Daily Bitachon

Welcome to the daily Bitachon . As we mentioned, this coming Rosh Hashanah is going to be on Shabbat , and therefore since we don't have the shofar , the year before we need to make sure we're on our best behavior on Shabbat , so with Hashem's help we'll be talking about Shabbat on Fridays.This week's parashah , coincidentally, Chayei Sarah , talks about the passing of Sarah and it talks about that when Rivka came into the tent, the miracles returned. What were the three miracles? Miracle number one was she lit the candles on Friday afternoon and lasted throughout the week. She, the bread that she made was warm all week and there was a cloud of the Shechinah on top of her tent.What is the significance of these three miracles? These three miracles have to do with the woman's three mitzvot , which all revolve around Shabbat . Hafrashat challah , which brought the blessing into the challah , you make challah for Shabbat . Lighting the candles, and the cloud that comes down which has to do with taharat hamishpacha , family purity, which brings the Shechinah upon the home. All of these three mitzvot of Shabbat that the lady has corresponds to certain articles in the Beit Hamikdash . The lighting of the candles corresponds to the menorah . The bread refers to the shulchan with the lechem hapanim , and the cloud upon the tent refers to the holy ark that had in it the two luchot that was where the Shechinah dwelled.And this brings us into an important concept that Shabbat has the aspect of Beit Hamikdash in time. That means it's not the place of the Beit Hamikdash , it's Beit Hamikdash in time. That's why in our Friday night prayers we say, הפורש סוכת שלום עלינו ועל ירושלים. There's a sukkah of peace that comes upon us and Yerushalayim . Yerushalayim is invoked on Friday night because on Friday night we're all in Yerushalayim , we're in the Beit Hamikdash . And many of our Shabbat activities correspond to Shabbat . And we'll give you some of them and maybe you'll think of some others on your own. First of all, we sing zemirot , like the Levi'im sang song. Second of all, we say kiddush on wine, like they poured the wine libations. Third of all, the minimum to wash your hands, minimum washing before Shabbat is wash your hands and feet like in the Beit Hamikdash where they washed their hands and their feet. We wear special clothing like the bigdei kehunah . We have incense, ketoret , in the Beit Hamikdash which is either symbolized by the custom to smell certain fragrances, specifically hadasim , or some say it refers to the smell of the food on Shabbat . כי מציון תצא תורה ודבר השם מירושלים. The Torah comes out of Tzion , it comes out of the Beit Hamikdash . The Sanhedrin was in the Beit Hamikdash , the high court, and therefore we say extra divrei Torah at the Shabbat table. Shabbat is called me'ein Olam Haba . Shabbat is a microcosm of the world to come. And it says so too when you enter the Beit Hamikdash , you felt you were in another world. That's why it's they said in the Beit Hamikdash , min ha'olam v'ad ha'olam , from this world to the next world. When they enter the Beit Hamikdash , you felt you were in another world. And that's so is Shabbat , the feeling of being in another world.And there's a beautiful concept that Rav Moshe Feinstein brings out from a personal experience. He walked into the Russian Embassy in New York and he was originally from Russia. And when he entered the embassy, he felt like he was in Russia. The clock was Russian, the tables were Russian, everything about the place was Russian. You felt like you were in Russia and even legally, if someone's born in the Russian embassy, they're Russian even though in America. The area of the embassy is culturally and legally like that nation. And so too he said that God's embassy on Earth is the Beit Hamikdash . When you walked into the Beit Hamikdash , you felt like you were in another world. You felt like you were in God's world and you were legally in God's world. There was no flies, there was no smell. All the wonders that existed in the Beit Hamikdash , you were in a different world, in a different zone. And in a certain way, on Shabbat we're also in a different world, we're also in a different zone, the world of me'ein Olam Haba , a microcosm of the world to come. And therefore, let's appreciate what goes on. Just like when you're by the Kotel and you're at the Beit Hamikdash , you act differently, you feel differently. So too Shabbat we have to realize we're in a zone. We're in the sanctuary of time, which is called Shabbat . And it's not just a nice allegorical comparison to a parable. As we stated, there are many real things that we do on Shabbat that correspond to the Beit Hamikdash . And I'm sure every... of them. The most obvious is Kiddush and the wine. The most obvious is the two challot , the Lechem Mishneh on the Shulchan . The candles are the Menorah . The Havdalah ceremony on Saturday night. These are all things that we do in our mini- Shabbat home experience of the sanctuary in time that we inherited from the Beit Hamikdash , and it's not a coincidence. It's a real connection. Let's talk about Kiddush on Friday night. Why do we make Kiddush on Friday night? First of all, the word Kiddush itself. What does it mean? When you say something is Kadosh , holy, Kodesh , it is dedicated and designated for a specific purpose. And that is what is called kedushah . So, the kedushat hayom , the sanctity of the day of Shabbat , we take a cup of wine, we make a L'chaim on it. Some people make a Shehecheyanu also on the wine, because it represents the joy of Shabbat . But we are making Kiddush . We are declaring the day holy. In fact, the word Kiddush is related to the word kiddushin , which is marriage. It's a special, unique relationship. We also know that there is such a thing as Kiddush Hashem , sanctifying God's name, or God forbid, Chal Shem Hashem , that we should not do which is the opposite, Chillul Hashem , which is the desecration of God's name. So the word Kiddush means to make something holy and special. In the Kodesh Kodashim , the Holy of Holies in the Beit Hamikdash , was a place where heaven and earth kissed. It's that special. Shabbat is that special time of the week. Now, where do we get this idea of Kiddush from? It's a pasuk in the Torah, and it actually appears twice. In the first Ten Commandments, the pasuk says, זכור את יום השבת לקדשו, remember the Shabbat day to make it holy, to sanctify it. And the second of the Ten Commandments, it says שמור את יום השבת לקדשו. Now, there's a famous story in the Mishnah of Shabbat , Perek Zayin , Mishnah Bet . The Gemara , the Amora'im , were discussing what's the best oneg, pleasure of Shabbat ? And one Amora , Reish Lakish , said chamra v'reichana . What's chamra v'reichana ? Chamra is wine. Reichana is beautiful smelling spices. So Reish Lakish said, Chamra v'reichana leisanei . These are the best for the enjoyment. We make a L'chaim , a Borei pri hagafen on the wine and Borei minei vesamim on the spices to enhance the joy of Shabbat .

Welcome to daily Bitachon as we continue in our trek through Shaar HaBechinah finding God in creation in the Chovot HaLevavot . And as the Chovot HaLevavot tells us, although God's goodness is all encompassing as it says Tov Hashem la'kol , yet most people are blind. The first reason for the blindness is I only see what I don't have, don't appreciate what I do have. The second reason is what we call hergel . It becomes habit and therefore it's mundane.Now Rav Wolbe writes that this concept of habit is extremely important. First of all, it's a gift. We'll call it the gift of automaticity. It's vital for life. You drive a car, if you remember when you first started driving, you're all tight to the wheel and turn it like they taught you in your training and driver's trainer to do it properly. A person, lo aleinu , that has a stroke, they have to teach him how to brush his teeth again. Life will become difficult if everything is heavy. God made it that things become automatic. And we need that for our religion as well. We say, ve'hargileinu be'Toratecha , get me habituated into doing your mitzvot . It's important. But it has a downside, because we stop thinking and we stop appreciating, and habit becomes nature.And as the Chazon Ish once said, the only difference between miracle and nature is nature is a miracle that keeps repeating itself. And the famous example is given that the generation of the desert, they had bread coming from heaven. Those that were born in the desert, that's all they saw. Bread comes from the heaven. They made a bracha , המוציא לחם מן השמים. God that gives us bread from the heavens. When they came into Eretz Yisrael , it was like a shock. I mean you put a seed in the ground, and the ground gives you food? How can the ground, this dirty, muddy ground produce food? Like, what's going on over here? And if we came outside of our doorstep one morning and there was a pile of bread that came from the heaven, we would be in shock like, what's going on over here? Bread from heaven? What's the point over here? Whatever you're used to becomes normal and it's accepted and it's taken for granted. You don't even notice anything. You walk down the street, trees are growing out of the ground. What in the world? How do trees come out of the ground? It's a hard wood and it's coming out of this soft mud. What is going on over here? But we're used to it.And the Chovot HaLevavot brings down one of his favorite, famous mashals of contrasting a child that was raised in a home versus someone that was a captive and redeemed in his 20s. A child that's raised at home, or for that matter, he actually says a child that was picked up from the side of the street and raised by parents, it's the same parents that raise you. And this child was, everything was done for them: fed, clothing, housing, schooling, hobbies, whatever you want. On the other hand, we have a man that was taken captive as age 20 and the Israeli defense force comes in and saves this person. And of course he's indebted to him for life, and he should be. But at the end of the day, without the parents, there'd be no child at all. Of course, these soldiers are our heroes. But the reason why the person that's saved later in his life is much more appreciative is because it came when his mind was developed and he wasn't habituated and conditioned into the goodness. And that's the reason that we are not able to see God, because we're conditioned into his goodness from a young age and everything therefore is accepted and given. And that's why we need to work hard to overcome this challenge.We use the term hergel , as we said, ve'hargileinu be'Toratecha . The root of the word hergel , which is habit, is regel , your feet. Your feet, as we said, walk, it's automatic. Have you anyone ever experienced you move to a new place and you're walking and suddenly you just walk back to your old house, you're not even thinking. Your feet walk without you even thinking. David HaMelech says in Tehillim 119:59, חשבתי דרכי ואשיבה רגלי אל עדתיך. Even though my might be thinking of doing other things, my feet naturally take me to the Beis Midrash . So that's the, you're not even present. Your feet walk and you're not even there. That's what can happen in our life. We just walk through and we don't even see and appreciate the most basic fundamental gifts that God gives us because we're just on automatic pilot, on our automatic feet. And that's part of our job.

