give me good. And if You're sending me a challenge, it's only because You're giving me an opportunity to be able to believe that everything that You do is for the best. When I'm struggling with the pain and suffering of this illness that You've sent me, after contemplating on the fact a little bit, I've realized, Hashem, that You would only send me this out of Your love, because again, that's the only reason that You created the world, to share Your goodness with me.  And although there can be many reasons which are beyond my understanding, but one reason which I know is certainly applicable to me and objectively applicable to all of us, is that by sending me these times of darkness and suffering, You are thereby giving me a chance to practice my emunah and bitachon, that everything that happens is directly orchestrated from You, and You would only send me what is best for me. And similarly, thank You so much, Hashem, for all those times in my life that although I might not have experienced outright miracles, similar to the splitting of the sea or the miracle of the oil on Chanukah, however, I have certainly at times noticed Your divine providence in my life, and those times are certainly springboards of motivation and inspiration for me to live my life according to the values of emunah and bitachon. Thank You so much, Hashem, for these holy and incredible days of Chanukah."

What a tremendous privilege to be able to experience another day of these tremendous holy days of Chanukah. As the well-known Ramban at the end of Parashat Bo mentions: although usually Hashem decides to operate according to the laws of nature, however, at times Hashem decides to break the laws of nature in order to teach us and inspire us that ultimately, the laws of nature are Hashem Himself hiding behind the normal way of the world, giving us the opportunity to believe that Hashem is truly pulling all the strings, and therefore, although in times of old the world was also operating according to the regular laws of nature, however, when it came to the time of the exodus from Egypt, Hashem decided to break all of the laws, turning water into blood, as well as all the other miraculous plagues in Egypt, and culminating with the miraculous event of the splitting of the sea.  And as the Midrashim teach, not only did the waters of the sea split, but in fact, all water at all parts of the world split. Can you imagine for a moment: somebody's having a glass of water, and in an apparently obvious miraculous manner, the water in my cup splits. And when I find out that that happened to everyone in the world, and it was a clear miraculous occurrence, there is then no way to deny the fact that Hashem caused that miracle to occur. And in a sense, although witnessing such an experience is truly awesome, seeing the workings of Hashem so vividly clear, and not having the test of having to try to find Hashem through the veil of nature, however, in a sense, there is no opportunity to believe when one experiences such a miraculous occurrence, because I can see the workings of Hashem loud and clear, and that will certainly motivate me to follow the course of Emunah and Bitachon, and reach out to Hashem about anything and everything, follow His mitzvos with all their intricacies, whether I understand or not, and everything else that a life of Emunah and Bitachon leads to.  Because after witnessing such a miracle, I am living now on the inspiration that it is absolutely clear that Hashem runs every detail in the world. However, as mentioned many times, the Ramban in the same passage at the end of Parashat Bo writes that our ultimate focus and purpose in this world is Emunah, and in fact, there is no other reason that Hashem created the world in the first place, except for giving us the opportunity to express our Emunah. And as the Vilna Goan and many others that we've discussed mention, the purpose of all the mitzvos is to come to having Emunah in Hashem. And that being the case, usually Hashem wants the world to operate in a manner that He is hidden under the veil of nature, and if we do not make an active effort trying to find Him, we will just see nature, and we will not see Hashem. But Hashem in His great wisdom also understood that at certain times, in order to give us motivation and inspiration, He needed to reveal Himself in a more obvious, apparent way, so that thereafter when He goes back into hiding, we can live off the inspiration and motivation that we gained through those moments. One of the main purposes behind lighting the Chanukah candles is in order to publicize the miracle that Hashem broke the laws of nature and caused the amount of oil which usually burns for only one day, to burn for all eight days. Most of the days that we live throughout our lives are not outright miracle days, however much of the fuel that we are able to gain to drive our lives according to the values of Emunah and Bitachon, can and should be derived from these above-nature experiences. What a tremendous opportunity we all have to fulfill the incredible mitzvah of lighting the Chanukah candles. And similarly, what a tremendous opportunity we all have to perhaps spend a little bit of time talking to Hashem around the Chanukah candles, digesting and appreciating the tremendous miracles that Hashem brought about for us during these holy days. And b'ezrat Hashem by doing so, that can be a tremendous springboard for us to take leaps in our journey of Emunah and Bitachon.

