Every moment of life that Hashem gives a person in this world is the greatest chesed . Rabbenu Yonah writes, with a moment of life, a person can make teshuva and go from being in the deepest darkness to the greatest light. The Gemara tells us how, on different occasions, people utilized the final moments of their lives to acquire eternity. Rav Aaron Dov Gellis related that he once had a relative who had a severe illness and the doctors were periodically treating him with blood transfusions in order to lengthen his life. It got to a point, however, where those procedures were only capable of granting him a few more days, possibly just a few more hours of life, and each time he underwent a transfusion he endured pain all over his body. Deeply troubled by the pain his relative was going through, Rabbi Gellis went to ask the Chazon Ish if it was worthwhile to continue those transfusions for just a small amount of life. The Chazon Ish immediately replied, “Every moment that a Jew lives is extremely valuable to the Ribbono Shel Olam . He should most definitely continue getting the transfusions.” Many years ago a man named Rav Yitzchak was told by his doctor in Mount Sinai Hospital that the results of his tests were terrible, as the disease spread all over his body. Tears began streaming down Rav Yitzchak's face as he asked the doctor if there was anything he could do to cure it. The doctor replied there was a surgery that could be done that would extend his life for about six months, but the entire six months would be filled with pain across his entire body. The doctor then suggested it would be better for him to pass on sooner with as little pain as possible. Rav Yitzchak said he wanted to speak to the Gadol HaDor Rav Moshe Feinstein about it. His son took him to the Gadol's house so he could personally ask the question. After hearing the entire situation, Rav Moshe empathized with him and then told him to go back and do the surgery. And he explained as follows, “Most people in the world at large live for the pleasures that life has to offer. If the only choice they had would be to be bedridden and inflicted with agony for six months, they would surely rather die. But a Jew knows what life is all about. It's about grabbing mitzvot at every opportunity possible.” Rav Moshe's voice then grew stronger and he exclaimed, “Rav Yitzchak, you're a Jew. You will still be able to put on tefillin . You'll still be able to daven. You'll still be able to do teshuva . You'll still be able to learn more Chumash and Mishnayot . Is that not all worth the pain? Imagine how many mitzvot you could do in half a year. These six months can be converted into eternity in Olam HaBa . Is that not worthwhile?” Rav Yitzchak went back to the doctor, and told him what the Gadol had said. The doctor began tearing up himself. He said he was a Jew who moved from Israel many years before to study medicine and eventually became the chief surgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital. He never knew what it meant to be a Jew, to truly value life and recognize that every minute is given for a purpose. The surgeon then asked if he could meet Rabbi Feinstein and he did. The surgery was done and it was a success. Rav Yitzchak ended up living for three more years and amassed a fortune of mitzvot during that time. Although he was in a lot of pain, he cleaved to HaKadosh Baruch Hu the entire time. At one point during a visit to the hospital, he saw the chief surgeon who was then wearing a big kipa on his head. “Rav Yitzchak,” he exclaimed, “that day that I met you and the Rabbi changed my life. You went through a surgery and so did I. You had surgery on your liver and I went through a heart transplant. I got rid of my previous lifestyle and rededicated my heart to my Creator. Starting that day, I began to live with a new heart.” Indeed, every moment of life is a treasure. We have to value it and thank Hashem for every breath that we take.

In this week's parasha , Hashem tells Moshe צו את אהרון ואת בניו לאמר, and Rashi writes, אין צו אלא לשון זירוז. Moshe was told by Hashem to inspire and encourage the Kohanim regarding their work with the korban olah . Rabbi Reuven Elbaz in his sefer Moshcheni Acharecha writes that in life Hashem gives everybody moments of encouragement and inspiration, and it is the job of man to grab those moments and use them to elevate himself spiritually and get closer to Hashem. Rav Yechezkel Levenstein the great mashgiach of Ponevezh who has inspired tens of thousands of people with his sefarim entitled Ohr Yechezkel once told a student of his that he attributed all of his spiritual gains to one moment of inspiration which he grabbed and kept with him for the rest of his life. It was during a speech that he heard from the great Mashgiach from Mir, Reb Yerucham Levovitz. In that speech, he learned what it means to feel Hashem's presence at all times and see Him in everything that he does and encounters. Everybody experiences hashgachat Hashem in their own lives. Sometimes they are able to see it more than others. One of the reasons Hashem allows us to see His hand clearly at those times is because He is giving us moments of inspiration. The wise man captures the moment and etches it in his brain for life, utilizing it to get closer to Hashem. And then, even during the trying moments when his resolve is being tested, he doesn't budge from his emunah because he knows Hashem is with him. Rabbi Elbaz gave a parable to crystallize the point. If a man was lost and found himself in a dark forest with wild animals lurking, the darkness being so thick he could barely see a foot in front of him. He has no idea how to escape, but he knows he has to do it quickly before he is caught by an animal. Then, all of a sudden, a bolt of lightning flashes. The entire forest lights up. The smart man will make it a point to capture that image and then use it to navigate his way out of there. So too it is in life. Hashem gives everyone moments of clarity. It is up to us to utilize them to help ourselves navigate through life properly. Everyone experiences hashgacha pratit . It doesn't necessarily have to be with big things. But when those moments happen, Hashem is talking to us. Sometimes they're more clear than others. Dr. Meir Wikler told a story about a man, Meyer Isakov, and his wife who lived in Har Nof. They both had the most wonderful middot and their home was always open to taking guests in. Although they didn't have so much money, they managed to always care for the people who came through their doors. A baal teshuva named Zev Eisner became inspired at Aish HaTorah and left his secular life in California to learn in that yeshiva in Israel. He was very shy and never found peace when going to other people's homes for meals, until he met Meyer and his wife. He felt so comfortable there, he made them his go-to home. The one Shabbat a month he left yeshiva, he would always go eat by them. Baruch Hashem, after nine long years, Meyer and his wife were blessed with their first child. Their joy knew no bounds. Eventually, they moved the baby into a crib in the other room in their apartment. It was a few weeks before Sukkot and Zev was eating over them for Shabbat. Before he left, he asked if he could stay by them for the entire holiday of Sukkot as his yeshiva was going to be closed. "Of course," they answered immediately, even though there was no room in the apartment for him to sleep. Since they were going to sleep in the sukkah anyway, it wouldn't be a problem. The only problem was they didn't have any extra mattresses for him to sleep on and they couldn't really afford to buy one either. They were hoping over the next couple of weeks they would be able to borrow one. However, as Yom Tov approached, they had not been successful in finding one. Meyer gave his wife chizuk saying, not to worry, they were doing ratzon Hashem and he was sure Hashem would help. His wife told him, "I wish I had your bitachon . You know, this mattress is not the only thing we need. Our baby is getting bigger and soon he is going to need a highchair." "I wish I could afford one," replied Meyer. "But you know how impossible it is for us to afford something that expensive now. We could still manage without it and when we really need it, Hashem will provide it." The next day was Erev Sukkot. Even Meyer felt his emunah being tested. He still had no bed for Zev who would be arriving in a few hours. Two hours later, the bell rang. It was Shia who lived down the block. He needed a favor, he also had a new baby in the house and a lot of guests coming over. He needed to make room for them. He said there were a couple of things he wasn't going to need for a while, but he didn't want to sell them. So he was wondering if Meyer had any storage space for them. "What were they?" A folding bed and a highchair. The hashgacha of Hashem was amazing – sending them exactly what they needed at the exact moment they needed it. For Meyer and his wife, that was a moment of clarity, a clear indication Hashem was with them, a moment they would never forget. If we use the moments of inspiration Hashem gives us, we'll be able to grow and become the people we're meant to become. Shabbat Shalom.

When Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, the Rav of Brisk, left his city to make aliyah , the leaders of the Brisk community sent a delegation to Warsaw to ask Rav Yosef Dov Soloveichik, otherwise known as the Bet HaLevi, to become their new Rav. When the Rabbi heard the offer, he immediately declined the position. The delegation persisted with arguments as to why he should become their Rav, but to no avail, until they said, “There are 25,000 Jews waiting for you to lead them.” When the Rav heard that, he said, “If that's the case, then I have to come.” When the Chafetz Chaim heard this story, he cried. And when inquired as to why he was crying, he answered, “Because this proves, we are not anticipating Mashiach . If Rav Yosef Dov felt the responsibility to go when 25,000 Jews were waiting for him, the Mashiach would have surely come, if Klal Yisrael was truly waiting for him.” We know we need Mashiach , but it's hard to yearn for him the way we're supposed to. With a little chizuk , a person can easily come to anticipate the Mashiach the way Hashem wants us to, especially at this time of year, which Chazal tells us is auspicious for Geula . A rabbi from the UK told me he went with his family to visit his grandfather in Eretz Yisrael . His grandfather is a 98-year-old Holocaust survivor, may he live and be well. They spent each day there, devoting most of their time to being with him. For the last day of their trip, they decided they wanted to go on a family outing for the second part of the day after spending the morning with their grandfather. So the night before, they spent a long time researching to find just the right place for their children that would be somewhat fun and also a learning experience. Finally, they found a place called Nachal Tzipori that had a river with beautiful scenery. It was also the place that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi lived, so they would be able to have a learning experience there as well. The next afternoon, they drove for a very long time, and as they were finally getting close to their destination, they realized they were in some type of Arab territory. Although they drove so far to get there, they did not feel comfortable continuing, and so they turned their car around to go back. But first, the rabbi checked his GPS to see if there was anything else close by that they could do. He saw that less than ten minutes away was the grave of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi in Beit Shearim. They got so excited and quickly drove there, but just as they pulled up, the parks department closed the gates, telling them that it was being closed for the day. It was too late, they had just missed it. At that moment, the rabbi thought to himself, what's the message he's supposed to take? Here, he planned for hours one fun day with his family, and now all they did was drive for a long time to get there, and were going to have to drive a long time to get back. He couldn't quite figure it out, but he accepted it was m'et Hashem. The rabbi mentioned he's part of a worldwide program called Oraysa, where thousands of people learn one amud of Gemara a day, with review of the previous day's learning. He had fallen a couple of days behind on this trip. When he got back to the UK, he sat down in shul to catch up. He couldn't believe the words he was reading in the Gemara in Masechet Rosh Hashanah, daf 31b . The Gemara spoke there about how the Shechina went into exile in ten stages, corresponding to the Sanhedrin which was exiled to ten places. It said, two of the places that they were exiled to were Bet She'arim and Tzipori, one after the other. Those were the two places that the rabbi had just gone to. He checked the date of when that particular page was supposed to be learned, and it was exactly on the day that he traveled to those places. Perhaps the message was, when we encounter our day-to-day struggles and things don't work out so perfectly like we planned them to, it should be a reminder that we are in galut . The Shechina, kavayachol, is homeless. Maybe if we would focus a little more on bringing the Shechina back, rather than on our own inconveniences, that would be the zechut we need to bring the Mashiach and the Geulah . Amen.

The Chovot HaLevavot describes at the end of the Sha’ar HaBitachon the eighth level of trust in Hashem, in which a person understands that he needs Hashem for everything he does, even the simplest tasks, and because of that he is constantly looking to Hashem for help all day long. This will enable him to get to the next level. He will begin to appreciate Hashem's compassion on him, and see that everything Hashem does is with intent to bestow kindness upon him. Then he will reach the very high level of wanting whatever Hashem wants for him. He will not just accept that whatever Hashem does to him is good. He will actually feel that way in his heart as well. He will submit himself entirely to Hashem and will not even desire to be in any other situation than his current one. The Chovot HaLevavot quoted a master of bitachon saying, “I never woke up being in a certain situation and desired to be anywhere else.” This is referring to his physical state. In matters of spirituality, we are encouraged, and we are supposed to want more. Then, after a person's awareness of Hashem grows even stronger, he is ready for the tenth and highest level of bitachon . What the Chovot HaLevavot is about to tell us is the goal of every bote’ach b’Hashem. We may think that the ultimate goal of bitachon is to be able to get whatever we want by trusting in Hashem for it. That, however, is not the goal. A person who is already on the ninth level does not desire more than he has, unless it will benefit him spiritually. The highest level is when a person truly understands the purpose for which he was created. He begins to recognize the importance of the Next World that endures forever. This causes him to despise anything in this world that is not important for that goal. Things that may make other people happy or sad do not affect him at all. He doesn't get upset if he doesn't get a certain physical pleasure or a luxury that others may be yearning for. He understands how fleeting and temporary things of this world really are. He commits himself in his mind, in his neshama, and in his body completely to Hashem. He loves thinking about Hashem and feels empty when he's not contemplating the greatness of Hashem. When he's in large gatherings, he has no desire to impress people. All he wants is to please Hashem. The joy that he gets in his love of Hashem far surpasses the joy that people get from partaking in the pleasures that this world has to offer. Even the joy that people will have in the World to Come is secondary to him, because he loves Hashem so much that nothing else could possibly compare to it. This is the highest level that a person with complete bitachon could possibly reach. This is the level that the Nevi'im and the greatest of all time have reached, those who are Hashem's precious treasure. Although this level is attained by few, it's good just to know that this is the ultimate level. The Ramban counts bitachon as one of the 613 mitzvot. It's a middah that leads to more spirituality and closeness to Hashem. Bitachon is not just a tool to get what we want out of Hashem, it's a very high level of avodat Hashem that culminates with being lovesick over Hashem and thinking about Him all the time and only wanting to please Him. May Hashem help us grow to greater and greater levels in our quest to rise through these levels of bitachon .

The Chovot Ha Levavot, at the end of the last perek of the Shaar HaBitachon gives us a rule about having bitachon in Hashem. He says the more a person learns about Hashem and understands how much control He has over the person's life and how much He cares for the person's well-being, the more bitachon the person will have in Him. This means we need to learn sifreh mussar that teach us about who Hashem is and how much He loves us. The more we do that, the more bitachon we'll have. The Chovot Ha Levavot then describes the ten levels of trust that a person goes through in the natural course of life. It starts with the nursing infant. A baby at that stage of life thinks that his mother's milk is what is taking care of him because that's all he knows. When his perception grows stronger, he shifts his confidence from the mother's milk to the mother herself, as he begins to recognize the abundant care that she has for him. Then his perception grows stronger and he sees that his mother is really dependent on his father who supports the family, and so he shifts his trust to him. He appreciates the value of his father providing for him and trusts in him accordingly. When he becomes physically stronger and is ready to use his own talents to earn a living, then he shifts his trust to his own skills. He does not yet realize that everything that happened to him in his life until that point was all because of Hashem's benevolent control. He is supposed to understand that just like he was not born because of his abilities and was not nursed because of his abilities, so too he was not supported because of his abilities until then, and will not be supported because of his abilities going forward. The Chovot HaLevavot then tells a story about an expert scribe who supported himself through his craft. One day, his neighbor asked him how things were going. The scribe replied, “As long as my hand is in good shape, I will be in good shape.” Unfortunately, that same night, a mishap occurred to his hand and he was never able to write with that hand for the rest of his life. The Chovot HaLevavot said it was a consequence because he believed in his hand instead of Hashem. That hand became a stumbling block for his real purpose in life. If a person earns his livelihood through other people, he will then shift his trust to them, assuming they will help him whenever he is in trouble. However, when his perception grows stronger, he will see that the people he thought were self-sufficient have their own deficiencies and are in need of Hashem's help themselves. He comes to realize that the person he is trusting in does not live forever. He also can get sick or weak. He also has his struggles with business. At that point, he will begin trusting in Hashem, but on a limited basis. He will trust in Hashem for matters that he knows he has no control over. He will pray to Hashem for rain. He will pray to Hashem to protect him while at sea. Or he will pray to be protected from sicknesses and life-threatening circumstances. When his awareness of Hashem gets stronger, he will then trust in Hashem even for things in which he feels like he has at least some control over. But then, when his awareness of Hashem grows even stronger, he'll begin placing his trust in Him to help him with everything he does, even the simplest tasks. He'll find himself asking Hashem to help him get to his destination safely, although it's nearby. He'll ask Hashem for help throughout his day, every step of the way. He will know, even when he's at work talking to a buyer, it will be Hashem deciding if he'll get the sale. A man told me he's a workaholic. He feels any minute he's not at his business, something catastrophic could occur. He is working very hard on trusting in Hashem more. One day recently, he was feeling very run down and in need of a day off. He forced himself to stay home and rest. As he was feeling a little better, he went to his back porch to learn Torah and catch up with his children who are learning in Eretz Yisrael . While he was on the phone with one of them, he got another call from his business telling him someone important called asking to speak with him. He called that man back, who made an order by phone that was the biggest order he had received in a very long time. He told me the lesson was clear. He thought his business couldn't run without him there. And Hashem showed him, on the day he's not there, he'll get his biggest sale. With Hashem's help, tomorrow we'll continue with the final two levels of bitachon .