Welcome back to our daily ביטחון. We're talking about recognizing השם in creation and appreciating as we said, the concept of טוב השם לכל, everything God doing is constantly good. I once heard an explanation, I don't remember where, this a seeming paradox of rain. Rain is the greatest thing in the world. The גמרא goes on and describes that rain is like תחיית המתים, like the resurrection of the dead. The rain comes down, the earth is dry, it's like it's dead, and it comes back to life. And yet, people look at rain as a nasty day. We don't want rain, we don't like rain. And why is that? Why did God make it that way? The answer is that anytime a great bounty is coming down, עין הרע interferes with it. For example, it says that the first לוחות were given with a lot of fanfare, thunder and lightning, and the יצר הרע got involved and the golden calf came about. Yet, the second לוחות came quietly, and therefore they lasted. If rain would be apparent and everyone would see the goodness like gold coming out from the heavens, it would be, have an עין הרע on the rain. So therefore, in order for the rain to come down and impact us in the best possible way, God made that it's something that we don't enjoy, the puddles, the mess, the sleeting, the all the negative feelings getting caught in the rainstorm. That's השם's greatness. Yet, we're blind as the חובות הלבבות said. So there's different reasons that's we're blind. One as we spoke about yesterday was, we get used, we always want more. Because we always want more, our desire and our our arrogance, because you always want more interferes with seeing what we have. But there's actually a more fundamental problem which is a concept in psychology called inattentional blindness, which has nothing to do with your arrogance or your desire. And the basic study tells us that when attention is focused on one object or task, observers often fail to perceive an unexpected object, even if it's large and visible. The most famous test was called the gorilla test where people focus on counting basketball passes. And during this game to see if you could count how many times the basketball was passed from the people in black or the people in white. In the middle of this scene, a gorilla, man in a gorilla costume, walks on the stage, beats his chest, and walks off for a total of five seconds, and close to 50% of the people don't notice the gorilla because they're focused on something else. So that's a natural blockage, that if we're not looking for something, we don't see it. And there are many such examples. But the truth is when it comes to הקדוש ברוך הוא, the question is, are we looking for him? We might not be looking for him because we're focused on something else. We're looking for what we want, we're not looking for him. And God is hidden in the world. The world עולם, the root of the word is העלם which means hidden. God is hidden. And if there's something, you're not looking for something, even if it's large and visible, you're not going to see it, surely if it's invisible. That's one strong reason. We're not looking for it, so we're blinded by that, by our inattentional blindness. There are other reasons for our blindness that is subconscious. One of them is we'll call it the obligation trap. The more we see השם's goodness, the more we're obligated to change our lives and show הכרת הטוב, and nobody wants to do that. We avoid recognizing what others do for us to avoid feeling beholden and responsible. And this is, we'll call a self-inflicted blindness, because we don't want to see something that's going to cause me to change my life or change how I look at myself. This is a point brought up by ר' אלחנן וסרמן that the world's greatest philosopher, Aristotle, could not see God, not due to the lack of his intelligence, because he was blinded by something else. He didn't want to see it because he didn't want to have to live his life by God. And that's why the ר' אלחנן וסרמן says that even the youngest person in the Jewish people is asked to have אמונה, because אמונה is really simple. If you see a beautiful building, it didn't come from nowhere. That is just obvious. If you see a, if you see a refrigerator on on Mars, obviously someone was there. Refrigerators don't come from nothing. Yet how could you think the world comes from nothing? The answer is, it's the blindness because you don't want to see it. And שוחד יעוור עיני פקחים, bribe blinds the eyes of the wise. And we're blinded by the bribe of living a life of liberty, a life with no one telling you what to do. And that's why we can't see. So there are many reasons for this blindness that doesn't allow us to see God. And therefore we have to fight against that blindness. And that's our job.

Welcome to daily בטחון. We're now continuing to discuss the concept of recognizing God in creation, recognizing all the good that he does for us. And now that we said, as explained yesterday, טוב השם לכל, God is good to everybody, not just most people, everybody, we have to figure out why is it that we're not all jumping and dancing in appreciation for all this goodness. And the חובות הלבבות is going to give us three reasons. Reason number one is, we're so busy in this world and the pleasures of this world and our desire is driving us to get to the next thing. And we're looking at what we don't have: the house that we don't have, the car that we don't have, the clothing that we don't have, and so on. That constantly looking for what we want next causes us to ignore looking at what we have now, because our hearts are dependent and are being dragged after that awesome force of looking forward to the next thing. And whatever they have, they want the next level, and they're searching for the next one. And therefore, what they have becomes small in their eyes. What they have is less than they should get. And the greatest of gifts become inconsequential. Means you get a gift saying, "Oh yeah, you only gave me a Rolex watch, you know. I wanted a Patek Philippe, not enough." Always going on to the next one. The point he says, that people think that every goodness that they see by their friend is as if it's missing from them. And whatever they have is no good. And they don't appreciate the goodness. So he started off by saying the driving force is desire. But he ends off with the פסוק in תהילים, רשע, the wicked one, כגבה אפו, due to his arrogance, בל ידרש, he's not searching. אין אלהים כל מזמותיו, God's not on his mind. So what's driving him is both the desire and the arrogance. I want so much and I deserve so much. You deserve that, all the great things that you've done, you deserve that. So these bad character traits don't allow us to see the goodness that we have.And that's why we know that people that come from humble beginnings quite often appreciate the most basic things, appreciation of being an American citizen. I heard that once a man who was, came to this country, and he's in his 80s and 90s, and he appreciates that he's an American citizen. I don't even think about that. If you came from communist Russia or you came from some difficult third-world country and you're waiting years to get your green card, you appreciate what it means to be an American citizen. Who appreciates that? And there are endless goodness's that don't mean anything to us.The key is to be able to look at what you have. And that's a lost art. There's a beautiful גמרא in נדרים 50a. We all know the story. רבי עקיבא marries the daughter of כלבא שבוע, one of the wealthiest men. And he was not in favor of the שידוך, and he disowned the couple. And they were living in a hut, sleeping on the floor with no pillows, no mattress, sleeping on the straw. And every morning when רבי עקיבא's wife would get up, she'd have straw in her hair and he'd pluck the straw out and promise her, "One day I'm going to get you a beautiful tiara called a ירושלים של זהב." One day, there's a knock on the door and אליהו הנביא comes looking like a human being. And he says, "Can I have some straw? My wife just gave birth and I have nothing, she's on a mud floor." And רבי עקיבא tells his wife, "You see, we have straw. He doesn't have straw." At that point, she said, "Go out to ישיבה," and the rest is history. My רב would ask a strong question. He says, "I don't understand. אליהו הנביא comes from the heavens and he should come with a pot of gold. You come to רבי עקיבא, not only don't you give him a pot of gold, you take away the straw that he has? What's going on here?" And he said that אליהו הנביא gave רבי עקיבא the greatest gift, which is the proper outlook, which is, "Hey, look, we have straw and they don't have straw." And that's worth all the money in the world. world. That מוסר lesson is more valuable than all the money in the world. And that's what he gave him. And that's the key to happiness. And that's what gave רבי עקיבא and his wife the ability to reach what they reached.

Welcome to daily dose of בטחון . We're on the topic of finding Hashem in creation, which as we said is important for our בטחון .Now, the חובת הלבבות in his שער בחינה opens up with the following important line. טובות הא-ל יתעלה על בריותיו . The benefits and the goodness of God on his creations, הם כוללות את כולם . They include everybody. As it says in תהלים , we say it every day in אשרי, טוב ה׳ לכל . God is good to everybody. Even though that's the absolute truth, he says most people are blind from recognizing it. And even if they recognize it, to understand the true benefit and levels of goodness that God gives us, and we don't really pay attention.This is what we're going to talk about today, this important concept of belief in this פסוק called טוב ה׳ לכל . And we say every single day in our עמידה, הטוב שמך . Your name is good. That is God, that's God's name, his name is good. Everything about him is good. His whole goal in creating this world was good. We say, ובטובו חיינו , we live in his goodness. In the גמרא it says you can't say מיטובו , we get from his goodness, because that sounds like we're outside of his goodness. He's here, giving us something good, that's מיטובו , that's not true. ובטובו , we're living in his goodness, everything is good, we're surrounded and bathing in his goodness. There's a beautiful מדרש in תהלים that says יבוא טוב , let the good one come, ויקבל טוב , and receive the good, מטוב , from the good, לטובים , for the good ones. A lot of good going on here. יבוא טוב , let the good one come, who's that? That's משה , as it says about משה, ותרא אותו כי טוב הוא . What's he getting? יקבל טוב , the goodness. What's the goodness? תורה is goodness, as it says in משלי 4:2, כי לקח טוב נתתי לכם , I gave you a gift of goodness. טוב, מטוב , from the good one. Who's the good one? That's Hashem. How do I know? Our פסוק, טוב ה׳ לכל . Give it לטובים , that's the Jewish people, like it says, הטיבה ה׳ לטובים . So God's description giving us the תורה is he's called the טוב . That's his name.It's interesting, we say every day in our prayers, המחדש בטובו בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית . When I was preparing this class, I realized something more than I ever paid attention to. I know that Hashem is מחדש בכל יום תמיד . He's recreates, creation's not here once and just stays on. Every moment God is recreating, מחדש בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית , every day constantly renewing creation, pumping energy into creation. But I missed a word, מחדש בטובו . God is constantly renewing his goodness, it's coming from his goodness. The שפת אמת in ויקרא פרשת החודש , year 5638, has an interesting way of reading the פסוק . מחדש בטובו , God rejuvenates, renews with his goodness. What does with his goodness mean? It means with the Jewish people that are called good, that we're the ones that recognize God's goodness in creation and we renew it and appreciate it daily. That's our job as טובים . There's a משנה in פרקי אבות 3:15 that says, הכל צפוי , God knows what's going on, he sees. והרשות נתונה , means he knows what's going to happen, yet we have freedom of choice. ובטוב העולם נדון , and the world is judged with goodness. And the רמב״ם says on this משנה in פרקי אבות that Hashem judges us with kindness and goodness, not what we deserve, but rather he has ארך אפים ורב חסד ואמת , God is full of kindness. And what's my source for this משנה ? טוב ה׳ לכל . טוב ה׳ לכל doesn't just mean that God gives goodness, but God judges us with a good eye. And this is a principle that the מסילת ישרים says in more than one place. In דרך ה׳ , unit one, chapter two, when he discusses the purpose of creation, he says, תכלית הבריאה . היא . What was God's purpose in creation? להיטיב מטובו יתברך לזולתו , to give from his goodness to others. In the ספר דעת תבונות , letter 18, he says, what we could understand is that השם is תכלית הטוב ודאי , is the ultimate goodness. And therefore, מחוק הטוב הוא להיטיב . The way of the good is to do good. And that's what השם wanted. He created us so that he could benefit us. But he says, since השם wants to give us the ultimate good, and he knows that if you receive and you didn't work for it, you can't appreciate it. It's someone that receives what he didn't work for is ashamed to pick his head up and look at the benefactor. Therefore, God in his ultimate goodness made life full of challenges so that we can overcome the challenges and truly enjoy the goodness that we get. Look how concerned Hashem is with our Goodness !

