Parshas Toldos
20 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 RabinowitzYaakov from Esav: Bringing the Bad into HolinessGood and bad come to us mixed together, and in exile our work is not to make the bad vanish but to draw out the good within it, serving Hashem with the very desire and longing…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzAlways Going, Truly Humble: Yitzchak's GreatnessWe came down to this world not to receive a gift we have not earned, but to perfect ourselves, and for that we need two things together. Like Yehoshua setting out the benches for…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzGrowing Greater through Wealth: Yitzchak's AvodahThe Torah tells of the Avos' wealth to show that they kept walking upward in avodas Hashem even when prosperity made the yetzer hara strong against them. Yitzchak's mesirus nefesh…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzGive and Give Again: Blessing Bound to TorahAbundance is a test as well as a gift: misused, it can broaden us toward worldly pleasure and close the very channel it came through. When we bind it to the Torah, intending in…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzA Vessel for Blessing: Giving Again and AgainA blessing's real work is to make us vessels that can hold Hashem's goodness, and the test comes after it arrives: whether added plenty brings more Torah, more tzedakah and more…
Yismach Yisroel
Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok Dancyger ›Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerYitzchak Reborn from Avraham at the AkeidahTrue self-giving to Hashem remakes a person: at the Akeidah, Avraham and Yitzchak both emerged as new creations, and Yitzchak was born again, purified of every blemish. Hashem…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerSeparating Yaakov from Esav Through HumilityPure offspring, and pure deeds in general, come from a purified mind, and the mind is purified through true humility: seeing oneself as nothing and leaning on another's merit…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerPrayer That Leans on Another's MeritHashem treasures the prayer of one who leans not on his own merit but on the merit of others, above all the Avos. Such humble prayer reaches the source of blessing on which…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerYitzchak's Prayer Tunneled a Path for UsYitzchak's long, pleading prayer opened a gate and a hidden tunnel to Hashem's mercy for every later generation, so that even without merit we can draw kindness beyond what we…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerTunneling Beneath the Throne: Praying in the Avos' MeritEven when we feel we have no merit of our own and the darkness of exile clouds our minds, we can pray in the merit of the Avos, whose prayers opened gates of mercy for every…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerTruth and Faith Draw Down LivelihoodTruth, Yaakov's trait, joined with simple, wholehearted faith, binds a person to Hashem and opens the channel of livelihood; weakness in faith is itself a lack of bread. Shabbos…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerPraying in the Present TenseA believer prays with such confidence that he speaks of the salvation as already here, praising Hashem before it arrives. Faith inherited from one's fathers lets a person feel…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerChessed Hidden in Judgment, Blessing Guarded by FaithIn abundance a person must fear, because judgment hides inside every kindness; in suffering he must love, because kindness hides inside every judgment. A Jew who holds on to…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerAdam's Garments: From Betrayal to FragranceClothing exists only because of Adam's sin, yet when Yaakov wore Adam's garments to do Hashem's will, that reminder of sin became the vehicle of blessing. What was once betrayal…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerThe Fragrance of the Traitors' TeshuvahHowever far a Jew falls, the inner point of holiness within him is never spoiled, just as a blessed field keeps its fragrance under the manure. Teshuvah out of love lets that…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerRivkah's Yom Kippur Hint: Humility Draws Down BlessingBlessing and atonement come down only on one who makes himself low: Esav, complete in his own eyes, cannot receive even the lofty mercy of Pesach night, while Yaakov's “what am I”…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerBlessed with Judgment, Blessed as EsavHashem's blessings to Israel hold no matter what, since no Jew is lower than Esav, yet they pass through a loving judgment that holds back only what would truly harm us. A Jew who…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerThe Gift of Godliness When Blessing Is WithheldWhen a blessing is withheld, the withholding itself may be Hashem's truest kindness, severity within kindness that protects us from a “good” that would harm us. The deepest gift…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerYaakov's Pure Inner Point and the Day of AtonementA Jew's sins, driven by the yetzer hara and the pressures of exile, cling only to the outside; the innermost point of his heart stays a pure “portion of Hashem.” By gathering his…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerGevurah as the Offspring of ChessedEvery harsh judgment that befalls a Jew is severity born of kindness, a hidden love meant only to awaken fear of Hashem and a heartfelt cry, not to punish or destroy. When a…