Parshas Shemos
12 maamarim of the tzaddikim on this week's reading, each in Hebrew and English with a takeaway.
Lehavas David
Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz ›Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzKnowing We Have Not Yet BegunThe yetzer hara works on us from both sides: before a mitzvah it tells us we are not worthy, and afterward it tells us how great we are. The Rebbe's answer to both is humility…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzAdding Good Deeds: The Broken Heart's CryHashem does not want us to wait until we have fixed everything in ourselves before we begin doing good; we should start at once with mitzvos and good deeds, and the evil will fall…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzWhen the Body Itself Cries Out to ServeServing Hashem is not for the soul alone: the goal is for the body itself to feel that the mitzvos are its life, as it feels hunger and thirst, and to cry out that it wants to…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzThe Living Path of the Avos in ExileThe Avos are not only figures of the past: they live wherever their children connect to their way of serving Hashem. That connection begins with knowing how far we still are, for…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzLaws Beyond Reason: The Key to RedemptionBnei Yisrael in Egypt had sunk too low to offer any reason for their redemption, yet they kept Shabbos and *milah*, mitzvos whose reasons are beyond us, and so Hashem redeemed…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzEverything Comes from Hashem: Avraham's CoinThe holy sefarim count it as a kind of idolatry not only to bow to a statue but to believe that our earnings come from our own legs and effort. Avraham's coin reminds us that the…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzRaising the Root: Moshe's Eyes and HeartPointing out what is wrong, in ourselves or in others, is only the first half of the work; the main thing is to raise the soul back up to its root. Moshe “set his eyes and his…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzThe Hidden Sigh: Crying Out for Heaven's HonorEven when we feel far from where we should be, and our prayers sound like nothing more than cries for relief, Hashem hears the hidden sigh beneath them, the heart's longing for…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzCrying Out for the Honor of HeavenWhen we cry out to Hashem, it is natural to sigh only over our own pain, but the cry that rises up is the one that pleads for the honor of Heaven. Such a plea does not depend on…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzA Holy Mouth before Pharaoh: Guarding SpeechMoshe Rabbeinu did not shrink from his mission; he was afraid of what speaking with him would do to a mouth devoted to holiness. Our mouth and tongue are what lift us above the…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzMy Firstborn: Doing Good Beyond the CommandBeing Hashem's “firstborn” is a way of living: like the eldest son who carries more than he is required to, a Jew does good even beyond what he was commanded. This comes from the…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzMoshe's Compassion and the Hidden Mercy of ExileMoshe did not doubt that the crushing bondage served Israel's good; he simply could not bear to see Jews suffer, and Hashem chose him precisely because compassion was his nature…