Welcome to daily בטחון on our daily dose of gratitude series where we're talking about finding Hashem in creation. רב וולבה in his ספר עלי שור, volume 2, page 59, quotes from רבינו יונה in שערי תשובה, the third gate, the 17th piece. Where he's talking about מצוות עשה that we have to know about, that we need to do. And he says you should know that some of the most highly lofty levels are actually given to us as commands. We're commanded to love Hashem. We're commanded to cleave to him. These are commandments, but they're also high levels. We have to work on them. And one of the things that he lists is מעלות התבונן בגדולת השם. The quality of delving and looking into the greatness of God. And he brings two sources. Number one, וידעת היום והשבות אל לבבך כי השם הוא האלקים. Now, how do you do that? How do you realize השם הוא האלקים? By looking into creation. דוד המלך said in תהלים 14:2, השם משמים השקיף על בני אדם. God's looking down from heavens. And we know the term השקיף, רש״י tells us in פרשת כי תבוא, is usually negative. And what's God looking down at us in this negative way? לראות היש משכיל, is there someone that's using his intellect, דורש את אלקים, searching for God, looking for God in creation?רבינו יונה ends off and says, we were created for these to reach these qualities. As it says in ישעיהו 43:7, כל הנקרא בשמי, whoever calls, is called by my name, ולכבודי בראתיו, and is here for my honor, I created him. I created him to call my name and to bring my honor out to the world. And therefore, he says, if that's the case, what is man's hope if he doesn't put his עמל נפשו, his hard work, עיקר עסקו, and his main business בדברים שנברא בעבורם, for those things he was created for? So, what we're doing now in שער הבחינה is dedicating ourselves to this responsibility. רב וולבה further quotes from the חפץ חיים in his ספר שמירת הלשון volume 2 at the end of the ספר, chapter two, where he talks about the מצוה ואהבת את השם. And he says, I want to arouse you on an important point. The גמרא ברכות 14A tells us in the name of עולא, whoever says קריאת שמע not wearing תפילין is as if he's saying false testimony on himself. Why? Because he says and tie תפילין and you're not. So you're testifying falsely. And he says, the same is true when you say ואהבת את השם אלקיך. When you say and love Hashem your God, you can't have false testimony. And therefore, you have to put into your heart to love Hashem.And how do you do that? And again he quotes the חובות הלבבות in שער אהבת השם, chapter three, which as we mentioned yesterday, the חובות הלבבות does not deny that you get love of Hashem through looking into creation. Just he says we start with fear of God and then we get to love of God. And what should you do? Look into the greatness of God and his loftiness and that he keeps all the worlds going and look at how small you are and look at with the greatness of God and the smallness of you, look at all the goodness he gives to you consistently from the day you are on the earth, not because you're deserving, hides your sins from people and has patience with you. That's what you're supposed to think about and say, wow, look how much what Hashem's doing for me. And he says if it's difficult to think all this when you're saying קריאת שמע, do it sometime during the day. Interesting, I once heard from רב וולבה that's why we have the ברכות of יוצר המאורות in our in our תפלה before we say קריאת שמע. And he says, because it's a constant מצוה that's not time dependent, does that mean it should be less than anything else? And he says, ideally, do it right after you pray before you eat. Before you have your your your breakfast. Why? Like any מצוה, like לולב, like אתרוג, like תפילין, like מגילת אסתר on the night of פורים after a fast day, we don't eat until we fulfill the מצוה. So how could you eat before you fulfill the מצוה ואהבת את השם? And how do you do that? By looking into creation. You could actually do that as you walk to the breakfast table and look at the beautiful kiwis with all those little seeds in the middle and how beautiful and tasty it is. And so on and so forth. And then say, wow, look at this. Hashem made this beautiful feast for me, even though I don't deserve it. And as great as he is, he looks at little me and makes sure I have breakfast.

Previously we spoke about the רמב"ם that says that אהבה and יראה comes simultaneously by looking into creation. The רמב"ם actually mentions אהבה first. Interesting to note the חובות הלבבות in the tenth gate, the gate of אהבת השם, clearly states that אהבה is all at the end of the totem pole, it's his final gate. And he says that quite often the Torah mentions fear of Hashem before love. Like it says, ואתה ישראל, דברים 10:12, מה השם אלוקיך שואל מעמך? What does God want from you? כי אם ליראה to fear ולאהבה and to love. דברים 10:20, את השם אלוקיך תירא ובו תדבק. Fear Hashem and cleave to him. Cleaving refers to loving him. And he says, חייב להקדים היראה על האהבה באלוקים. You have to start with fear. Because if you don't have fear, he says, you can't come to love. Again he says, אי אפשר שיגיע אדם אליו, you can't reach it, אלא אחר שתקדם יראתו ופחדו. First you have to have fear and פחדו and and trembling from your God. Interestingly enough, as the source for why we need to look into creation, the חובות הלבבות quotes a פסוק in קהלת 3:14, והאלוקים עשה, God created the world, שייראו מלפניו that we fear him. So the חובות הלבבות is consistent with his reasoning that I have to start looking into creation to fear him, to realize how great he is, that I shouldn't sin in front of him, to stand in front of him with awe and trepidation. Love will come later. That's the tenth gate. Got some time for that.And now let's discuss this פסוק והאלוקים עשה שייראו מלפניו. God created the world to fear him. The גמרא מסכת ברכות in two places quotes this פסוק. One time, רבי יוחנן says this refers to a bad dream. The purpose of a bad dream is that you should be afraid. What does that mean that bad dreams were created for people to fear Hashem? The גמרא מסכת ברכות says that a bad dream is actually a good sign. Because you have the bad dream, in the dream you were whatever the in a car accident, and you're all shaken up. Well, hey, you got scared from the dream, you got all shaken up. You say, oh no, these things could happen. I gotta get closer to Hashem. And by having the bad dream, the bad event didn't happen. So the bad dream accomplished what it was supposed to do, to instill a little fear in your heart. Based on this, the Steipler says in one of his letters that one of the reasons why people חס ושלום have to go for a medical testing, and they have to wait for a week till they get the results, and then ברוך השם you say, ah, the results came out good. That's really, he says, the same message as a bad dream. You needed to have some fear in your life, you needed some trepidation, and that fear healed you. God does things in this world to cause fear of him. That's one example of the of the reason why of what an example of that is. Another place in ברכות אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי. You know why God created thunder? To smooth out the crookedness of one's heart. As it says, והאלוקים עשה שייראו מלפניו. God did things to make us fear him. When you hear, says the מהרש"א, thunder, which is very scary and seemingly there's no real purpose of it, the purpose was to instill fear into you, and that will cause you to repent because you're afraid. But there's a beautiful point over here. The חובות הלבבות is telling us you can get fear through a bad dream, you can get fear from thunder, but you know what? You could get fear from looking at the apple and the orange, by seeing Hashem in creation. He's always watching me, he's always with me. And therefore, the smoothest way, the easiest way, the most painless way of fear, is by us finding God in creation and that gives us a level of יראת שמיים. So that's what we're going to be doing over here. Either the רמב"ם we're doing love and fear, or the חובות הלבבות doing fear alone, but regardless, we're involved in a very important activity of finding Hashem in creation. שער הבחינה, finding Hashem, testing, probing, being able to discern God in creation. Interesting, the first ברכה in ברכות השחר, הנותן לשכוי בינה. God gave the שכוי, which could mean the rooster or the human. being, בינה understanding, להבחין to discern between day and night. That's the ability to be critical, to be a critical thinker, to be able to discern and see and find. That's the להבחין, בחינה, שער הבחינה. And we will

