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Praying for health and wealth when things are going well. Why pray? -A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #516
Parshas Vayakhel-Pekudei 5780

QUESTION:

How are we supposed to say refaeinu when we are not ill?

ANSWER:
OH! That's the best time to do it!

Hakadosh Baruch Hu says: Hypocrite! Now when you need me you come to me? It's when you're well and you ask for good health, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu appreciates it. Same is a wealthy man, he is asking for parnosso – a rich man he has plenty of money, please Hashem help me make a living! Ahh, Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, you're My man! When a poor man comes and asks, Hakadsosh Baruch Hu says, what's the chiddush? Certainly you need my help, because you ask me now doesn't mean much, however Hashem has pity on the poor man too.

That's why Dovid Hamelech was so beloved in the eyes of Hashem. He was powerful, he was a victor, he was a king, he was wealthy, he was tall and strong and handsome – and he always prayed to Hashem as if he was nobody. Ana Hashem he said, ki ani avdecho, I am your servant, please help me Hashem! And that's why Hashem loved Dovid. So if you're a successful man and you are praying to Hakadosh Baruch Hu for help, your prayers are worth so much more.

The Gemora says in Mesechtah Shabbos, when a man prays before he is ill, he could get off easily. If a man waits till he's ill and he prays, it's not so easy; and he gives a moshol. Suppose a man walks out into the street and he sees a policeman coming towards him, so he takes out a fiver and he says, not me officer, you're not looking for me. Five dollars can help. What happens if the officer however is writing a summons already? You can't get away with five dollars, it's hard to tear up a summons; for twenty five he'll do it. However if he already handed it into the precinct, it's on the books already, and you need to go to the lieutenant, twenty five dollars won't work, you'll need a bigger sum. Suppose you're already standing in front of the judge, now you can't slip the judge fifty dollars. One of the clerks has to bring a letter to the judge, and he says, here are some documents pertaining to this case, and in those documents is a $500 check. The judge says according to these documents new evidence has been revealed, that cast new light on the subject.

So the Gemora says, before you're ill, you can get by with smaller things, prayer will help. After you're ill, you need maasim tovim, and you need big lawyers, after you're ill. That's why it always pays to pray when you are well. Of course you should always try to pray, but the best time to pray is when you don't need it, when you're not in trouble. That's why every day you should pray.

By the way, don't wait for Shmonei Esrei. It's a good idea every day, in the middle of the day – if you came only to hear this your time wasn't wasted. Every day in middle of the day take out a half minute, it's a worthwhile investment, and ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu, please Hashem keep me well, and keep my wife and children well.

I'm not charging you for that, it's worth a lot of money, you'll be surprised at the results. Every day, ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu, please Hashem, keep me well, and keep my family well. It's a Gemora, l'olam yevakeish adam rachamim shelo yechele, a man should always ask for mercy, not to become ill.

Good Shabbos To All
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 3/20/2020 2:04 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Patronizing Shomer Shabbos stores -A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #515
Parshas Ki Sisa

QUESTION:

Should we give our patronage to a Shomer Shabbos store, rather than to a chain store, even though the Shomer Shabbos costs more?

ANSWER:
Absolutely! Of course there is a limit too, but to some extent we must make it a point to patronize Shabbos observers. Whether they are shoe stores, whether they are fruits stores, any kind of business. Shomer Shabbos dentists, Shomer Shabbos physicians, Shomer Shabbos plumbers. A lot of people are careless in that.

It's our business to encourage our fellow Jews, and therefore even if it costs, it's your contribution.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 3/13/2020 2:16 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Thanking Hashem in public? - A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #514
Parshas Tetzaveh 5780

QUESTION:

Should one enumerate his good fortune to others, or he should not?

ANSWER:
The gemora says if a man is doing business with objects that look big – let's say a person is selling big flowerpots – there is not such a big profit from it, but he should be careful not to display it on the sidewalk, unless he can't help himself. Because people who pass by see big flowerpots, think he's a millionaire! They don't stop to think that it's a small profit. The idea is, try to conceal your prosperity from others; that's a general principle.