We are so privileged to currently be experiencing these eight powerful days of spiritual dynamite. Although usually throughout the year, we certainly are called on to make our maximum effort to grow in our emunah and bitachon, and as many Torah authorities outlined to us, such as the Mesillas Yesharim at the beginning of his book - that the purpose of life is to give us an opportunity to overcome the tests that Hashem sends us.  And in many ways, we are called on to view life as if it were in our own hands, of course, always according to the values of Emunah, such as reaching out to Hashem and asking Him for help, but again, assuming that it is our responsibility to do whatever we can from our side within our maximum capacity to overcome the tests and challenges that Hashem sends us, which are ultimately opportunities to reach our maximum potential for our eternal reward b'ezrat Hashem.  However, at the same time, these opportune moments that we have at different times of the year, where Hashem imbues a certain holiness, where the opportunity for connection is all that much more stronger; let us capitalize on the tremendous opportunity we have during these holy days of Chanukah, where the potential for closer connection with Hashem and for a tremendous boost in Emunah and Bitachon is available to every single one of us. On Chanukah, we express our gratitude to Hashem, celebrating the tremendous miracles that He performed for us in times of old. We have the tremendous opportunity to perform the mitzvah of lighting the Chanukah candles, which ultimately commemorates the miracle which transpired in the Chanukah story. We know that the menorah in the Beis Hamikdash needed oil to be able to be kindled from. And when the Greek enemy destroyed the Beis Hamikdash, when the Jewish people came back and discovered just one jar of oil that was available to kindle the menorah, a miracle transpired and the oil, which was supposed to last for only one day, continued to burn for an entire eight days, an outright miracle.  The message of Chanukah is coming to teach us what we are really trying to work on throughout the year - Emunah and Bittachon - that Hashem exclusively orchestrates every single detail in every single one of our lives. Yes, usually, for whatever reason, Hashem does not decide to come through for us via the means of outright miracles, but He usually rather opts to work through the course of nature; but as the famous Ramban at the end of Parashat Bo teaches: just like Hashem is the One who is able to break nature and go against the usual order of the way the world operates, such as by splitting the sea, causing the miraculous plagues to appear in Egypt, and by extension, when Hashem performs these outright miracles, such as when Hashem caused the oil, which is only supposed to last for one day, to be able to burn for the entire eight days - this is a tremendous opportunity for us to inculcate Hashem's perspective, the only true perspective, the Emunah and Bitachon perspective, that although yes, we are usually called on to work within the laws of nature and to make our maximum effort, as if we are in control, to do the best that we can, however at the end of the day we are never to forget, even slightly, that Hashem exclusively orchestrates every single detail in every single one of our lives.  Just like Hashem was the One to change nature in the past and split the sea, bring about the plagues in Egypt, and more relevant to our times right now, to cause the oil to burn no shorter than eight times longer than it is supposed to according to the laws of nature, the message of Chanukah is coming to teach us that the laws of nature is just Hashem hiding within the normal way that the world operates, giving us the opportunity to look under the veil of nature and acknowledge that ein od milvado - there is nothing in the world except for Hashem.

The first part of Emunah that we've been focusing on and discussing is making our maximum effort to build our belief in Hashem, believing specifically when we don't understand and we can't necessarily make logical sense of many of the happenings in our lives, but nevertheless we are called on to believe that everything Hashem does is for our best; that all the mitzvos with all their precise intricacies have a very specific reason and are to be treated with utmost importance; that when we feel feelings of anxiety and worry, as the verse teaches, we have the opportunity and are called on to take refuge in Hashem and turn to Hashem for our salvation.  And as we've discussed, there are many levels in what it means to do so. Although it is already a tremendously significant achievement when one has acknowledged and internalized to even a very minor degree that Hashem does exist, and therefore when I am experiencing some sort of trouble in my life, I do turn to Hashem, even if it is only for a few seconds or a few moments, instead of trying to go and find my own solutions, if I turn to Hashem and acknowledge that He is the one that can help me, that is a tremendous achievement. However, as we've discussed, there are many levels as to what it means to rely on Hashem. The more we grow in our Emunah and Bitachon, the more we will be inclined to turn to Hashem. And as we've discussed many times, Emunah is our life's work. And although we are certainly called on to make our maximum effort in achieving our life's purpose, in growing in our Emunah, and one of the main ways we can exercise that effort is by exposing ourselves to what the Torah, the only true perspective, Hashem's perspective, has to teach about Emunah and Bitachon, thereby trying to incorporate those concepts more and more into our lives on a daily basis, at the same time, we have learned many times that Hashem only expects from every single one of us to make our maximum effort. Everyone has a different story, a different background, and many other factors that make up who we are. And certainly it is not our place and we cannot tell about the success levels of Emunah of one another. Our only focus is to make our maximum effort in our own lives to grow as much as we can, just a little bit more every day, to have that little bit more Emunah and that little bit more Bittachon. Although on the one hand, throughout the year we are certainly called on to do our best in making an active and practical effort to grow in our Emunah, be it by learning Torah sources, seeking daily inspiration, asking Hashem in our own words to help us with our Emunah and Bitachon endeavor, and the like, at the same time, however, there are certain times and places that our opportunity to connect with Hashem and have an Emunah and Bitachon boost are stronger than other times and places. A basic fundamental to the Torah and to Judaism is that Hashem fills every single space of the world that we live in, and certainly Hashem hears us, whatever part of the world we might be in, as well as whatever time of year it might be. However, we are also taught that the opportunity for this connection is more potent at certain auspicious times and holy places.  Although we all have the constant opportunity to talk to Hashem from our own homes, and we should certainly capitalize on that opportunity, b'ezrat Hashem soon when the Beis Hamikdash will be rebuilt and we will have the opportunity to come to the holy land of Eretz Yisrael and go to the Beis Hamikdash, there is no question that the opportunity for closer connection to Hashem will be all that more potent inside the Beis Hamikdash.  The way I once heard this concept explained can be compared to Wi-Fi connection. The whole world is within Hashem's Wi-Fi vicinity, and there is no question that we are connected, wherever we are, whenever it might be. However, there are certain spots that the Wi-Fi connection is particularly strong, and the connection is therefore faster, more efficient, and the like. And similarly, when it comes to our connection to Hashem, there are certain times that our opportunity for connection has a tremendous boost. We are about to enter the holy days of Chanukah, eight unique days that have a tremendously electric energy in terms of the opportunity of our connecting to Hashem and building our emunah and bitachon. May we all merit to capitalize on the tremendous opportunity we have to boost our emunah and bitachon and connection with Hashem throughout the eight holy days of Chanukah.