Welcome to daily ביטחון . We are now focusing on finding God in creation and realizing his kindness, which is the fundamentals of reliance.Now when we're doing this, what exactly are we doing when we're finding God in creation? What should our intent be? We know there's a rule מצוות צריכות כוונה . Our מצוות need to have proper intent. What is the intent? The רמב"ם , in his ספר יד החזקה on the foundations of תורה chapter 2, tells us that we have a מצווה to love and fear השם . And he quotes a פסוק to back up each one of these. And interestingly enough, the same way, the same path to love is the same path as fear. And he says as follows: when a person delves into God's wondrous acts and creations, and he sees from them his wisdom that has no end and no comparison, immediately, he loves him, he praises him, and he has a great desire to know that great creator. As דוד המלך says, צמאה נפשי לאלוקים . I yearn, my soul yearns for God, לאל חי , to the living God.So that's the first reaction. Wow, look at the beauty of the Swiss Alps. Look at the oceans, look at the view. And as he continues to think about those very same items, immediately, both times the רמב"ם says immediately, he is jolted backwards and begins to fear and realize, hold on, I am a small, little, lowly darkened creature standing with my limited understanding in front of the perfect one. As דוד המלך said, כי אראה שמיך מעשה אצבעותיך, מה אנוש כי תזכרנו . What is man that you even mention him?So this is very interesting. We don't realize that when I'm looking at the apple, the orange, or the pear and seeing God's wonders, I am on my way to love and fear השם . That's what we're doing. The ספר מצוות הקצר , another one of the ראשונים that lists the מצוות , when he talks about loving השם in his third מצווה , he says the more you understand God, the more you love God. If it's a little bit, a little bit. If it's a lot, it's a lot. And therefore he says every person has to set aside time to delve into the wonders of creation that through that you will get the honor of God, depending on your abilities. So there's endless things that you can do. And understand when you're doing them, it's not a science lesson, it's a lesson in the wonders of God.Now, there's endless things that you could talk about. This one hit me recently. We'll change the clock now, maybe not sleeping as well, maybe get older you're not sleeping as well. So I got myself one of these watches that measures how much deep sleep you have. I want to know how much I was sleeping at night, tossing and turning. And one of the the factors on this watch is something called REM, how much rapid eye movement did you have? I'm a curious guy, I said, what what exactly, why is rapid eye movement important? And does a lot of things, rapid eye movement. That means that's the time you're asleep when your eyes move back and forth. What is the purpose of this REM sleep? It's when you're dreaming and you're going through your day and processing things. People that don't have this stage of sleep, they can develop anxiety, irritability, even hallucinations, difficulty concentrating, appetite may increase. A lot of things going on. Now I don't want to get into that right now. To me the most fascinating thing about this rapid eye movement sleep is that when a person is in this stage, there's something that happened called rapid eye movement atonia. What does that mean? It's, it means when you're in this stage and you're having your dreams, so in a dream you might be jumping out of a building or running away from a fire or anyone else has their dreams, we're not going to share our dreams now. But the body becomes temporarily paralyzed because it protects the body from acting out the dreams. And that way you can process the emotional experiences, and at the same time not be in danger for what you're dreaming about actually acting out, and that's why you stay in your bed. People that are sleepwalking are obviously missing out on this aspect. But how this developed, you could sit and read about it if you'd like. That's not the important point, but the amount of chemicals and the electrical waves and who knows what's going on. Anyway, this is just a small example of this kind of בחינה , looking for God in creation that you could find with anything as simple as getting yourself a new Fitbit.

Welcome to daily ביטחון . We're going to make a little bit of a switch in our series, which we've done many times over our history. Our focus is ביטחון . ביטחון doesn't just start with ביטחון . Interesting to note, the חובות הלבבות wrote ten gates. שער הביטחון is the fourth gate, which is the fourth floor. To get to the fourth floor, you usually have to walk through the lobby, the first, the second, the third, until you can get to the fourth floor. You can't just jump right onto the fourth floor. And therefore, it's necessary to walk up the ladder of the חובות הלבבות . The first gate is called שער היחוד , which is a little philosophical, and the חובות הלבבות himself says the best way to recognize God as one is through his chapter two, which is called שער הבחינה , which is looking for God and searching for God in creation and seeing him and seeing his goodness.Now what's also very interesting is that when the חובות הלבבות wants to prove his point that God is good for everybody, and we have to look for it and find it, that's our job, but he is good for everybody. He says the following. He says, the first thing I want to tell you is that God's goodnesses upon his creations includes everybody. כוללות את כולם . He doesn't say that it includes most people, it includes everybody. How do I know? The only way I know things is from a פסוק . The פסוק says, טוב ה' לכל . God is good to everybody. And even though that's true, we don't always recognize it, which is the goal of this unit of the חובות הלבבות , his second gate to explain that. Now this is extremely important for ביטחון because the חובות הלבבות in his שער הביטחון chapter two tells us that in order to rely on somebody, you need to go through a seven-step checklist. And even after you get through all six, the final checklist, number seven is, that the person that you're relying on, you know is has the ultimate of generosity and the ultimate of kindness, whether you deserve it or not. And his generosity is consistent and his kindness never ends and never stops and goes on forever. Because if you don't have that understanding, well, I'm not worthy, or maybe the kindness ran out, or maybe the generosity is no longer. How can I rely on him? And no human being has those qualities. Like we say, אל תבטחו בנדיבים . Don't rely on the generous. Their generosity doesn't last forever. God's generosity and kindness lasts forever.And he goes on to say, it includes everybody. How do I know? The answer is, the same פסוק that he tells us in שער הבחינה is what he says you need for שער הביטחון . טוב ה' לכל . God is good for everybody. He's good to everybody. He is merciful on all of his creations. And that's why we can't rely on him unless we first went through שער הבחינה and really believe in our gut that God only does good.The חובות הלבבות in in in שער הביטחון , in the chapter seven when he talks about what people are missing and why they don't rely on him, one of the reasons is because they don't realize how kind he is. And he says, I want to tell you a general rule about ביטחון . What makes people have more ביטחון and less ביטחון , it all depends on how much you know about how God treats you. You have to believe that he's constantly protecting you and you have to believe that he's supervising and making sure that whatever happens to you is good for you.That's really everything, because what stops us? Things are not going right, God's not taking care of me, this is no good. How can I rely on him if all the things happening are no good? Well, but once you really get into your mind and your psyche, this principle of טוב ה' לכל , then everything changes. And that's the goal of שער הבחינה , to drill into one's head this important concept of טוב ה' לכל . God is good to everybody. And that's what we're going to be start doing now in our. daily בטחון series. You can switch the name if you'd like to daily בחינה , which means daily finding God in creation. Or you could call it daily dose of gratitude. However you want to refer to it, that's up to you. But the main point is to have this attitude of keeping your eyes open to find Go

The Highest Level of Reliance ( Bitachon ) Welcome to our daily thought on Bitachon (Reliance on God), focusing today on a verse from Tehillim (Psalms) Chapter 40: " אשרי הגבר אשר שם ה׳ מבטחו, ולא פנה אל רהבים, ושטי כזב ." "Praiseworthy is the man who has made God his trust, and turned not to the arrogant, nor to the strayers after falsehood." The commentary Tefillot David explains what it means to truly place one's reliance in God ( שם ה׳ מבטחו ): Relying on the Means vs. Relying on the Source There are different levels of bitachon : Lower Level: A person relies on God to save them, but only through natural means . They count on God, but their mental focus is on a tangible item—their business, a specific person, a deal—that God will use to bring the help. This means God is not the item of their reliance; the means are. Higher Level: The praiseworthy person does not focus on the means. They are confident that God will help them directly, without speculating on how it will happen. The verse emphasizes this by stating the praiseworthy man "turned not to the arrogant, nor to the strayers after falsehood." "The Arrogant" ( רהבים ): This refers not necessarily to arrogant people, but to people and things in general that, by acting as if they are the source of power, are arrogant in relation to God. "Falsehood" ( כזב ): This refers to things that are temporary or fleeting—things that don't last. The only thing one can truly rely on is God Himself. Yaakov Avinu's Lesson on Pure Bitachon The Beis HaLevi, commenting on Genesis 28:12, uses this concept to explain a Midrash regarding Yaakov Avinu. Yaakov was contemplating the immense difference between his grandfather Avraham's servant, Eliezer, who traveled to find Rivka (Rebecca) with ten camel-loads of wealth, and his own current situation. He had been stripped of everything by Eliphaz and was traveling with nothing. Initially, Yaakov thought: " אשא עיני אל ההרים, מאין יבוא עזרי ? (I raise my eyes upon the mountains, whence will come my help?)" At first glance, this thought— Where will my help come from? —seems harmless. After all, Yaakov certainly believed help would come from God. However, the Midrash reveals a deeper level of self-demand from Yaakov: Human nature is to rely on God but still get caught up in speculating on the method : Will my uncle bail me out? Will I win the lottery? While believing the help comes from God, the heart is busy generating ideas for how God will deliver. Yaakov realized this was a lower level of bitachon . He elevated his thought to: " עזרי מעם ה׳ עושה שמים וארץ . (My help is from God, Maker of heaven and earth.)" Yaakov demanded a higher level of trust: He must stop giving God suggestions or "ideas" on how to bring about the salvation. His reliance must be direct with "the Boss." This is the essence of the ideal bitachon in Tehillim 40: The praiseworthy person deals directly with God, turning neither to the arrogance of temporary means nor the falsehood of fleeting helpers.