The Gemara says we don't say Hallel on Purim because the reading of the Megilah takes the place of Hallel. On the surface level, this is difficult to understand. Hallel is words of praise to Hashem while reading the Megila just tells a story. In fact, the name of Hashem is not written there at all, so where exactly is the praise? One answer is that precisely because Hashem's name is not there, and we are reading the story with the understanding that He is behind everything that was happening, that itself is the praise of Hashem- recognizing that He’s behind the scenes in every occurrence, and there's a master plan in motion. Whenever someone relates a Hashgacha Peratit story, it’s the same kind of praise. They're understanding that the seemingly regular events that took place in their lives were completely orchestrated by Hashem. They put Hashem's name into every sentence and turn a mundane story into a great mitzvah. The more a person can recognize Hashem's involvement, the greater the praise becomes. Rabbi Menashe Reizman quoted a Chatam Sofer who brought to light an unbelievable praise of Hashem in Megillat Esther. It says there that Ahashverosh had seven close advisors, and when Vashti refused his request, he advised with them on how to go about punishing her. As we know, Vashti being killed is what paved the way for Esther to come in and bring about salvation to Klal Yisrael. It was this meeting that was deciding the fate of Vashti. There was already a prosecution in heaven on Vashti, being the granddaughter of Nevuchadnezer who destroyed the Beit Hamikdash, but that was not enough to seal her fate. The Gemara says that each of the names of the seven advisors hinted to a different aspect of the service of the Beit Hamikdash, and that brought the angels in heaven to ask Hashem to have mercy on His nation, in the merit of the service of the Beit Hamikdash. כרשנא (Karshena), the name of the first advisor, sounds like the words Kar Ben Shana, which the Maharsha says refers to the daily offerings in the Beit Hamikdash. The angels in heaven said to Hashem, ‘If you don't save the Jews, who is going to bring the Kar Ben Shana?’ The next advisor's name was שתר (Shetar), which sounds like the words שתי תורין (Sheteh Torin), the two turtle doves that were brought for certain offerings. And once again, the angels said to Hashem, ‘If you don't save the Jews, who is going to bring those offerings to You?’ The third advisor's name was אדמתא (Admata), which hints to the Mizbe’ach Adama, the altar made of earth upon which all of the Korbanot were brought. The next advisor's name was תרשיש (Tarshish), which alludes to the Tarshish stone that was put into the breastplate of the Kohen Gadol, who worked in the Beit Hamikdash. The next advisor's name was מרס (Meres), which alludes to the stirring of the blood of certain bird offerings. The next advisor's name was מרסנא (Marsina), which alluded to the stirring of the oil and flour in a flour offering. The last advisor's name was ממוכן (Memuchan), which alludes to the preparation of the Shulchan upon which the 12 loaves of bread were placed. For each of these things, the angels asked Hashem, ‘Who is going to continue them if Your nation will perish?’ Because of those advocating angels, who were prompted because of the names of those advisors, the fate of Vashti was sealed for death, and the pathway of salvation was paid for the Jews. Says the Chatam Sofer, Look at the unbelievable Hashgacha of Hashem here, and how much He loves and cares for us. He knew that one day these seven people would be meeting together in a room, and the Jews would need zechuyot at that time to have judgment in their favor. So, He put into the minds of the parents of these seven goy advisors, decades before, to name their children those specific names that would allude to the service in the Beit Hamikdash. Hashem was planning our salvation from decades before, even going deep into the minds of those Persian parents to make sure they name their children accordingly. The Hashgacha of Hashem is mind blowing! Every time we expose another aspect of His Hashgacha, we are also singing a type of Hallel and giving Him praise.

One of the lessons that we are supposed to take away from Purim is that there are no coincidences in life. Mordechai did not just happen to overhear Bigtan and Teresh plotting to kill the king. Achashverosh did not just happen to have trouble sleeping hours before Haman was going to come to his house and tell him to hang Mordechai. Achashverosh did not just happen to ask for his Book of Chronicles to be read, and it did not just happen to come to the page about where Mordechai saved his life. Every moment of life is drenched with hashgachat Hashem. Our job is to see through what appears to be natural events and attribute them to Hashem. When the Jews left Mitzrayim , all the nations were trembling in fear from them. Amalek, however, went and attacked. The pasuk says "אשר קרך בדרך" – they happened upon you on the road. The Mefarshim tell us Amalek did not want to believe that it was Hashem who took them out of Mitzrayim. They did not want the world to fear the Jews. They attributed Yetziat Mitzrayim to natural occurrences, to happenstance, and they acted upon their belief and attacked the Jewish People. The Torah tells us, our battle with Amalek is מדור דור –in every generation. We will only be able to overcome Amalek physically after we overcome them spiritually. We must strengthen our emunah in Hashem's involvement in the world and in our individual lives. This is the time of year when there is extra Siyata d'Shamaya in the air for us to strengthen ourselves with. A woman emailed a story which happened to her mother, who we'll call Mrs. Greenstein, a few years ago. Mrs. Greenstein is a nurse who works in a hospital in Israel. One day on her way out of the hospital, she received a phone call from a young woman. This young woman had a severely handicapped baby. The baby was a few months old and taking care of him was very complex. The young mother needed to go back to work and was looking for a babysitter who would be able to care for her baby throughout the daytime hours. Mrs. Greenstein explained to the woman all the medical details of what this would entail. When she hung up the phone, her first thoughts were, how would she ever find someone qualified enough to take care of that baby? Only someone with experience and extensive knowledge of how to care for such a child would be suited for that job. Someone like that is most probably hired already in a different job. Mrs. Greenstein then looked at the time and realized she had just missed the bus that she usually takes home. She got on the next bus, hoping to find a quiet place in the back to rest after a long day. She was about to fall asleep when a lady that she knew sat down right next to her. Mrs. Greenstein knew this lady worked in a home for handicapped children. They hadn't seen each other for a while so they spoke for a bit, catching up on each other's lives. The lady mentioned that she recently stopped working and was looking for a new job. Mrs. Greenstein immediately connected her to that young mother and, a few days later, this woman started her new job babysitting for that handicapped infant. Amalek would say this was nothing but a few coincidental events. But we say, look at this amazing hashgacha ! That babysitter was probably the only qualified person in their city capable of doing that job. Hashem arranged for that young mother to think of calling Mrs. Greenstein at that time. Then He put Mrs. Greenstein on the second bus instead of the first. Then He put the babysitter in the seat right next to her to connect her to that new job. These stories are happening countless times a day. It is up to us to recognize Hashem's involvement in each one of them and attribute all of life's happenings to Him.

