Parshas Vayetzei
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 RabinowitzBeis El: Prayer Solely for Heaven's HonorMany of us pray mainly for our own needs, and few can, like Avraham and Yitzchak, ask for material things while aiming wholly at the honor of Heaven. Yaakov foresaw this and made…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzThe Tzaddik's Prayer: Facing Obstacles as a SonWhen something blocks our path and interrupts our service, it may be Hashem Himself sending the encounter, because He longs for our prayer, as when the sun set suddenly for…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzBread for Heaven's Sake: Winning over JudgmentHeaven's abundance keeps flowing when we use it in the Torah's way. Then even the attribute of judgment agrees, and Hashem gives again and again. That is what Yaakov asked for in…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzYaakov's Vow: Sanctifying Speech and MoneyYaakov's request for bread and clothing was a prayer for all his descendants: that their money and their speech, two ladders that can lead up or down, would be used only in the…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzReturning in Peace: Israel's Merit from WithinIsrael can be found worthy by comparison with the nations, but that is the lower way, and it brings only a small measure of blessing. Yaakov prayed that our worth would be seen…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzRachel's Hidden Prayer for Heaven's HonorRachel's request for children looked from outside like jealousy, but inside it was a hidden prayer for Heaven's honor, and Hashem, Who sees what is hidden, heard it. So too a Jew…
Yismach Yisroel
Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok Dancyger ›Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerYaakov's Dream, Shabbos, and His Hidden GreatnessA Jew who feels unrefined and far from holiness must never despair: Yaakov's greatness was hidden from him so that we would learn that holy place and, above all, holy time can…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerTruth Sustains Israel Through the Final ExileEven when the final exile seems endless and beyond our understanding, what sustains us is truth, for “truth endures.” Honestly admitting how low our state is arouses Hashem's…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerBe'er Sheva: Praying Through Darkness by Torah's LightEven when your mind is clouded and you feel far from Hashem, you can still pray. Set the Torah before your eyes, recognize that you stand before the King only through His…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerLeaving Be'er Sheva: Torah's Strength in DarknessHowever low a person falls, the light of da'as and the power of the Torah let him join earth to heaven. Remembering both his own lowliness and his soul's origin in the supernal…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerTruth and Faith in the Darkest ExileExile and suffering are not Hashem's essential conduct but a refining that whitens sin, and the right response to His anger is to run toward Him, not away. Even someone in the…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerStrength from the Source Above the WorldHowever hopeless a person's state of body or soul may look by nature and human reckoning, he must never say “it is hopeless,” for there is a source of mercy above the world and…