https://www.artscroll.com/ Books/lemynh.html Living Emunah on Yamim Noraim Gaining faith from the Days of Awe There are many rituals that we do, often without thinking too much of their significance. When a person moves into a new home, he is supposed to make a Chanukat Habayit , which consists of a meal and a reading, including portions of Mishnah…

Parashat Ki-Tavo begins with the mitzvah of bikkurim – the requirement that a farmer bring the first of his fruits that ripen each year to the Bet Ha'mikdash , and present them as a gift to a kohen . The Torah commands, ובאת אל הכהן אשר יהיה בימים ההם – "You shall come to the kohen who will be in those days." Rashi explains that the Torah adds the …

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https://www.artscroll.com/ Books/lemynh.html Living Emunah on Yamim Noraim Gaining faith from the Days of Awe One of the ways that a person can receive an abundance of mercy from Hashem is by emulating His character traits. One of the middot of Hashem is called מי קל כמוך . The Tomer Devorah explains, this is referring to Hashem's attribute of havi…

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https://www.artscroll.com/ Books/lemynh.html Living Emunah on Yamim Noraim Gaining faith from the Days of Awe Sometimes it appears at face value that good people lose out and wicked people prosper. This is because Hashem hides Himself so well and does not let it be obvious that those who follow Him always win and those who don't always lose. Becaus…

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https://www.artscroll.com/ Books/lemynh.html Living Emunah on Yamim Noraim Gaining faith from the Days of Awe The Rambam writes, the more a person learns about who Hashem is, the closer he gets to Him, and the more favor he finds in His eyes. There's a sefer called Tomer Devorah , which explains in detail the attributes of Hashem. Rav Chaim of Sanz…

A Daily Gemara podcast, brought to you by Daily GemaraBy Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

A Daily Gemara podcast, brought to you by Daily GemaraBy Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

A Daily Gemara podcast, brought to you by Daily GemaraBy Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

This week's parasha begins with the words כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך - when you go out to war against your enemy. The sefarim hakedoshim tell us that besides for its simple explanation, this pasuk is also referring to the war against our evil inclination. The Maor V'Shemesh in parashat Ki Tetzeh writes that the main attack of the yetzer hara is to stop…

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The goal of every parent is to train their children to want to do the will of Hashem on their own without having to be told to. One of the greatest tools we can give them for this is to teach them about who they are serving, to tell them how much Hashem loves them and is interested in helping them, to teach them how Hashem controls everything that …

The story is told of a man who once approached a Rabbi and asked a question which we have likely all asked ourselves at one point or another, in some form or another. "Why does Hashem want me to perform mitzvot ?" he asked. "He already has angels, who are perfect, pristine creatures. I'm just a human being. I'm very flawed. I make a lot of mistakes…

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One of the main jobs of a person in this world is to see through the facade of nature and recognize Hashem's absolute control over everything. It is not the food that we eat that keeps us alive. But rather, as the pasuk says, כי על מוצא פי ה' יחיה האדם - we live because Hashem says so. It is not the clothing that we wear which keeps us warm. It is …

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The pasuk says in Kohelet, בבוקר זרע את זרעך ולערב אל תנח ידך .The Gemara in Masechet Yevamot learns from this pasuk that even if a person had many students when he was young and vibrant, he should continue trying to find more in his old age. Also, a person should never underestimate the potential of any student. As it says in the Avot d'Rabbi Nata…

A Daily Gemara podcast, brought to you by Daily GemaraBy Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

A Daily Gemara podcast, brought to you by Daily GemaraBy Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

A Daily Gemara podcast, brought to you by Daily GemaraBy Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

A Daily Gemara podcast, brought to you by Daily GemaraBy Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

There are many situations in which people have great needs but the odds of them getting what they need are extraordinarily low. The natural feelings in those situations would be to despair of getting help. It could be a doctor giving a patient a negative report, it could be a specialist telling a couple they most probably will never have children, …

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The pasuk says that Hashem is משביע לכל חי רצון , which seems to be saying that Hashem provides nourishment for every living creature. However, the midrash asks, if so, it should have said that Hashem is משביע לעל חי מזון , referring to food. Why does it say the word רצון , meaning desire? The midrash answers, this pasuk is coming to tell us that H…

I was once in a post office, and started chatting with the fellow working there behind the counter. Over the course of our conversation, he mentioned that he had served in the Marines. "The Marines?" I said. "Wow, that's amazing." He said that he spent some time in Afghanistan. I asked how much time he spent there, and he said that he was there for…

A Daily Gemara podcast, brought to you by Daily GemaraBy Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

Before every Rosh Chodesh, the moon completely disappears from our view for 24 hours. And then right afterward, on Rosh Chodesh, there's a rebirth of the new moon. And then each day, we see more and more of the moon. And we make a beracha called ברכת הלבנה , or otherwise known as Kiddush Levana. The Gemara says, when the amoraim used to make this b…

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Hashem decides who marries who and exactly when the wedding should take place. When the time is right, He puts everything in order so that His will will come to fruition and the couple that's destined for each other will get married. A man told me his good friend who we'll call David was trying to get married for about ten years. During the first c…

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One of the consequences of Adam HaRishon's sin was בזיעת אפיך תאכל לחם , which the Kuntrus Minchat Ezra explains to mean that from then on all of mankind had to live in the falsehood of what we call hishtadlut . Why is it a falsehood? If we were asked the following question, "A person takes medication and he gets healed. Did Hashem heal the person …

A Daily Gemara podcast, brought to you by Daily GemaraBy Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

A Daily Gemara podcast, brought to you by Daily GemaraBy Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

A Daily Gemara podcast, brought to you by Daily GemaraBy Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

There are times when people seem to be doing everything right, but everything seems to be going wrong for them. During those times it is natural to feel discouraged and ask oneself, why should I continue on this path when it doesn't seem like Hashem is appreciating what I do anyway? Sometimes a person learns about a good practice to take on that is…