Miserliness leads to idolatry and denial of Gd

Hi,

“Do not make gold the source of your foolishness, for this is the genesis of idolatry. Spread your money around, for this is Gd’s Will. It is within His capacity to fill your lacking and to provide food for your household.”

(Orchot Chaim of the Rosh, #29)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

What was arov?

Hi,

“Why did Gd bring the plague of Arov? The Egyptians told the Jews to bring bears and lions, in order to pain them [the Jews]. Therefore, Gd brought a mixture [taarovet] of beasts, as it is written, ‘And a great arov came.’ So said Rabbi Yehudah.

“Rabbi Nechemiah said: They were species of wasps and gnats.

“Rabbi Yehudah’s words appear to be correct. Regarding the frogs, it is written, ‘And they gathered the [dead] frogs in piles and piles,’ but regarding arov it is written, ‘And Gd did as Moshe said, and He removed the arov.’ The Egyptians received no benefit from the frogs, and so the frogs died and made Egypt smell, but they would have benefited from the hides of arov, and so none of them were left. Were the arov species of wasps and gnats, they would have died and been left to make Egypt smell.”

(Midrash Tanchuma Vaera 14)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The importance of a sense of shame

Hi,

“One who lacks a sense of shame will sin easily, as it is written (Yeshayah 3:9), ‘That which is recognizable on their faces testifies about them.’ One who has a sense of shame will not sin easily, as it is written (Shemot 20:16), ‘And so that awe of Him will be upon your faces, lest you sin.”

(Masechet Derech Eretz, Arayot 13)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Divine tools are everywhere

Hi,

[Kohelet 5:8 mentions, “Yitron ha’aretz bakol he,” which may be translated, out of context, as “the excess of the land is everywhere.”]

"Our masters said: What is, “The excess of the land is everywhere?” Even those things which appear to you as excess, like flies and lice and gnats, are actually part of Creation, as it is written (Bereishit 1), “And Gd saw all that He had made.”

"Rabbi Acha ben R’ Chanina said: Even that which you see as excess, like snakes and scorpions, are included in the world’s creation. Gd said to the prophets, “Do you think that if you fail to carry out My mission, I will have no messenger? ‘The excess of the land is everywhere’ – I can have a snake or scorpion or frog carry out My task.”"

(Midrash, Shemot Rabbah 10)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Not only service, but Love

Hi,

"Our merciful Father had mercy upon us and aroused a spark of will and intelligence in our heart, to know that it is insufficient for us to be like servants, children of servants, who also work for the king...

"Our desire and thirst is to be like children, as in, "You are children to HaShem your Gd," such that in our service of Gd, in Torah, prayer and other mitzvot, we will feel our nearness to Gd."

(R' Klonymus Kalman Shapira, Bnei Machshavah Tovah, Matarat haChevra)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Offering compliments

Hi,

“How do they dance before the bride?

“Beit Shammai said: They praise the bride according to her particular traits. Beit Hillel said: They say, ‘She is a pretty and favored bride.’

“Beit Shammai said to Beit Hillel: If she was lame or blind, would we still say she was a pretty and favored bride? The Torah says, ‘Distance yourself from falsehood!’

“Beit Hillel said to Beit Shammai: According to you – If someone made a bad purchase in the market, should people praise it in his eyes, or degrade it in his eyes?

“Based on this, the sages said: One should always be pleasant with others.”

(Talmud, Ketuvot 16b-17a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Don't walk in front of me

Hi,

“Our honored master, Rav Menachem Mendel, said: When people come to honor you, such as if they honor you to walk before them, and you understand that they will insist, then accept the honor without a fight… The pious one in Chovot haLevavot said further that even if the one who honors you wants to walk before him just so that he will appear humble, you should still do as he wishes.

“Humbly, we would use this to explain Mishlei 14:12, “There is a straight path before a man, and its aftermath is the path of death.” This means: Sometimes it is a straight path when you walk before a ‘man’, meaning a man of status, as in this case. ‘And its aftermath’ – Sometimes the aftermath of that path, meaning to walk after another person, is the path of death.

“This is the meaning of ‘Know Him in all of your ways, and He will straighten your paths. (Mishlei 3:6)’ This is a small passage upon which all of the essentials of Torah depend.”

(R’ Tzvi Elimelech Shapira of Dinov, Agra d’Pirka 17)

Have a great day,
Mordechai