Let us remind ourselves, the only reason Hashem created the world was in order to share His goodness with every single one of us, and therefore anything that ever transpires throughout our lives can only be for our ultimate benefit. And at the same time, let us remind ourselves that we are taught that our main focus in this world, ultimately the foundation of the whole Torah and all the mitzvos, is to practice emunah, belief, specifically when I don't understand, to believe. Hashem designed the world in a way that everything is conducive for an opportunity to believe. So although we are taught from all the Torah sources unanimously that ultimately Hashem created the world only to give to us, only to be good to us, however, Hashem made the world operate in a way that many times it can seem like bad things are happening to us, thereby giving us an opportunity to be able to exercise our emunah, our belief; although I seem to see what appears to be bad, however, I am going to make an effort to believe and have emunah that the only reason Hashem is doing this is in order to give me an opportunity to choose to believe in what He's taught me, in His Torah sources, which is ultimately the only true perspective, Hashem's perspective, that absolutely anything and everything that transpires throughout my life can only be for my good. We ought to constantly remind ourselves about what the Mishnah states, which is ultimately coded in the Shulchan Aruch. חייב אדם לברך על הראה כשם שמברך על הטובה - that a person is obligated to bless Hashem for the seemingly bad times in the same way that one would bless Hashem for the seemingly good times. We know that in halacha there are certain blessings prescribed to the birth of children and in the same way there are certain blessings prescribed to when one experiences the death of a family member. And we also have certain blessings prescribed in halacha when one receives a large amount of money or an item of substantial value and in the same way when one loses a large amount of money there is a blessing outlined.  And ultimately as we've learnt many times, this stems from the fact that we ought to believe that everything that transpires throughout our lives is directly orchestrated from Hashem and can only be for our best because that is why He created us. But again our job is to believe that when other factors seem to indicate the opposite. There are many great sages and Torah sources that outline the benefits of fulfilling this law where we bless and thank Hashem for not only the things we perceive as good but also for the things we perceive as challenges and tragedy. The main student of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in his book Likutei Halachot writes the following: "If everyone would constantly give thanks and praise to Hashem whether under good circumstances or not, then surely all the troubles and all the exiles would be completely nullified and the complete redemption would take place." There are many Torah passages outlined by many great sages along similar lines. What we are learning here is that of course by thanking Hashem and being grateful for even the challenges throughout our lives, the ultimate benefit is that we are fulfilling our purpose in this world to have emunah, but an additional fringe benefit is that by choosing to be grateful and thank Hashem for what we perceive as challenges and say, "Hashem you know the fact that I lost all this money it is so hard for me and it hurts me but if that is what you sent me I have no doubt that this is the best thing in the world. Thank you so much Hashem for making me lose one million dollars in this crazy transaction that took place. Although this is such a huge blow to me and I have no idea how I am going to come out of this, I am going to thank you with all my heart because Hashem if you created me and you sent me this situation and I trust that everything you do in the world is only for my best there is no question in the world that this too is for my best. Thank you so much Hashem for making me lose a million dollars." And as we are taught here, by doing so, one of the great fringe benefits is that that itself is the catalyst to turning the tragedy and challenge into a time of revealed blessing, a time where we perceive it as good. May we all merit to thank Hashem for all the things in our lives, for the things we perceive as good as well as the things we perceive as bad. And Im Yirtzeh Hashem, may we all merit to lives where we can perceive the goodness that Hashem is sending us at every moment throughout our lives.