Welcome to daily בטחון . As we know, one of the sources are אמונה and בטחון is שבת . And as we mentioned last week, since next year ראש השנה is going to be on a שבת , we need our שבת of this year to be on our best behavior. So, בלי נדר , every Friday's class will be something about שבת with השם 's help. I'd like to share with you something very interesting that I just learned this week. We all know that we stand up Friday night by קידוש, ספרדי custom, and we sit שבת morning. Now, what is the reason for the difference?So there's three different reasons brought down as to why we stand Friday night by קידוש . The more popular one, which I was aware of, is because you're staying testimony. When you say קידוש , you're testifying that God created the world in six days and rests on the seventh. And witnesses stand when they say testimony. That is Friday night קידוש , as we're making the testimony as we go into שבת . שבת day קידוש does not talk about, doesn't say ויכלו השמים והארץ , we just say מזמור לדוד . We don't talk about creation. As an aside, the חיד"א says that it's brought down that on Friday night your sins are forgiven as you walk home from שול . And he says the reason is, I'm about to testify, witnesses has to be כשר witnesses to testify, so therefore, in order to allow the Jewish people to testify, God forgives their sins.Reason number two is a fascinating reason the של"ה הקדוש brings down, which is that at a wedding, we stand up under the חופה out of respect for the bride. And since שבת is a bride, בואי כלה , enter bride, we stand out of respect for the bride, as we do by the חופה . Those that are under the חופה stand in Israel, many have the custom, at least in the ספרדי world, that everyone's standing, anyone at the ceremony. Some say that in חוץ לארץ , where our weddings are on a platform and we stand up, that's considered its own domain and therefore one is not considered part of the חופה necessarily. But if you're under the חופה , you have to stand out of respect for the bride. And so too Friday night, as the bride is entering, as the as the as the marriage is happening, we stand by קידוש .Again, beautiful thoughts to realize you're at a wedding Friday night. Reason number three is שבת , God is the king. And out of respect for the king we stand. That's why we bring God in when we are standing up, out of respect for the king. Three fascinating reasons to appreciate Friday night when you're standing, why you're standing.Another important thing to understand about קידוש is it says that when you make קידוש , you're considered a partner with God in creation. Question is, how do you become a partner in God with creation? What are you doing to partner up? You didn't create the world. Rabbi עדס explains with a beautiful משל that I've said in the past. We have four brothers that run a business. One of them flies to China and he is going to the Canton Fair, spending two weeks there working on production. The other brother works in the showroom as a salesman to sell the products. The other brother works in the back office to make sure that all the billing is coming in properly. And finally, our fourth brother, he works on advertising, social media, billboards, getting the word out all over for his product. And they make, the first year they make a million, two, three, four, now they're really doing great. And one of the brothers says to the other two, "Hey, the fourth brother, he's doing advertising. Why is he getting an equal share? He's not going to China. He's not going to... He's not selling. He's not even in the back office. Why should he deserve any money?" And they say, "You know what? Let's cut his salary." Okay? They all vote, three to one, they cut his salary. And lo and behold, the sales go down. What's going on? And they realize we really need advertising. He is an equal partner and he starts getting a portion again.So too says Rabbi עדס , we are partners in creation. There's one thing that God needs us for, and that is marketing. That's advertising. We do that. Our job is to market. So that means just like there's all different ways to advertise, we can have airplanes flying with banners, we can have advertisements in your Uber, and there's endless advertising platforms. The way newspapers and periodicals make money is advertising. The way Google makes money is from advertising. There are these trucks that pull these large, enormous 10-by-10 digital screens advertising. Well, you know what? All of us are walking on שבת with a digital screen on our chest saying, I am a Jew and I believe that God created the world in six days and rests on the seventh. As we go to שול , as we walk in the street in our שבת clothing, we are announcing. this unbelievable testimony. And therefore, we are partners in creation and we have a share in this huge business, this multi-billion dollar business that we inherited this partnership going back to אברהם אבינו who was the one that announced to the world that God created the world, and שרה אמנו . And what's שרה אמנו known for? She lit the candles Friday night. So both the husband when he says קידוש and the wife when she lights candles are involved in the advertising. And now for the final beautiful thought. When someone's a partner, they have a say in the business. And therefore, on Friday night, we have a say in the business. We are part of the business and we have a right for an opinion. That's why there's a story of a great צדיק that they came for a blessing and he said you should have come to me at קידוש time. That's when I'm a partner. Similarly, when a lady lights candles, she makes requests because she's a partner. So appreciate the power of קידוש . Again, we stand for one of three reasons: we're testifying, respect for the bride, respect for the king, and when we say קידוש , we are partners with God in creation.

Refuge vs. Guarantee: Two Levels of Trust Today we focus on a verse from Mishlei (Proverbs) : " בִּירְאַת ה׳ מִבְטַח עֹז, וּבָנָיו יִהְיֶה מַחְסֶה ." "In the fear of God is a powerful stronghold, and for his children, it will be a shelter." The Vilna Gaon explains this by contrasting two concepts of reliance, drawn from Tehillim 118:9 " טוֹב לַחְסוֹת בַּה', מִבְטֹחַ בַּנְּדִיבִים " (It is better to seek refuge in God than to rely on nobles). Defining Bituach vs. Chassayon (Reliance vs. Refuge) The Gaon distinguishes between two forms of seeking help: Bituach (Reliance/Guarantee): This stems from an Havtacha (a guarantee). If someone tells you, "I guarantee I will pay your mortgage," you are relying on their explicit promise. This is a spoken commitment. Chassayon (Refuge/Shelter): This is seeking shelter without a prior conversation or guarantee, like running under a rock when it starts raining ( " צוּר חֶסְיוֹנוֹ " —the rock in which one seeks refuge). You don't need to speak to the rock; you just need shelter. The teaching is that it is always better to seek refuge ( Chassayon ) in God than to rely on the guarantee ( Bituach ) of a human being . Applying the Concepts to the Verse The Gaon connects this distinction directly to the verse from Mishlei: " בִּירְאַת ה׳ מִבטַח עֹז " (In the fear of God is a powerful stronghold): A person who possesses fear of God merits that God will provide a guarantee ( Bituach ) for him to do good. This happened with Avraham Avinu after the Akeidah (Binding of Isaac). God guaranteed him: " כִּי יָדַעְתִּי כִּי יְרֵא אֱלֹקִים אַתָּה " (Now I know you fear God), followed immediately by " כִּי בָרֹךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ " (Because I will surely bless you). Avraham is the example of this powerful, guaranteed stronghold ( mafte'ach oz ). " וּבָנָיו יִהְיֶה מַחְסֶה " (And for his children, it will be a shelter): His descendants (us) were never directly spoken to by God, so we don't have that personal guarantee. However, because of the merit ( Zechut ) of the Forefather (Avraham) , we merit the ability to seek refuge ( Machaseh ) in God . The Power of Zechut Avot (Ancestral Merit) This is a powerful concept for those who wonder, "How do I know God cares for me if He never guaranteed it?" The answer is that God guaranteed it to your great-grandfather Avraham . We benefit from that historical connection. Rashi confirms this interpretation, emphasizing the word " בְּצֵל זְכוּתֹו " (in the shadow of his merit) . A shadow offers shelter without needing a conversation with the tree that casts it—you simply enter the shade. Rav Nosson Wachtfogel further illustrates this idea using the concept of the Sukkah: The Sukkah is called the "shadow of faith" (Tzel Ne'emanut). After the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), when we are uncertain of our judgment, we run into the Sukkah, which serves as God's shade (Tzel). This echoes the incident with Rebbi (in Bava Metzia 85a ), where a calf about to be slaughtered sought shelter under Rebbi's coat. The Heavenly court ruled against Rebbi for his lack of mercy because the calf sought refuge under his wing . The concept is that when someone seeks shelter in you due to reliance, the Middat HaRachamim (Attribute of Mercy) demands you protect them. This is similar to Lot , who told the Sodomites: " כִּי עַל כֵּן בָּאוּ בְּצֵל קֹרָתִי " (Because they came under the shadow of my roof) —they relied on his protection, obligating him to defend them. Thus, Rashi's precise wording— "shadow of His merit" —teaches that we have an inherent right to seek refuge in that divine shadow, regardless of direct communication.

Trust Not in Possessions: Psalm 62:11 Welcome to Daily Bitachon. Today's verse is Psalm 62:11: תבטחו בעושק ובגזל. אל תהבלו חיל. כי ינוב, אל תשיתו לב .) "Do not trust in oppression or robbery; do not have vain hope in ill-gotten gain. Though wealth flourishes, set not your heart on it." The Illusion of Material Satisfaction The verse cautions us against placing our trust in wealth acquired through unethical means ,It also warns against even having vain hope in material gain , even when that wealth seems to be flourishing . Maram Albedeila offers a deeper explanation: even when we are financially flourishing through legitimate means, that prosperity rarely brings true satisfaction. This is due to the concept of , "one who loves money," who will never be satisfied with money. The more a person acquires, the more they feel they need. This idea is captured powerfully in Midrash Rabba Kohelet 3:13: "Man does not leave this world with half his desire fulfilled. If he has 100, he wants 200. If he has 200, he wants 400." The Ba'alei Mussar emphasize this paradox: the more you have, the more lacking you feel. A person with a hundred needs two hundred; a person in the millions now needs billions. The relative gap grows larger! The True Definition of Wealth Rav Shach famously asked how this paradox reconciles with the teaching in Pirkei Avot—"Who is wealthy? The one who is happy with his lot." If everyone always wants double what they have, how can anyone truly be happy with their lot? Rav Shach offered an insightful answer: Who is the truly wealthy person? The one who has nothing. The objection is obvious: How can someone have nothing? The answer is: You do have possessions, but you understand that you don't truly own them. You grasp that everything you have is HaKadosh Baruch Hu) lending to you temporarily. Your money is no different than the bank teller receiving a temporary deposit. This perspective mirrors the teaching of the {Chovot HaLevavot in his introduction to Sha'ar HaBitachon (The Gate of Trust). This is the first message of our verse: do not rely on money, even when it flourishes. Setting Not Your Heart Upon It King David concludes by stating, " אל תשיתו לב )—"Set not your heart on it." What does this mean in a practical sense? It addresses the temptation we face when we see others—even those engaged in shady dealings, corner-cutting, or outright scams—flourishing. To that, David commands us: Do not look at their success and think, "He's getting away with it; I can do that too." Even if unethical dealings appear to succeed temporarily, that success will not last forever. Justice awaits, whether in this world or the next. Because of this eternal reality, money—no matter how powerful it seems—is not worthy of our Bitachon. For lasting security and true satisfaction in life, we can only trust in God.

