Parshas Yisro
13 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 RabinowitzSimple Faith: Why Moshe Retold the MiraclesFaith built on inquiry can be argued away; in the trials of the Spanish expulsion it did not hold, while simple faith did. That is why even Yisro, who had found Hashem through his…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzWhy Only Yisro Came: Everything Is for IsraelMany people heard about the splitting of the Sea and the war with Amalek, but only Yisro stopped to make a reckoning of what they meant, and that reflection is what brought him…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzSacrificing the Yetzer: Yisro's Lesson before SinaiOur passions are not only obstacles to be crushed; the same warmth that once drew us toward sin can be offered up to Hashem as a true korban. When we regret a misdeed, we can…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzSimple Faith: The Foundation for Receiving the TorahBefore Sinai, Israel had to journey away from Refidim, the doubts Amalek tried to plant about the mitzvos, and to accept Moshe's delay without asking why, for the Torah is…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzCamped in the Wilderness: The Teshuvah That Uplifts OthersTeshuvah need not wait for a list of sins; its highest form comes from standing before Hashem's greatness and seeing how small we are and how little we have yet given Him. That is…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzEncamped Against the Mountain: Three Ways to Conquer the YetzerBefore receiving the Torah, Israel encamped “opposite” the mountain of the yetzer hara, adding holiness day by day, and guarding that holiness brings a grace that shows even on a…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzOne Heart through Kindness: Receiving the Torah TogetherThe preparation for receiving the Torah was that Israel stood “as one man with one heart,” because the Torah cannot be kept by people who sit alone. The yetzer hara tells each of…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzIn the Merit of the Fathers: Humility at SinaiThe generation that stood at Sinai made great preparations and still felt unworthy, and that very lowliness made them a dwelling place for the Shechinah. Whatever level we reach…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzSoft Words for the Humble, Hard Words for the GreatThe yetzer hara speaks in two voices: before a mitzvah it says “Who are you to do this?”, and afterward “How great you are!” When we feel small, we should remember that even a…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzSoft Words, Hard Truths: When Blessing Is RebukeWhen Hashem gives us good we did not earn, He speaks to us gently, yet we are meant to hear it as a hard message: how kind He is, and how little we deserved it. Rather than…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzA Holy Nation: Every Jew Is CalledThe call to be “a holy nation,” to keep away from excess and sanctify ourselves even in what is permitted, is addressed to every Jew, “no less and no more.” No one may tell…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzA Treasure Guarded: Exalted Awe at SinaiHashem calls us His “beloved treasure” when we serve Him not only out of fear of punishment but as His children, with love and with awe at His exaltedness, and then no accuser can…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu RabinowitzSeeing the Voices: “We Will Do and We Will Hear” and the AngelsAt Sinai the body stopped being a screen, and Bnei Yisrael could see what is normally only heard. What brought them there was saying together “we will do” before “we will hear,”…