The Mishnah Berurah writes that we fast on Ta'anit Esther because on the 13th of Adar the Jewish people gathered together to fight for their lives and they needed to cry out to Hashem and fast to get Heavenly help to defeat their enemies. The fast is to remind us that whenever a person is in trouble and he fasts and makes teshuva and cries out to Hashem in tefila, Hashem will hear his prayers and bring him salvation. Rabbenu Bachya writes in parashat V’etchanan that tefilah is so great, it has the ability to change nature. Tefila is so great, it has the ability to save someone from potential harm. And tefila is so great, it has the ability to nullify any decree. The Me’iri and the Maharsha both write, tefila could change a person's mazal , which means even if a person was destined not to have something, tefila could change that destiny. The Kav HaYashar writes that specifically on Ta'anit Esther there's a segula that prayers are readily accepted in the merit of Mordechai and Esther. A person must always believe that no matter how bleak a situation appears to be, prayer can take him out of it. Sometimes it may require dozens of tefilot, sometimes it may require hundreds of tefilot, the main thing is that the prayers are said with sincerity and kavanah and belief that Hashem is listening and waiting to help. It is never too late to be helped. Recently, a Rosh Yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael was zocheh to have his first child at the age of 88. He did not merit to have children with his first wife, who passed away about six years ago. And now, after five years of marriage with his second wife, she gave birth to a baby boy at the age of 57. About a year ago, a woman got married at the age of 39. It was a tremendous simcha. Before the chuppah , a woman whose youngest child is 10 years old went over to the kallah and said, “I know that tefilot under the chuppah are very precious. Please, I'm begging you, pray for me. I've been trying to have a child for the last 10 years without success.” The kallah told her, of course she would pray, and then she said she's also going to need heavenly mercy to have children and asked that woman to pray for her. At that moment, they both exchanged names and agreed to pray for each other to have a child. And now, within a year of that chuppah , baruch Hashem, both of them were zocheh to have a baby. If the story ended there, it would be a very nice story, but there's more. Amazingly, both of these women delivered their babies on the exact same day. This is Hashem telling all of us. “I am here. I am listening to your tefilot and I can bring you salvation in an instant. It's up to us to continue believing and continue praying with heartfelt emotion, even if it's been so long without receiving what we have been asking for. B’ezrat Hashem, everyone's tefilot should be mekubal b’ratzon .

Throughout the ages, Hashem has performed numerous miracles to save us from harm. And this has convinced us that if the time calls for it, Hashem could easily come and perform another miracle. But Hashem's involvement in our lives is not limited to miraculous events. Purim is the holiday that teaches us that we don't need an open miracle to see Hashem's involvement in our lives. Every single little thing that takes place in the world at large and in each individual's life is all orchestrated by Hashem and only Hashem. In the third year of Achashverosh's reign, his wife Vashti refused to listen to him and even shamed him with disparaging words. That brought about Achashverosh to have her killed, which at that time seemed like just an isolated occurrence. It was only later that we saw that it was all set up by Hashem as part of His master plan to bring Esther into the palace and eventually save the Jews from Haman. Because Esther went into the palace, Mordechai was there often. And because he was there, he overheard Bigtan and Teresh plotting to kill the king and reported them, thereby saving Achashverosh's life. Then years later, on the very same night that Haman prepared a gallows to hang Mordechai, Achashverosh couldn't sleep and asked for his book of chronicles to be read to him. And out of everything in that book, the one thing that he was told about was how Mordechai saved his life. Later on, Haman fell on the bed where Esther was, just as the king entered the room, which caused him to hang Haman on the very same gallows that he made for Mordechai. Every event happened naturally, with no revealed Yad Hashem. In fact, Megilat Eshter is one of the only sefarim in all of Tanach that does not have Hashem's name mentioned even once. That's to teach us that although Hashem doesn't always perform open miracles, He is constantly with us, behind the scenes, involved in everything that happens all the time. The ways of Hashem are truly amazing. If we look back and connect the dots in our own lives, we'll see how Hashem was setting up events way before we could have possibly understood their significance. But after the picture is painted, we are left in awe, realizing that what we thought was a haphazard event was really the Yad Hashem . Rabbi Yoel Gold related a story that a girl named Chana told him about herself a few years ago. She was 23 years old at the time. She was in Israel, staying in Har Nof, and one day she wasn't feeling well. Her friend, who knew she was there, called to ask her for a favor. She was working on a project for a certain company and needed a picture of the Har HaBayit from a certain angle, standing on Har HaZetim. Although Chana wasn't feeling well, she really wanted to help her friend. So she pushed herself and took a bus to Sha’ar Shechem, and then from there she was going to take another bus to Har HaZetim. Her head was spinning and she was nauseous, so she wasn't paying careful attention to details. She saw a blue and white bus and got on, not realizing it was an Arab bus. She sat down and fell asleep, and woke up 25 minutes later, seeing that she missed her stop. She got off the bus, went across the street to catch another bus back. But she didn't realize she was in Arab territory and there were no buses going back. It was the first night of Ramadan, and the streets were empty, because everyone was inside breaking their fast. She started walking and saw a settlement, and that's when she realized she was in Arab territory. She quickly took out her phone, but saw that it was out of battery. She was in a lot of trouble and didn't know what to do next. She started saying Tehillim and asked Hashem for help. She decided to knock on the door of a home that looked well kept with a nice lawn, hoping it wasn't Arabs. She was going to present herself as a pro-Palestinian UCLA student that needed to write a paper on the Palestinians. She knocked on the door, and a young woman, in her full Arab garb, answered the door. She took one look at her and said, “Chana, is that you?” Chana was caught off guard, shocked at what was happening. The young woman hugged Chana, then brought her into the house and showed her the thank you card that she sent her six months before. That's when Chana remembered how six months before she ran a program for Aish HaTorah at the King Solomon Hotel. And at that time, she accepted upon herself to thank every single person on the hotel staff who helped out. On the last day, this Palestinian girl showed up and was running the coffee station. Chana made it a point to go over and talk to her and make conversation, and then added her to the list of thank you cards she was going to make, which turned out to be over fifty. Now, when Chana's life was at risk, this is the home she found herself in front of. Inside that house, there were other people who worked in the hotel that day, who also got thank you cards from Chana and were so appreciative to her. They took her back to her house, and all was well. The hashgacha of Hashem here was truly amazing. Everything we do is part of a larger picture, and sometimes Hashem shows us a glimpse of how He is connecting all the dots of our lives.