Trust in God: From Psalm to Parable Welcome to Daily Bitachon We begin with Psalm 25:2: {Adonai, b'echa batachti, al avosha. Al yail'tzu oivai li.} ( אלהי בך בטחתי אל אבושה אל יעלצו אויבי לי .) "My God, in You I have trusted; let me not be ashamed, let not my enemies exalt over me." The Midrash of the Stranger There is a beautiful {Midrash on this verse Midrash Tehillim} The story tells of a man entering a country at its border. The country's guards seized him immediately. The man cried out, "Do not strike me, for I am a member of the King's Household!" Hearing this, the guards released him and guarded him until morning. In the morning, they brought him to the King, announcing, "We found a member of your household last night." The King asked him, "My son, do you know me?" The man replied, "No." The King questioned, "If so, how are you a member of my household?" The man admitted, "Please, I am not a member of your household, but I trusted in You. Had I not claimed to be, they would have beaten me." The King responded, "Since he trusted in Me, leave him alone." This, the Midrash suggests, is what David means when he says, "My God, in You I have trusted." And because of this trust, "Let not my enemies exalt over me." Universal Reliance The Midrash continues, based on the next verse: "Also let none who hope in You be shamed. Let those who betray without cause be shamed." David then expands, asking: "You might think only I can do this? No, rather Kol Koveicha כל קויך a ll those who hope in You." The Sefer Shomer Emunim Ma'amar Bitachon (Essay on Trust), Chapter Eight, cites this as proof that even a person who may not seem "befitting" can rely on Hashem and be saved. Furthermore, the Sefer Dugma Mi-darkhei Avi by Rabbi Aryeh Leib, son of the Chafetz Chaim brings down this very Midrash as a source for this concept—that even one who is seemingly unworthy can rely on Hashem. He showed this to his father, the Chafetz Chaim who was pleased with this Midrash as a source for the concept. The Partner with God The Sefer Shomer Emunim also shares a story from the great Apter Rebbe, the Ba'al Ohev Yisrael. There was a man who ran an inn and sold whiskey, and he became a Ba'al Mofet, capable of giving Brachot that would be fulfilled. When the Apter Rebbe heard this, he sought to understand the source of this man's power. He observed the man all day; he seemed like a simple liquor store owner. The Rebbe finally asked the man his secret. The man replied, "I have always been a Ba'al Bitachon (one possessing trust). I never worried about anything. I once lost all my money and went bankrupt. My wife pressured me to find a partner. So, I left my house, went to the outskirts of the city, and declared: 'God Almighty, I want You to be my partner. I guarantee that I will split the money half and half: half for my family and half for charity.'" "That's what I did," the man concluded. "It became extremely successful. And whenever I gave someone a blessing, it was fulfilled." The Apter Rebbe understood: "Now I see. You became a partner with God, and therefore you have the power of the partner and can give blessings." This parallels our first story: a person without a direct, known relationship with the King (like the man who didn't know him but trusted him) was saved through that reliance. You can "partner up" with the King even if you don't know him, as shown by the innkeeper. Partnering on Shabbat The truth is, we all have some level of this power. A man in desperate need of a Bracha came to a great Tzaddik one Saturday morning. The Tzaddik told him, "You should have come to me at Kiddush on Friday night. When I make Kiddush on Friday night, I have greater power for blessings than the rest of the week." "Why?" the man asked. The Tzaddik explained, "It says that whoever recites Kiddush on Friday night becomes a partner with God in creation. Therefore, if you are a partner, you have equal rights and equal power—and that is the right time to give a blessing when I am a partner." We all possess this ability. This also ties back to reliance on Hashem, because on Shabbat we perform no work; we rely entirely on Hashem, and in doing so, we can partner up with Him.

The Three Gifts from Heaven I'd like to share a beautiful Midrash from Parashat Masei (22:7), which discusses three gifts created in the world: wisdom, strength, and wealth. The teaching is that whoever attains just one of them has acquired the most precious treasures of the entire world. If one has attained wisdom, he has attained everything. If he has attained strength, he has attained everything. If he has attained wealth, he has attained everything. But there's a vital condition. When is this true? When these gifts are truly gifts from Heaven and are accompanied by the strength of the Torah. However, the strength and wealth derived solely from a mere mortal being are essentially worthless. This aligns with what Yirmiyahu meant in chapter 9, verses 22–23. Thus says Hashem: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor the strong man glory in his strength, let not the rich man glory in his riches. But only in this may one glory: in knowing Me, that I am the Lord..." This presents a deeper understanding of the verse. Simply put, we often interpret this as: "Disregard pride; don't glorify yourself with these three qualities; only knowing God matters." That's not quite right. The message is that you can be praiseworthy for these qualities, but only if they come with the knowledge of God. This is similar to what we say in Eishet Chayil : "False is grace and vain is beauty; a God-fearing woman, she shall be praised." The simple reading suggests ignoring grace and beauty, focusing only on being God-fearing. However, commentators explain that the God-fearing woman is praised for her grace and beauty— because she possesses the proper connection to the Divine. The Danger of Snatching Divine Gifts The Midrash continues by demonstrating that the aforementioned qualities, when misused, can actually lead to a person's downfall. When these gifts do not originate from Hashem, they will eventually cease to be in the owner's possession. The Midrash then shares examples of two wise men, one Jewish and one from the nations: Achitophel and Bileam. Both were exceptionally wise, and both were ultimately eradicated. Two strong men: the Jew Shimshon and the Gentile Goliath. Both were eradicated. Two wealthy individuals: the Jew Korach and the Gentile Haman. Both were eradicated. Why were they eradicated? Because their gifts were not truly from Hashem; rather, they snatched them for themselves. Doesn't God give everything to everyone? The Sefat Emet in his commentary on Parshat Masei (from the years 5631 and 5634) explains: A person upon whom Hashem showers riches must remain humble, always remembering that the wealth doesn't come through his own efforts but is entirely a gift from above. As long as the recipient recognizes Hashem as the source of his good fortune, the gift remains connected to its sacred source and stays in his possession. However, should the recipient forget the source and imagine that he himself created his wealth, the link to the Giver is severed. He has effectively snatched the fortune for himself, it can no longer be described as being from Hashem , and it will inevitably leave him. Maintaining Our Gifts as Gifts from Hashem We learned from the previous Midrash a crucial concept: our gifts from Hashem must remain gifts from Hashem , not things we've snatched away and claimed as solely our own. So, how do we accomplish this? How do we ensure we recognize our blessings as gifts? The commentaries quote the Zohar (Volume 2, page 62a), which discusses the Manna ( Man ). It notes that people of faith ask every single day for their mezonot (food) and parnassah (sustenance) from the Kadosh Baruch Hu , and they pray for it. Such a person is called a Ben Ne'eman (a loyal son). The Zohar then quotes Rebbi Yisa the Elder , who famously would not prepare his food until he first asked Hashem for his parnassah . He would say, "I will not prepare my meal until it has been given to me from the House of the King ." Only after asking would he pause and then say, "Now I have enough time to get the food from the King's house, and now we can start preparing the meal." He stated that this is the way of those who fear God . This is quite profound. He already physically has the food. What is he doing? He is actively connecting what he possesses to its Divine Source , choosing to receive it as a gift even though he knows, technically, he already possesses it. The Daily Prayer for Sustenance This concept is the source for the prayer many people recite in Shema Kolenu , asking for their parnassah and food every single day. The words are: "May it be Your will, Hashem , my God and the God of my forefathers, to prepare sustenance ( parnassah ) and food ( mezonot ) for me and for all the members of my household today and every day—freely, not with limits, in honor but not in disgrace, in contentment, not in pain. May I not be in need of people or their loans, but only from Your hand that is generous, open, and full." We already have the food, so why do we ask for it again? This highlights the central concept of working on our Bitachon daily: Every single day, I need to know that what I have is a gift of God given to me today . When I wake up, my house is a new house I received today; my children are new children; my body is a new body. Nothing I possess—not my wisdom, not my wealth, not my strength—is mine from yesterday. It is all what I receive from God today . This brings us back to the prophet Yirmiyahu : "For only this may one glory: knowing Me ." If you want to be glorified, let it come from your knowledge of God , understanding that He gives you everything anew each day.

