Spousal support

Hi,

"'He should stick to his wife (Bereishit 2:24)' – This means he should act as a husband; it is not a sexual reference. He should spend all of his days straining and struggling for her support, not for the support of his father and mother."

ודבק באשתו – מורה על ענין בעלות ולא על מעשה אישות, שכל ימיו יהיה טורח ועמל על פרנסתה ולא על פרנסת אב ואם.

(Vilna Gaon, Aderet Eliyahu to Bereishit 2:24)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

The Divine Presence at Death

Hi,

"Before a person dies, he sees the Shechinah [Divine presence].

"If he merits it, then the shechinah does not leave him until he is buried, as it is written [Psalms 85:14], 'Righteousness will walk before him, putting its feet upon the road.'"

 (Vilna Gaon, Aderet Eliyahu to Bereishit 18:1)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

The importance of tears

Hi,

"Prayer requires the focus of one's heart, and the central focus is in one's tears."

(Vilna Gaon, Aderet Eliyahu to Esther)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Chesed and Din: Generosity and Justice

Hi,

"A person must have these two traits, Chesed [unlimited generosity] and Din [measured justice], meaning that for Divine matters he must use Chesed to ascend ever higher, without limit, and to be involved only in Torah and service, whereas for physical matters, for eating and other matters, he must use Din and not pursue fulfillment of his desires."

(Vilna Gaon, Aderet Eliyahu to Ruth 1:1)

Have a great day and Chag Sameach,
Mordechai

Yonah and the soul

Hi,

"This prophet hints at the human soul, as is stated in the Zohar (2:199a).

"Gd sends it to this world to improve the world. Instead, not only does it not repair, but it corrupts itself as well. After that Gd sends it into a second incarnation to repair, and it repairs, but in pain over its bad fate, as will be explained in this book."

(Vilna Gaon, Introduction to Yonah)

גמר חתימה טובה, May we be sealed for a great new year,
Mordechai

Jewish Reincarnation?

Hi,

"One who does not fulfill all of the 613 Mitzvot will have to come back again."

(Vilna Gaon to Talmud Berachot 31)

"How does one know where he erred in a previous incarnation?

"There are two signs: (a) He stumbles many times in the same area in this incarnation, and (b) He has great desire for this transgression. He became accustomed to it in the past, and it became part of his nature. Therefore, some people desire one transgression more than another."

(Vilna Gaon to Jonah 4:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The nature of Gd

Hi,

On the nature of Gd:

"Gd is termed 'chei haolamim חי העולמים', the life of two worlds, [such as in our liturgy], because He connects two realms."

(Vilna Gaon, Aderet Eliyahu to Devarim 32:40)

Have a great day,
Mordechai