One of the great qualities of an ish(man of) emunah is that he is a person of principle. He does not compromise on his standards for money or for any other benefit. His word is his word, and his main goal is always to try to do what Hashem wants. A person never loses by doing what's right. Sometimes it may appear that way, but that's just a test. Other times, Hashem makes it obvious that we don't lose, and we must use those times to give us chizuk for when it's not so obvious. A man, who will call Reuven, who was involved in providing help for widows said, one day someone called him saying his son was getting married on the 10th of Shevat and he wanted to give $5000 towards an orphan's wedding that would take place on the very same night. Reuven called a widow that he knew was making a wedding that night and he informed her of the good news. She replied her son's wedding was going to be on the 11th of Shevat, not the 10th. Reuven called back that donor to tell him, and he said he only wanted to give if it would be the exact same night. Reuven felt bad and thought of an idea. He called the widow and asked her to make the wedding a little before sunset. That way it would come out of the 10th of Shevat. The widow answered calmly with conviction and emunah. She said, “I learned from my husband that one does not play around with the truth. I can't promise that the chuppah will take place before sunset because there could always be setbacks. If we don't pull it off I will have taken the money wrongfully.” The donor ended up finding a different wedding taking place that night and gave the money to them instead. A few days later a different person called Reuven saying he wanted to give $7000 to help a widow make a wedding anytime in Shevat. Reuven was so happy to call that widow with the good news. Several days later, the first person called back, feeling horrible that he made a widow think she was getting money and then he gave it elsewhere. He insisted that he give her the $5000 that he said he would. Ultimately, this widow got $12,000 for her wedding expenses in the zechut of her courage and honesty. A man, who learns in kollel, tries to earn some parnasah on the side by translating people's documents from English to Hebrew. One day, he got a call from someone who needed him to come to his office the following morning at 9 AM to transcribe some documents. He said it was urgent and would only take an hour and he would pay him 400 shekels for the job. Although he could have used that money, 9 AM was the time he started his morning learning seder and would not compromise on missing Torah for the job. All of his work was always done during his afternoon break or in the evening. So he turned down the job and, that next day, he learned extremely well. At the end of the day, his Rosh Kollel went over to him and said, “Someone gave me some money to give out. I'm sure you could use it.” He handed him an envelope and there was 400 shekels inside. A young man told me he wanted a certain singer to sing at his wedding. He called to book him, but he was already booked for something else. So he called a different singer, who turned out to be the same price, but definitely was not his first choice. This singer was available and they agreed by phone for the job. Two days later, the other singer called back saying he became available. The young man was so excited but what would he do? He already told the other singer he wanted him. He went back and forth in his mind, rationalizing that it wouldn't be so wrong to just call the other singer and tell him to forget it. The man's bride-to-be said, “Your word is your word,” and she wouldn't have it any other way. On the night of their wedding, the singer who was supposed to come got delayed at a recording session and so he wasn't going to make it. He called a different singer to see if he was available and he was. He then called the chatan, apologizing that he couldn't make it, and asked if it would be okay if the other singer came instead. That other singer was none other than the one he wanted the whole time. He thanked Hashem for giving him exactly what he wanted and he was so happy that his bride helped him pass that test and stand by his word. When we know Hashem runs the world, He is the only One that we need to impress. A person with emunah will have courage to always do what's right and never be blinded by the potential immediate gains.

One of the minhagim we have upon us in the days preceding Purim is זכר למחצית השקל . We give money as a reminder of the machazit hashekel, the half shekel of silver that they used to give during the days of the Beit HaMikdash. The Sefer Sha'areh Moshe writes, if we understand one of the underlying meanings of machazit hashekel , it will help us with another mitzvah, משנכנס אדר מרבים בשמחה , increasing our joy during the month of Adar. Rashi writes in Parashat Ki Tisa regarding the machazit hashekel , that the Jewish people were commanded to give it initially, to be counted after the chet ha’egel . And because we aren't able to count people, they had to give a coin to be counted instead. The Sha'areh Moshe asked, if the machazit hashekel was just meant as a vehicle to be counted, why did they have to give money? They could have given something else of less value. To explain, he quoted from a piyut that many communities say during Mussaf on Shabbat Shekalim . It says there, דודי זכור לי שקלי עפרון, אשר שקל אב במכפל חברון , We ask Hashem to remember the shekalim that Avraham Avinu paid Efron when he bought the Me'arat HaMachpela from him. Somehow the machazit hashekel is connected to the shekalim that Avraham paid when he went to bury his wife Sarah. זכרה לי עד לדור אחרון -It's something we want Hashem to remember until the final generation. The Sha'areh Moshe explained, when Hashem told Moshe Rabbenu to inform the nation that He was going to rescue them from their bondage in Mitzrayim , and He gave Moshe signs to give them, the people fully believed that they were going to be freed. We could only imagine the feelings they were experiencing at that time. Being persecuted for centuries, it was finally all going to end. But then, from the moment Moshe gave them the good news, the slavery only got worse. They got their hopes up so high, only to experience even harsher suffering. After witnessing this, Moshe Rabbeinu went back to Hashem and said, למה הרעות לעם הזה - Why did you do bad to this nation? In response, Hashem bemoaned the fact that He no longer had His precious Avot, who never questioned Him, no matter how bad things may have seemed to be. As an example, He told Moshe, He promised Avraham that He would give him the entire land of Israel. And then, after he performed arguably the greatest deed in history, bringing his son up as a korban , his wife Sarah passed away, and he went to do the mitzvah of burying the dead. All he needed was a burial plot in a land that was promised to him, and he couldn't even find four amot until He had to pay an exorbitant amount of money for it – ארבע מאות שקל כסף עובר לסוחר . This was something that Hashem considered to be so precious. Avraham could have complained, he could have questioned Hashem, but instead he fully accepted whatever Hashem wanted from him. We ask Hashem to remember that until the final generation. Perhaps the machatzit hashekel is also meant to be a reminder of this great deed of Avraham, to remind us to take to heart how valuable it is to accept the way Hashem deals with us. Many people could ask questions on the way things are happening in their lives. Nobody knows the troubles that befall each individual, especially now in the dor acharon . Our greatest zechut is the emunah that we have in Hashem, that He only does good even though we can't see it. Each time a person gives himself chizuk and tells Hashem, “I trust You, even though I don't understand why this is happening. I'll continue serving You the way I'm supposed to.” His level rises to the highest heights. With this emunah, a person will find more joy and truly be able to feel simcha , especially at this glorious time of year.

In this week’s parasha Pikudei , Hashem commanded Moshe to erect the Mishkan for the first time. The Midrash Tanchuma tells us that Moshe replied he was not capable of doing so on his own. Hashem then told Moshe, you just go try and it will stand up on its own, and then I will write in the Torah that you did it , as it says ויקם משה את המשכן. Chazal are teaching us here a very important rule regarding our role in avodat Hashem. Just because something may seem beyond our capabilities doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to accomplish it. After all, we just go through the motions and it’s Hashem who is actually accomplishing. The Chovot HaLevavot writes in his introduction to the sefer that after he finally decided to write the sefer , he felt that he was unworthy for such an undertaking. He said to himself, his strength was insufficient, his knowledge too inadequate and his intellectual faculties too weak to grasp the topics. So he decided to give up his plan of composing the sefer . But then, he suspected that he was just making excuses and perhaps it was his mida of laziness that was really driving him. He told himself further, there must have been many potentially great works that were lost over the years due to these concerns. If every person who ever composed a good work or whoever taught people the proper path to follow had waited until he was actually worthy of continuing, no one would have ever uttered a word since the Nevi'im . We have to do our part even if we’re unworthy. Later on he wrote, I’m going to go through with it and I pray that I receive help from Hashem. I will place my trust in Him and I will ask Him to teach me the right path which He desires and which is pleasing and acceptable to Him in word and deed, in inner and outer conduct. This sefer Chovot HaLevavot has helped hundreds of thousands of people perfect themselves and come closer to Hashem. Imagine what the world would have lost had the author opted not to write it due to what he felt was his inadequacies. We have to always try and Hashem will decide what gets done. A man told me, at a time when a major chesed organization was stumbling due to lack of funds, he called the president of that organization and asked to have a meeting with him. The president asked this young man, “Who are you exactly?” The young man replied, “I am not really affiliated at all with your organization. I’m nobody special. I’m just a concerned community member who has a few ideas that may help.” They made the meeting and this young man helped the organization raise close to 5 million dollars. It does not matter who you are or what credentials you have. After all, it is not us who accomplish; it’s Hashem. We hope we will have the zechut that Hashem will choose us to be His messengers to do good in this world. And therefore, we always have to try. Our job is to do and Hashem’s job is to accomplish.