This is a special edition focusing on the importance of enhancing your Shabbat for the year of 5786 in the Hebrew calendar). I'll explain why shortly. The Significance of Rosh Hashanah on Shabbat We're all familiar with the Sefer Minchat Ani regarding Parshat Ha'azinu , which states that a year in which Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat is either one of the best or one of the worst of years. It lists historical downfalls associated with such years: the destructions of the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple), the Spanish Inquisition. As we know closer to home, October 27th and 9/11 both occurred in such years. The core question is: what about a year where Rosh Hashanah is on Shabbat makes it capable of such extremes? Next year, 5787, will have this alignment, and it will happen intermittently for several years after that. It behooves us to understand its importance. I'm discussing this now, not just before next Rosh Hashanah, because preparation is key. The Shofar Analogy and the Role of Shabbat Most people ask: "Why is it potentially a bad year? Well, you don't blow the Shofar on Shabbat, so there's no Shofar—it won't be a great year." But this doesn't explain why it can sometimes be a great year. If the only difference is the missing Shofar, why the duality? The explanation lies in a mashal (parable): Imagine a king with two servants. One, a male servant, works in the treasury, managing the royal jewels and crowns. The other, a female servant who is an excellent chef, works in the kitchen, and she is married to the treasury servant. One day, the treasury servant is caught embezzling and sentenced to death. His wife pleads with the king, arguing that if her husband dies, she will be emotionally paralyzed and unable to cook for the king anymore—it's not worth it for the king. The king agrees and pardons his servant. A few years later, the servant falls back into his old ways and starts stealing again. He is caught. The wife again goes to plead for him, but this time, she enters wearing a cast on her arm. The king asks about the cast. She explains that besides stealing, her husband has a temper and broke her arm last week. Hearing this, the king decides: "It's better for you if I don't pardon your husband. If your husband treats you this way, I'm better off having him executed, and you will have a better life." The man's life is then over. Connecting the Parable to Our Lives What does this have to do with us? The servant is the Jewish people. The king is God. The wife is Shabbat . Shabbat is called Shabbat Malka (Queen Shabbat). We know the famous Midrash that says every day has its match, but Shabbat has no match, and God made the Jewish people Shabbat's match. So, we are a couple, and God is the King (or even the matchmaker, the shadchan ). When Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, the Shofar is not blown. The Sages were concerned that people might carry the Shofar, thereby violating Shabbat. Thus, we are protecting Shabbat. Shabbat, our "wife," becomes our lawyer that comes to our rescue before God. Now, how does our lawyer, Shabbat, look when she comes to our rescue? Is she prim and proper, well-dressed, and composed? Or does she have a broken arm or leg—is she injured? How our Shabbat appears when representing us before God on that day determines the outcome. If she looks great, we are pardoned; if she doesn't look good, chas v'shalom (God forbid), the opposite occurs. Why Prepare Now? Why am I telling you this now, with a year to go? Because you cannot wake up the day before Rosh Hashanah that falls on Shabbat and suddenly start fixing your Shabbat observance. You must prepare well in advance. We have forewarning; we know the calendar tells us that our Rosh Hashanah next year falls on Shabbat. The advice is clear: Make sure your "Shabbat Kallah" (your bride/Shabbat) looks her best next year! Start working on your Shabbat now , ensuring it looks as good as it possibly can. What does this mean practically? It means respecting Shabbat with your food and drink, respecting Shabbat by meticulously observing the 39 melachot (prohibited activities). Furthermore, consider your level of spirituality: your learning, your Tehillim (Psalms), whatever it may be—focus on enhancing your Shabbat this year. On a personal note, I know of two very good books on Shabbat observance: "Living Shabbat" and "Embrace Shabbat." Both are available from Artscroll; you can order them at artscroll.com. Perhaps you could read even one piece from one of them at every meal, and in that way, you can work on enhancing your Shabbat this year and getting your [outcome you desire].

The Power of Bitachon: "Behold, God is my Salvation" (Isaiah 12:2) The verse from Isaiah 12:2— הִנֵּה אֵל יְשׁוּעָתִי אֶבְטַח וְלֹא אֶפְחָד כִּי עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ יְהוָה וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה : Hineih Eil Yeshu'ati Evtach v'Lo Efchad ("Behold, God is my salvation; I shall trust and not fear")—serves as a core expression of Bitachon (trust in God) and is a source of strength in many Jewish practices. Its traditional use at Motzei Shabbat , as noted by the Sefer Pri Tzaddik, is to combat the sense of fear one feels when descending from the sanctity of Shabbat back into the challenges and uncertainties of the mundane world. The passage highlights three classic rabbinic interpretations: 1. The Vilna Gaon: Relying on Mercy, Not Merit The Vilna Gaon (Gaon of Vilna) focuses on the specific term used for God: Eil אל The Gaon explains that the correct approach to prayer is to invoke God's mercy and kindness. Eil is a Divine attribute often associated with compassion ( Eil Rachum v'Chanun ). The Interpretation: By declaring Eil Yeshu'ati ("God is my salvation"), we are relying on God's infinite mercy, not our own worthiness or merits. The Result: Therefore, we do not need to fear ( v'Lo Efchad ) that our sins or unworthiness might prevent God's kindness, because God's compassion is eternal and unconditional. The Bitachon is rooted in the quality of the Savior, not the quality of the recipient. 2. The Maharit: Salvation is Guaranteed in Suffering Rabbi Yosef Trani (the Mahari"t), in his sermons on Parshat Va'etchanan , sees this verse as the foundational reason for hope. The verse contains an explicit hint: Ozi v'Zimrat Yah יה , the two-letter name Hashem the full four-letter name), va-Y'hi li li'Y'shu'ah . The Interpretation: The verse teaches that God is with us in our trouble and suffering. Just as the Divine Name is currently incomplete (only partially revealed) in this world, but guaranteed to be complete in the future, so too our ultimate salvation is guaranteed. The Hope: Knowing that God's full name and glory will eventually be revealed provides certainty that the individual will also emerge successfully from their current distress. 3. The Maggid of Dubno: The Salvation is Already Here The Maggid of Dubno highlights a crucial grammatical point in the phrase, va-Y'hi li li'Y'shu'ah ("and He was a salvation for me"). The Grammatical Insight: The verse does not use the future tense, -Y'hi ("and it will be"), rather the past tense, Vayehi ("and it was"). The Interpretation: This implies that salvation is already here, right now, even though we do not perceive it. The suffering is not merely a prelude to salvation; it is itself an intrinsic part of the redemptive process. The Analogy: This is likened to the growth of the Messiah ( tzemach David ), who is compared to a growing plant ( tzemach ). When the seed is buried underground and seems to be decaying, it is already in the crucial stage of growing toward the visible tree. The Element of Surprise: Hineih This understanding connects powerfully to the opening word of the verse: Hineih הנה , which means "Behold!" or "Surprise!" Citing examples like the birth of Jacob and Esau ( כד) וַיִּמְלְאוּ יָמֶיהָ לָלֶדֶת וְהִנֵּה תוֹמִם בְּבִטְנָהּ :or Jacob's surprise upon marrying Leah וַיְהִי בַבֹּקֶר וְהִנֵּה הִוא לֵאָה , Hineih signifies an unexpected realization. The Conclusion: The surprise is the realization: "Behold! I didn't realize it, but God is my salvation right here, right now." In the future, we will look back and understand the underlying meaning of history and even be grateful for the tribulations, because they were the necessary process leading to redemption and spiritual triumph (as referenced in Isaiah 12:1). This powerful verse encapsulates the teaching of Rabbi Wolbe to be a "pasuk of strength" when situations are unclear, urging us to root our trust not in our circumstances, but in the unwavering and ever-present nature of the Divine commitment.

The Lesson of Bitachon: Overcoming Jealousy and Finding Your Unique Mission This lesson on Bitachon (trust and reliance on God) is drawn from the teachings of Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe , specifically in a letter he wrote to a young Yeshivah bachur (student) suffering from depression and lack of focus in his learning. Rabbi Wolbe identifies the root cause of the student's distress—and the core theme of the story of Cain and Abel in the weekly Torah portion ( Parsha )—as jealousy. The Root Cause: Measuring Yourself by Others The student, being in a Yeshivah environment surrounded by talented peers, was constantly comparing himself to others. He could only see his friends' positive qualities and talents while focusing exclusively on his own deficiencies and lacking's. He felt that because he didn't possess their specific gifts, he was unable to achieve success. To combat this, Rabbi Wolbe stresses a fundamental principle of Bitachon : You must know that HaKadosh Baruch Hu (God) gives every single person the necessary talents and abilities to fulfill his or her mission in life. This concept is acknowledged every morning in the Birchot HaShachar (Morning Blessings) when we declare: She'asah li kol tzarchi ("Who has provided me with all my needs"). This blessing confirms that everything a person requires—both physically and spiritually—to fulfill their unique destiny has already been granted to them by the Creator. The problem, therefore, is not a lack of abilities, but a lack of perspective: constantly measuring oneself with other people's measuring sticks. The Principle of Non-Overlapping Kingdoms Rabbi Wolbe calls the recognition of one's unique giftedness an Avodah Gedolah (great and important work). The crucial realization is embodied in the principle: Ein Malchut Noga'at B'Chavarta (One kingdom does not touch the other.) This means that the reign of two kings will not overlap. In a spiritual context, it signifies that God gave you your abilities, and only you can do what you are meant to do. Your friends, with all their specific talents and knowledge, will fulfill their missions, and you will fulfill yours . You must stop comparing yourself to others and instead believe that your Creator has already provided all your spiritual needs. The Lesson from Cain and Abel The lesson of non-reliance on external approval is mirrored in the Torah's account of Cain. When God rejects Cain's offering, He asks him: "Why are you so upset, and why has your face fallen? If you do good, you will be lifted up..." (Genesis 4:6-7). Commenting on this verse, the Or HaChaim (a classic commentary) notes that when a person performs good deeds, those deeds naturally elevate themselves. The spiritual status of the deed is inherent, not dependent on external validation. Rabbi Wolbe emphasizes a related powerful statement: HaKedusha einah tzerichah la'acheirim (Holiness does not need the approval of others.) You are not dependent on others to validate your efforts or your talents. If you possess the qualities, you need only to execute your mission. The Danger: Rotting Bones This concept is rooted in the verse from Proverbs (14:30): Rakev atzamot kinah (Jealousy causes the bones to rot). When a person is consumed by jealousy, they forget all the positive things God has given them. They only focus on what others possess, and in the process, their own inherent potential atrophies. The "bones" that support the person's self-worth become rotten due to the focus on what is lacking. The Final Foundation It is crucial to believe that God does not want everyone to look, learn, or understand things the same way. Each person has their own approach based on their unique talents and abilities. When a person dedicates effort using their personal gifts, they will merit achieving what they need to achieve. Rabbi Wolbe concludes with a famous story of Rabbi Naftali Amsterdam, one of the foremost students of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter: Rabbi Amsterdam once lamented to his Rebbe : "If only I had the keen intellect of the Sha'agat Aryeh, the pious heart of the Yesod V'Shoresh HaAvodah, and the perfected character traits of my Rebbe (Rabbi Salanter)— then I could truly serve God!" Rabbi Salanter immediately responded: "Naftali, with your head, with your heart, and your character traits, you can be a true servant of God." This is the fundamental principle of Bitachon : Believing that God has given you exactly what you need to fulfill your mission in life, and relying on Him to help you get there. The first murder in history stemmed from this failure to understand one's own mission, a "Cain" trait that we must all recognize and strive to overcome.

