Parshas Vayechi
16 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 RabinowitzDays Drawn Close: A Life without a Missing DayAt the end of Yaakov's life his days “drew near” to one another, because not one of them lacked its avodas Hashem. The Torah's repeated “today” carries the same lesson: closeness…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzYosef's Blessing: Torah, Holiness and Bris MilahChazal's remedy for the yetzer hara that leads to blemishes of the covenant is Torah, for sin dwells only in a heart empty of wisdom. Yosef became master over his yetzer hara…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzFrom All Evil: Blessing Redeems the GoodA blessing over what we enjoy declares that it comes from Hashem's providence and not from nature, and it binds the thing to its root by refining out the evil mixed into what is…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzBecoming a Vessel: Rebuke and the Kohanim's BlessingBlessing needs a vessel to hold it, and a person becomes that vessel when he is aroused to walk in Hashem's ways. That is why the Kohanim's task is to awaken us, why every Jew has…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzForever or for an Hour: Why We Whisper “Baruch Shem”Every day Hashem sends each of us an hour of arousal, and the real service is to hold on to it and carry it beyond that hour. Whispering “Blessed is the name of His glorious…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzHashem Awaits Moshiach: Personal and Collective RedemptionLonging for Moshiach is also a question about ourselves: whether we heeded the prophets' call and left our own personal exile of Egypt, for the redemption of each Jew, of all…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzThe King's Revenge: Blessing for the Final GenerationsHashem's “vengeance” can take the form of more blessing, given so that we will see how much a merciful King has given us and return to Him out of love, remembering that we are…
Yismach Yisroel
Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok Dancyger ›Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerLiving by Yaakov's Power: Da'as and HopeA Jew's life and endurance in exile flow from the portion of Yaakov within him: da'as that sees everything as coming from Hashem for the good, and a hope that cannot be broken…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerShema in the Darkness Before the EndWhen the light of holiness is hidden, and even the hiding is concealed, a Jew's task is to say Shema with complete faith that the darkness too comes from the One Hashem. Faith in…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerYaakov's Da'as: Life in the DarknessYaakov's gift to his children is the light of da'as and the portion of Yaakov in every Jew, which lets a person in the deepest darkness know that everything comes from the Good…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerYaakov's Undivided Heart and Hidden SparkEvery Jew has moments when the Divine spark flares and he truly accepts the yoke of Heaven, but in exile they pass like a shadow, so we whisper “Blessed be the Name” until the…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerGathering in Unity at the End of DaysIn a lowly generation, without the old means of purification and without towering teachers, unity itself purifies Israel and gives power to the words of Torah we hear. When Jews…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerUnity, Forgiveness, and Yaakov's Living GodThe unity of Israel is the foundation of the unity of Hashem, and withholding forgiveness from a fellow Jew pains the Shechinah itself. A tzaddik's way of mercy lives on after…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerYaakov Lives On Within Every JewEvery Jew, however far he has strayed, carries within him the living portion of Yaakov Avinu, an inner place no sin has defiled and a thread of life from which complete teshuvah…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerHumility Must Match One's True LevelHumility is precious, but only when it is real; a painted-on humility that goes beyond one's actual inner level is no humility at all. A person must serve Hashem honestly…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerThe Closed Parshah and the Hidden Spark of YaakovHowever closed our eyes and hearts may feel under exile and suffering, the Godly portion of Yaakov is never put out, only covered. Holding fast to truth and simple emunah, and to…