The Rambam writes that one of the reasons our Chachamim instituted the mitzvah to read Megilat Esther on Purim is to remind us that prayer works, and Hashem is always there for us to call out to. It was because of the tefilot of Klal Yisrael that Esther found favor in the eyes of the King when she went in to plead on behalf of her people without being called first. The Midrash Tanchuma says that although according to the rules, blessings sometimes have to be withheld from people because of their deeds or other reasons, Hashem prefers that the people pray to Him, and then even if they don't deserve the blessings, because of their prayers alone, Hashem will give them anyway. A person who does not utilize prayer properly is depriving himself of things he could have gotten had he taken advantage of this wondrous gift. Many times, we have to work very hard for something and perhaps in the end we get it. But with heartfelt tefila, we could have skipped the long difficult process in obtaining it. Several years ago, a family made aliyah and settled in Kiryat Sanz in Tevariya. Unfortunately, the father passed away leaving behind a widow and orphans who lacked their most basic necessities. The rental money for their apartment was a heavy burden on the widow and those helping out decided it would be best to raise the money and buy the apartment for them. They needed 600,000 shekels and they managed to raise 400,000 of it. A generous donor told them he would give 50,000 on condition they get a hold of the rest, but they were out of people to turn to and they still needed 150. The owner of the apartment threatened that if he didn't get the money in the next couple of weeks, he was going to throw the entire family out of the apartment. The threat was very serious and so one of the askanim involved volunteered to fly abroad and try to raise the money from other communities. The morning before the flight the man got up early to pray with the sunrise minyan and there he saw one of the widow's sons who was already married. The man said to him, “I can't believe you look so calm. The landlord wants to throw your mother and siblings out of their apartment, and you look like this has nothing to do with you.” The young man did not know the extent of the plight of his family. “What could I possibly do?” asked the young man. The askan told him, “What do you mean, what could you do? HaKadosh Baruch Hu is the Father of orphans and the Judge of widows. Cry out to him to bring yeshua .” The young man took those words very seriously and prayed that morning with all his heart, groaning in pain from the depths of his soul over the situation of his mother and orphaned siblings. That same afternoon a philanthropist in America called this married son to ask him a question on a different matter. During their conversation, he asked him how things were. The young man told him that his mother and family were being threatened with eviction if they didn't come up with the remaining 200,000 shekel they needed to buy their apartment. The man on the other line paused for a moment and then said, “Within an hour you'll have 100,000 shekels in your account.” The young man thanked him profusely and then called the askan to apprise him of the recent development. The askan was elated. This meant he no longer had to travel. He could cancel the tickets. He could not stop thanking Hashem who hears the sighs of every Jew and sends them salvation in ways they could never dream of. The yeshua was awaiting but it needed heartfelt tefila to bring it down. It may well be that the askan would have come up with the money with the difficulty of traveling and collecting. And of course that would have also needed tefila . But tefila from the depths of one's heart can cut out all of the difficult steps and bring the yeshua right away. Tefila is truly wondrous

In the story of Purim, Haman sent out proclamations across the world, sealed with the royal signet ring, ordering everyone to rise up against the Jewish people and kill them, men, women and children. The Jews gathered together, fasted, made teshuva and cried out to Hashem. One moment they were wearing sackcloth and crying bitter tears, facing complete annihilation. And then, suddenly, the king ordered Haman to be hanged. Mordechai was appointed into his position. And in an instant, everything turned around. The Jews went from mourning to celebrating. The salvations of Hashem are wondrous. One second it could look like a person is stuck with no way out and, a second later, Hashem opens His eyes and He finds the path. How fortunate we are to have Hashem who loves us so much and is ready and available to help us all the time. Amazing salvations take place every single day to thousands of people, we just don't hear about all of them. But when we do hear of how Hashem saves a person that seemingly was in a situation that seemed hopeless, it always gives us a lot of chizuk. Rabbi Elimelech Biderman told a story that was told to him directly by the man it happened to. Last year, this man leased a 50 suite, five-story hotel in Prague along the Vltava river for Pesach. He borrowed money to pay the rent which he planned to repay as he rented out the rooms in the hotel. As the hotel was getting booked up, a major problem was discovered. The person who leased him the hotel was a crook. He was not the owner, he was an imposter, and he took off with the money and there was no way of getting it back. The man called all the people who rented rooms and paid already, apologizing that he was scammed, and there was no hotel or trip. Naturally, they all demanded their money back. He explained he used it all to pay the rent and was left without any of it. He assured them that he would pay them back as soon as he could. The renters, thinking he kept the money for himself, were furious, calling him a thief. And they threatened to publicly humiliate and ruin his name. The word eventually got out and the humiliation was unbearable. A friend of this man wanted to help him, and so he arranged for him and his wife to go to South Africa for Pesach. No one would know him there, and he would be able to celebrate Pesach with peace and quiet. At that hotel, they met another Jewish couple from Israel and they both wondered why each of them had traveled so far for the holiday. On Chol HaMoed, the man was talking to the other man from Israel and they discussed what brought each of them there. The other man said he had been married for nine years without children. Every Yom Tov was a painful reminder of their situation. Pesach, in particular, was a time of heightened difficulty and humiliation for them. So that year they decided to spend Yom Tov somewhere where no one would know them. The first man then shared his troubles and revealed that he came there to escape the humiliation that he had been suffering. He added the following words, “Due to my shame, I understand that I have a power to give beracha. I give you my heartfelt wishes and blessings that you merit to have a child this year.” In response, the other man said, “I'm wealthy. If your blessing comes true, I will clear your debts.” Ten months later, this couple had a baby. And true to his word, he provided the necessary funds to clear the man's debts. Both of these individuals needed major salvations. Hashem brought them together on the other side of the world to make it happen. The yeshuot of Hashem are truly amazing.

There are many pesukim in Tanach telling us to have hope in Hashem. One might think that after a person is let down, time after time, and there seems to be no hope left, that he is no longer obligated to have hope in Hashem. The Midrash in Tehillim , perek 40, asks the question, until how long does one need to continue hoping to Hashem? It answers with a pasuk , יחל ישראל אל ה'... מעתה ועד עולם . We are obligated to hope to Hashem now and forever. There is never giving up hope. One of the reasons for this is that there is truly always hope. The Midrash continues, אם עושה כן ..., if you will do this, אתם נושעתם , you will be helped. The ATime Shas-a-thon was recently held and there were three beautiful stories told about people with infertility who never gave up hope. One was about a couple who was told by their doctor that they tried everything possible and there was nothing left for them to do. The couple left the doctor's office completely broken. That upcoming Shabbat was the ATime Shabbaton and they didn't feel like attending. But they gave each other chizuk and went anyway. They got so much chizuk and hope from that Shabbaton they were back to fully believing that they could still be helped. A couple of weeks later they went back to the doctor asking for another round of treatments, and they wouldn't take no for an answer. When they checked, they couldn't believe what they found. She was expecting a child. This couple went on to have three children. Even though the doctors gave up, they did not. A similar story was told when a couple went through nine IVF treatments and after the ninth failure, the doctor told them, there's nothing left to do. The man went to his rabbi for chizuk and the rabbi encouraged him to try a tenth time, despite what the doctors were saying. With full emunah, they went and tried again and, baruch Hashem, that tenth time proved to be the one that worked. And they were zocheh to have a healthy baby boy. Rabbi Rosen spoke of a condition that some couples have called POF. In those cases, monthly monitoring is often necessary to be able to have a child. Sometimes an opportunity to have children arises only once in many, many years and a couple has to monitor every month until such an opportunity arises. A doctor once told the Rabbi, as a young resident, he conducted a test for a couple who came in for monitoring. He did his job thoroughly and that couple went on to have a healthy baby. That couple became his patients and remained that way for the next 25 years. Every single month of those 25 years, they were monitored and not even once did another opportunity come up for any success and they never had any more children. The Rabbi told a story that took place in 2009 with a couple that had this issue of POF. They lived in Yerushalayim and struggled with infertility for over ten years. There was no hope in sight, but they never gave up. Every month that they went for monitoring was another disappointment, and they experienced disappointment after disappointment for so many years. And then it finally happened. It was Tishrei and the monitoring showed there was a potential for success. The doctor looked at them with a very happy expression and told them, “The window of opportunity is finally here.” The couple was filled with hope and excitement but it was short-lived because the doctor told them afterward the opportunity fell out on Yom Kippur. The woman told her husband to go to a rabbi and find a heter . The man went and got an appointment to meet with one of the Gedolei HaDor and presented his question. He spoke about all the heartache and disappointment that he and his wife had gone through for so many years and how this was possibly their only chance to ever have a child. The Gadol empathized with them. He looked into a few sefarim and then told them, it was impossible, there were no heterim . The man left devastated, not knowing what he would tell his wife. He went to his own rabbi for advice and chizuk . His rabbi told him, “Go to the Belzer Rebbe. He could help you.” The man didn't know what the Belzer Rebbe could possibly do for him, but he listened to his rabbi and went there. The gabbai told this man there was no way he could get in. The Rebbe had a line of people who all made appointments to see him. The man broke down crying and told him his rabbi sent him. The gabbai made an exception and allowed him into the Rebbe. After he told the Rebbe the entire story, the Rebbe sat and thought for a while and then opened a drawer, took out an envelope with $5,000 cash and handed it to the man and said, “Take this and buy two plane tickets and spend Yom Kippur in Australia.” It took a few seconds for the Rebbe's advice to hit this man and then he understood the greatness of what the Rebbe was telling him. While it's still Yom Kippur in Israel, in Australia it was going to be the next day. Baruch Hashem, the couple ended up having a healthy baby. The common denominator in all these stories is when there appeared to be no hope, these couples continued having hope. May Hashem help all of those struggling with infertility to have their very own children b'karov .