Rambam's Understanding of Sukkot (Guide for the Perplexed, 3:43) The Rambam explains that the holiday of Sukkot is designed to achieve the goal of ששון ושמחה (happiness and joy), and for this reason, it must last for seven days, " כדי שיתפרסם הענין " (so the topic will become well-known and advertised) and make a lasting impact. The Timing and Mindsets (Cognition and Character Traits) The time of the holiday is explicitly set by the Torah during the gathering of the harvest, a period when people have peace of mind and are relieved from the most basic needs. This setting is ideal for imparting two crucial lessons: 1. Mindset (Cognition/Knowledge): Remembering Miracles: It is an opportunity to remember the miracles that happened to the Jewish people in the desert for the benefit of future generations. 2. Character Trait ( מדות - Humility and Gratitude): Remembering Humble Beginnings: A person, successful and at the "top of the world" while gathering their grain, must remember their earlier, humble beginnings and "bad days." Reason 1: Gratitude: To take the opportunity to thank the Creator who brought them to this success. Reason 2: Humility: To cultivate the trait of humility and prevent arrogance due to current success. The Act of Dwelling in the Sukkah To fully internalize this lesson, the Rambam emphasizes the physical act of leaving one's home and dwelling in the Sukkah: Living the Lesson: We sit in temporary booths, reminding ourselves that we were once desert wanderers and were in a "suffering state." The Sukkah as a Booth (Not necessarily 'Ananei Kavod'): The emphasis here is on the simple booths of desert wanderers, a more fundamental understanding of the commandment, rather than solely the "Clouds of Glory" ( 'Ananei Kavod ). The Transition: We remember that from those simple beginnings, God brought us to our beautiful homes. The Role of Zechut Avot (Merit of the Forefathers) The Rambam explains that the Jewish people merited to leave the simple booths and live in beautiful homes for two reasons: God's Kindness. The Promises Made to the Forefathers: Specifically, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, who were perfect in their mindsets and character traits. This leads to a fundamental principle: Source of Blessing: All the good that God has given and will give is because of זכות אבות (the merit of our forefathers), who maintained the דרך השם (path of God) and performed acts of righteousness. This reinforces the lesson of humility, as our success is not solely due to our own current merit. Shemini Atzeret and the Arba Minim (Four Species) Shemini Atzeret: Since not all the requisite happiness can be fully achieved in the temporary Sukkah, the people come back into their homes to "finish off the happiness" on the concluding eighth day. Arba Minim : The four species indicate appreciation for the transition from the desert to the fertile land of Israel ( Eretz Yisrael ). The desert does not produce such fruits and beautiful plants, which require fertile, moist land. Choosing species for their nice smell and beautiful appearance allows us to appreciate the success of our crops, which further necessitates humility at this time. Modern Application The Rambam's outlook is highly practical and can be applied in modern times: Material Success: Just as farmers appreciate their crops, a modern person (e.g., selling shoes or handbags) can view their products and appreciate their year's success, which further inspires humility and gratitude. Personal Origins: The lesson extends beyond remembering the journey to Eretz Yisrael to remembering one's personal, family, or national origins. Anyone whose family immigrated can remember the humble beginnings and origins of their grandparents—the modest homes, apartment buildings, and origins—to appreciate their current success, become humbled and thankful, and remember the זכות אבות .

There are important principles in our faith, which basically come down to one important point, which is that God's wisdom is above our wisdom and therefore, we don't understand how He acts with us and we don't necessarily understand what He asks us to do (Mitzvot). And actually we can take it a step further- We don't understand nature either. Why am I putting these three things together? Because these are three areas where God reveals Himself in the world. God reveals Himself in nature; He created the world, that's one of the places He reveals himself, and yet there are so many things that are beyond our understanding- the human body, the animal kingdom, the botanical kingdom and so on. Then there are the commandments that He gave us: Tefilin, Sisit etc. And then there is the way God acts with us. All three of these are beyond our understanding, but we can apply one to the other. There's a story where someone once came to the Chazon Ish and said, " I don't understand the way God's acting with me. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't seem fair." So the Chazon Ish sat down with him to learn Gemara, and after learning the Gemara and Tosafot (which is a little difficult to understand), the man did not understand it. And the Chazon Ish said, " If you don't understand this Tosafot, you don't understand this piece of information that God gave over how, are you going understand the way God is acting with you?" Each one of these three areas can teach us that don't understand. We don't understand Mitzvot and Torah, We don't understand creation… exactly how certain things work in our body, And lastly, we don't understand how He acts with us. In this week's perasha, two out of the three show up. The first one is where Moshe Rabbenu says, הַצּוּר֙ תָּמִ֣ים פׇּֽעֳל֔וֹ כִּ֥י כׇל־דְּרָכָ֖יו מִשְׁפָּ֑ט אֵ֤ל אֱמוּנָה֙ וְאֵ֣ין עָ֔וֶל צַדִּ֥יק וְיָשָׁ֖ר הֽוּא God is a rock. Everything He does is perfect. All of his ways are just. He's a loyal God, a reliable God, there is no iniquity. He's righteous. He's straight. And that means everything that God does is perfect. The Midrash Tehilim says, on this pasuk, "They told Moshe," (I don't know who they is), " Who made it that you can't go into Eretz Yisrael?" And he said, "I caused it to happen." And they said, " You caused it? God caused it." But Moshe said, " Heaven forbid. even if you see something that doesn't seem right, for example, if a good man is suffering or the opposite, you always have to know this Pasuk: HaSur Tamim Paalo God is a rock. Everything He does is perfect." Moshe Rabbenu said this, as we quoted above from this week's perasha. And this is similar to another interaction where they tell Adam HaRishon, " Who caused you to die?" and he answers, "I caused myself to die. " And they say, " What do you mean, didn't God cause you to die?" He says, " Heaven forbid," and gives a mashal of a man that's lying on his sickbed. The doctor tells him what to eat and what not to eat, but he doesn't listen to the doctor. Now, when he's deathly ill, someone says, " Did the doctor cause you to become deathly ill ?" And he says, " No, the doctor didn't cause me deathly ill. I didn't listen to the doctor, and that's why I'm deathly ill." That is an important concept. Tamim Pa'alo Everything God does is perfect and we can't question- because of this very point. We have to accept that God is fair and God is just, and we just don't understand it.. It's beyond us to understand. That's when it comes to the way God acts. When it comes to Mitzvot, it's also a pasuk in the perasha, כִּ֠י לֹֽא־דָבָ֨ר רֵ֥ק הוּא֙ " It is not something empty from you ,״ referring to the Mitzvot, " it's your life." The Gemara Yerushalmi in Pe'ah says, " If it's empty, it's because you are empty." Sometimes people say, " That makes no sense," when really it does make sense, but they just don't understand it. The the lacking is not in it , the lacking is in you. The Chafetz Chaim gives a mashal of a man who had a suit that was tailored perfectly to him. A few months later, he goes back to the tailor and says, " This suit is too big. It doesn't fit me ." And the tailor says, " The suit was made perfectly. The problem is, you got sick and lost a lot of weight. That's why the suit is baggy." And the same thing is true for us. If someone says, " Hey, the mitzvah of Tefilin doesn't fit me well, it doesn't make sense to me," the Chafetz Chaim says, " The Tefilin is the right size. Your head just got smaller." You don't understand. The lacking is in you . This is the important principle that we are discussing: Our ability to understand is limited. We cannot understand how Mitzvot work, but if we don't understand, it's not that the mitzvah doesn't make sense, but rather, it's something that we're lacking. If God acts in a certain way and we don't like it, it's because we don't understand it. Again, God's actions are perfect, and His decisions are just..we just don't understand them. The last one, which is not in the Perasha , is how does nature work? How do the wonders of nature work? And just as we'll never understand the wisdom of creation, so too, we don't understand how God acts with us and we don't understand God's Mitzvot. Basically, we have to say, "I have faith. I rely on Hashem. He knows what He's doing." Have a wonderful day and a Shabbat Shalom.