The Chovot HaLevavot writes toward the end of perek 4 in the Sha’ar HaBitachon that one of the fundamental principles that is so important for a ma'amim b’Hashem to believe in is the fact that Hashem will reward the tzaddikim for serving Him, both in this world and the Next, and that Hashem will punish those who violate His will. If they do not merit to get their punishment in this world, they will have to endure it in the Next World. It is foolish and naive to believe that a person could be granted stature in the Next World without doing what is expected of him in avodat Hashem in this world. The rewards in the Next World will be far greater than anything we could imagine and they will be eternal. It is not possible to describe because it will be entirely different from any concept that we are familiar with in this world. That Rambam writes that even Moshe Rabbenu, while he was alive, was not capable of understanding what the future pleasures would be like. We trust, Hashem knows how to make us happy, and the happiness that will be experienced in the Next World will be the greatest possible. Of course, our main intention in serving Hashem is to do what He wants, not just to get rewarded for it. The Chovot HaLevavot writes further, that there will be people who attain extremely high levels in the World to Come. Those are people who dedicate their lives to connecting to Hashem. And then he gives signs to recognize who will be from those prominent individuals who will be at the highest levels for all eternity. One of those signs is if a person is teaching others how to serve Hashem. He is not content with just serving Hashem himself, he wants and tries to help others do it as well. Some people go around organizing shemirat Shabbat campaigns to teach people how to keep Shabbat. Others organize systematic ways for people to teach others Torah. There are so many ways that we can become part of this exclusive, elite group of those who teach others the ways of Hashem. A person does not have to be a leader with charisma to do it. A person does not have to be a rabbi or a rebbetzin to do it. All a person needs is to care and want to spread the word of Hashem to others. A man told me five years ago he was married to a gentile and didn't even realize what a grave sin that was. He was completely disconnected from Torah and mitzvot and just didn't know any better. Today, he is married to a bat Yisrael and keeps every law in the Torah to its fullest. He learns Torah from early in the morning and prays in minyan with great kavanah . I asked this man how he went through such a complete transformation in such a short amount of time. He told me, one day a friend of his, who lives in another state, called him and asked if he would like to learn a little bit of Torah by phone once a week. He told this friend he would be happy to. From then, on every Friday, they learned Pirkeh Avot for about 20 minutes. The man was very impressed with the great wisdom of Chazal and felt a feeling of connection that only a Jew with a neshama kedosha could feel. He told his friend he was enjoying the learning and wanted more. His friend encouraged him to find out if there was a local kollel where he lived and to go there and ask someone to teach him. The man listened and, one day, just walked into a kollel, asking if there was someone who would teach him Torah. He started at a very beginner level and kept growing and growing until he saw with clarity the path he needed to be on. He divorced his gentile wife and worked on himself spiritually until he was at the level to marry a very religious girl from a very religious family. How was this man inspired to follow in the ways of Hashem? It was just from a concerned friend who reached out and offered a few minutes of his time weekly. We could all attain this elevated status and be from those who spread the word of Hashem. All it takes is a little bit of thought and effort.

The pasuk tells us in this week's parashah Vayakhel that the כיור , the washing basin in the Mishkan , was made up of the copper mirrors that were donated by the women. Rashi explains, these mirrors were used by the women to adorn themselves in Mitzrayim during the harsh slavery. At first Moshe Rabbenu refused to accept them, saying that such vanity had no place in the holy Mishkan . However, Hashem told him to accept them and then added, אלו חביבין עלי מן הכל - These mirrors are more beloved to Me than anything else in the entire Mishkan . That means they were more beloved than the עצי שיטים עומדים , which symbolized the angels who stood in heaven. They were more beloved than the golden Menorah, which represented Torah SheBaal Peh . And they were even more precious than the Aron HaKodesh , which housed the Shnei Luchot HaBrit . Why were they so beloved? Because when everyone's spirits were broken during the slavery and no one had motivation to continue on building families, these women strengthened themselves and used those mirrors to beautify themselves for their husbands, and thereby bring holy children into the world, who eventually stood by Har Sinai and heard the words of Hashem and accepted the Torah. With tremendous self-sacrifice, these women took something so mundane and elevated them to the highest levels of sanctity. Only Hashem knew their true intentions and only He was able to testify about the sanctity of those mirrors. The Kiyor was the only vessel in the Mishkan that was not given exact dimensions. The reason was because Hashem wanted to use every single mirror that was donated, because each one of them was a treasure to Him. The mefarshim tell us that those mirrors were used exactly the way they were given. They were not altered or added to at all. The mirrors were given the ability to sanctify the water used to purify the Kohanim each day before they started their work in the Mishkan . A Kohen that did not wash with those pure waters was subject to a very severe punishment. Those same waters were used in the process of testing a Sotah . The very same mirrors that were used in Mitzrayim to bring about shalom bayit were given miraculous qualities to once again restore shalom bayit to couples. The Torah tells us the Kiyor was placed between the Ohel Moed and the Mizbe’ah , a place of intense sanctity. It was in a place holier than the Ezrat Nashim , holier than the Ezrat Kohanim . It was even holier than the Dalet Amot that surrounded the Mizbe’ah . A Yisrael was only able to enter that spot once a year on Sukkot when they did hakafot around the Mizbe’ah . That is where the Kohanim went, one by one, every single morning, to purify themselves with those special waters that became sanctified from the mirrors the women used in Mitzrayim . We see from here the awesome power that we have. A deed done for the sake of Hashem, even with the most mundane vessels, can become so elevated and bring about so much kedusha for tens of thousands of people, for generations upon generations. We are not able to see the effects of our deeds, but we can rest assured that every amount of sacrifice we put into our avodat Hashem is noticed and will be rewarded. The more self-sacrifice, the greater the deed becomes and the more kedusha it brings about. Shabbat Shalom.

A man told me that he has been praying to be saved from his troubles for more than two years now, and he has seen no improvement yet. He has taken upon himself various stringencies in halacha as well as many additional mitzvot, but they haven't seemed to help. He asked me what else he could possibly do. He's crying all the time saying life is so hard. First, I told him to be proud of all the success that he has had up until this point in his avodat Hashem. Our job in life is to fulfill our mission here so that we can live with Hashem for all eternity. If a person had been praying and doing extra mitzvot, that is exactly the way a Jew is supposed to respond when things are difficult for him. Every day that a person achieves being an eved Hashem is a successful day. Hashem knows our mission here much better than we do. And if He keeps a certain situation the same way for an extended period of time, it's only because He knows we need to experience it to succeed in our mission here. The best thing we can do is to continue serving Hashem to the best of our ability in those circumstances that He wants us to be in. If our only goal in taking on extra mitzvot is to get out of the problem we are experiencing, then we will feel like we are failing in our efforts. But if our goal is to do our jobs in the world properly then we will feel accomplished with every day that passes, knowing we are doing what we are supposed to. If we could manage to serve Hashem with happiness even though we have not been receiving what we wanted, it makes the avodah infinitely greater. Life is about being an eved Hashem and an eved does whatever his master asks him to do. Whatever situation Hashem puts a person in is the one He wants him to serve Him from, and if we take upon ourselves extra mitzvot and we're praying hard, we are fulfilling our role the best way possible. One day Hashem will explain why we had to experience what we did and why it was the absolute best for us. We will see then why we had to experience it for the exact amount of time that we did. We'll understand that it was all stemming from Hashem's love and mercy towards us. Sometimes we see now and then little episodes of what we thought was terrible was actually Hashem saving us. We should use those examples to give us chizuk for most of the time when we are not able to see that. A taxi driver in Israel related he was once driving around the center of Yerushalayim waiting to find someone to give a ride to, but no one seemed to need one. Then he got a message from the operator of his company that someone needed a ride in Ramot. He jumped at the opportunity and drove out of his way to get the job. Just as he pulled up at the address, he saw his customer getting into a different taxi. He felt like nothing could ever go right for him. He drove around a little more and two minutes later some people stopped him asking if he could take them to the Sha'arei Tzedek emergency room. He was so happy to finally have a job. Just as his customers were exiting the car at the hospital, the taxi driver collapsed. The passengers quickly yelled for a doctor. It turned out that he suffered a massive heart attack, and their quick response saved his life. He was told by the doctors if he wasn't treated as quickly as he was, he most probably wouldn't have made it. Not getting the other rides, being called to Ramot and then losing out on that ride, was all part of Hashem's plan to save his life, although it looked like he was being "picked on'' at the time. Hashem is always looking out for our best interests. If we'll stay the course and continue serving Him properly, we will then accomplish what we are meant to accomplish here.

People may look around at their peers and see people who are doing such great things on behalf of Klal Yisrael. They have charisma and talent, and they seem to be accomplishing so much in such a little amount of time. They, on the other hand, are not as gifted and are not accomplishing anywhere near what the others are. They struggle daily just trying to overcome their natural inclinations to sin. They feel like their service to Hashem is nothing in comparison to all of those people around them and they wonder if what they do even matters that much. Rav Tzadok HaKohen quotes a gemara in Masechet Taanit which says Rabbi Elazar ben Rebbi Shimon was once on his way back from learning an abundance of Torah. He felt very proud of his accomplishment and during his journey he came across a man who was extremely ugly. The man greeted the Rabbi and the Rabbi replied by calling him an empty one, telling him how ugly he was. The man replied by saying, go tell the One who made me how ugly His creation is. The Rabbi regretted his words and apologized, but the man did not want to forgive him until others interceded on the Rabbi's behalf. Tosafot there explain, this man was none other than Eliyahu HaNavi in disguise and he was sent specifically to rebuke the Rabbi. Rav Tzadok explained, the man was not physically ugly but rather he was spiritually ugly because his deeds and thoughts were not so pure. The Rabbi, who was able to see right through a person, was astonished that somebody could be falling to their yetzer hara like this man was. Eliyahu Hanavi rebuked him by telling him that Hashem makes every single person different. Some people are created with extremely bad middot and very difficult desires to overcome. For this type of individual, every struggle he overcomes and does the will of Hashem is so precious to Hashem. In the words of Rav Tzadok, the personal battles that this type of person fights and overcomes brings more satisfaction to Hashem than the deeds of someone who is created with great middot without such desires to do evil. Nobody knows what any other person's potential is. It could be that someone who is accomplishing a tremendous amount is failing in his mission in life because with the potential he was given, he should be accomplishing much more. With this, Rav Tzadok explains how Moshe Rabbenu was able to be so humble despite being arguably the greatest man who ever lived. Moshe knew how much potential Hashem gave him and how much he was capable of doing with that potential, and he was worried that he wasn't utilizing the gifts he was given as much as he needed to. Nobody in this world could ever feel like they have done enough, no matter how much they have accomplished, because if they don't utilize everything Hashem has given them they will come up short in what is expected of them. Somebody who accomplished much less may be considered greater in the eyes of Hashem because he has done all that he could. Everyone is judged differently and therefore no one could know who's really bringing more satisfaction to Hashem than others. Each person is responsible to do the absolute best that he could based on what Hashem has given him. And if he does, then he will be in the highest places in Gan Eden and the Next World.

ישועת ה' כהרף עין. Simply that means, the salvation of Hashem comes as fast as it takes to blink an eye. Rav Levi Yitzchak from Berditchev, however, gave another explanation. The word heref in the Torah means to leave, as the pasuk says "הרף ממני" When possibility of salvation has left the eye and the person sees no way to be helped, that is when the salvation of Hashem comes, in a way the person could have never imagined. A man who will call Yosef Steinberg related that it came to a point when he realized his three boys were being negatively influenced in the school they were attending. He discussed it with his wife, and they decided they wanted the best Torah education for their children and they were going to try to get them in to the top Talmud Torah where all the best families sent their children. There was just one small problem. It was the middle of the year, and this particular school was difficult to get into even at the beginning of the year, all the more so in the middle of one. Furthermore, they were a relatively new family to the community, not well known and not connected to any other families who sent their children there. Yosef knew that in the natural way of things, there was no chance his children would be accepted there. And so, he turned to the Chief Principal, HaKadosh Baruch Hu , who teaches Torah to all of His nation. He went to pray by the kever of his Rebbe and asked Hashem to have pity on him and his children, who only desired to do His will better. He wanted his children to learn in holiness and purity, in order to serve Hashem the best way possible. After a full hour of pouring out his heart, he then went to do his basic hishtadlut of calling the principal of that Talmud Torah and asking if his children could be accepted. When he called, he introduced himself as Steinberg and asked if his children could transfer to his Talmud Torah. The principal answered immediately with the words, “ B’simcha raba , it would be our pleasure to have your children.” He then said he would wait in his office for him to come in and give him more information about his children. Yosef Steinberg was ecstatic. The principal didn't even ask to interview his children. He went there and told them their ages and he said, “This child will go to Rabbi Cohen's class. This one will go to Rabbi Levi's class. And this one will go to Rabbi Yisraeli's class.” The very next day, his children started learning there. He thanked Hashem from the bottom of his heart and didn't ask any questions on why that process was so easy. The following week, he found out the whole story. A week after his children were accepted, a call came in to the principal saying, “Hi, this is Steinberg, I want to put my children in your Talmud Torah.” “Classes are full,” he answered, “and besides, it's impossible to take children in the middle of the year.” “But the donor told me he already spoke to you and got your approval,” Steinberg replied. Turned out, one of the big donors to that institution had spoken to the principal, asking him to accept Mr. Steinberg's children. When Yosef called, the principal thought it was that other Steinberg that he was talking to. It did not enter his mind that there would be a different Steinberg calling to get his children accepted. It was incredible hashgacha pratit that Yosef called at that exact time. Ultimately, the other Steinberg did get his children into the school and once Yosef's children were there, they were allowed to stay. The salvation of Hashem can come in ways we could never imagine.