Why is that? It hurts people to see somebody else's success; it can't be helped. If you stand in the street and count your money, let's say everybody's honest – of course nobody would do that today or any day, but let's say you're counting your money in a place where nobody except tzadikim go – you're having a sin, you're hurting their feelings… unless you're counting pennies. So you have to be careful.

However, if you are b'khal tzadikim, among righteous people who want to hear how Hakadosh Baruch Hu is helping a righteous man, then you can speak up. You have to be very careful however who the company is. Like it says, gadlu La'shem iti unromamo Shmo yachdov. Dovid said exalt Hashem with me and together we will elevate His name. Dorashti es Hashem v'ononi, I sought Hashem to help me and He answered me! Umikol megurosi hitziloni, He rescued me from all my fears. That's what Dovid says, that the tzadikim should see and rejoice. So for tzadikim Dovid got together people and he told them of the miracles that happened in his life, how he was rescued.

So therefore, if you are in the bosom of your family, among your own children, you can tell them what happened to you when you were a boy, how Hakadosh Baruch Hu helped you, or what other good fortune you had, so together with the family, zamru La'shem chasidov, they'll all sing to Hashem and give thanks what He did to you. So it depends. You have to enumerate to yourself however all the time, all the details of your good fortune.

Should anybody else be allowed to listen in? It depends on who they are.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 3/6/2020 1:01 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Purpose of Havdalah candle -A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #513
Parshas Terumah

QUESTION:

Why do we light havdalah candles?

ANSWER:
The first and the greatest gift that Hashem gave this world was light. וירא אלוקים את האור כי טוב, Hashem said the light was good. Do you know why the light is so good? Because with light you can see the work of the Creator – this world has to demonstrate the Creator. And you can look at the world and see the Creator.

Imagine if we didn't have light, and you had to walk into an art gallery, and the beautiful pictures are all along the walls… so it's a waste of time. When you press the [light] button, then everything springs into action. All around us are proofs of the Creator – definite proofs, unimpeachable, incontrovertible proofs, but you have to see them. That's what light means! However it's a great pity that the light goes out, the sun sets.

So Hakadosh Baruch Hu did a miracle and He created artificial light. Now let's not treat artificial light superficially, it's a remarkable phenomenon. Why should there be light? Just because things oxidize, it has to be accompanied by the phenomenon of light? It could've been accompanied merely by heat, other forms of energy!

Artificial light is a special gift, in lieu of sunlight you light a candle, and now you can again look at that orange by candlelight. You can marvel at why the peel of the orange is so beautiful on outside, and on the underside there is no color at all? Now this you should study by day and by night, look at the orange all day long! No question that you'll make something out of yourself by studying the orange.

But then when the sun goes down what will you do? So you'll light the candle, and that's why Shabbos night we light a candle – to thank Hakadosh Baruch Hu for artificial light.

Why Shabbos night? Shabbos night was the first time artificial light came into existence. Adam our first father saw the sun go down – he never saw anything like that, and he thought that the world was coming to an end, and he was overwhelmed with this catastrophe. He thought it was because of his sin, he's being punished now and the world is coming to an end! And he wept all night! Until he saw the sun come up.

While he was weeping he fell upon a stratagem. He didn't have any Diamond matches, he didn't have any electric lights, but he did something. Whatever he did, let's say he took a stone in his anguish and hurled it against the wall and a spark came out. And he said, "If that's the case I'll try again, and this time I won't lose that spark!" So he piled up dry leaves, and he gave another bang and this time it caught fire. Adam said, "At least in my last moments before the world expires, I'll be using my eyes to be living!" In the morning when the sun came up he was reassured, and he said, kach hu minhogo shel olam.

We use that first opportunity of light as a memorial every week, and we thank Hakadosh Baruch Hu for artificial light.


Good Shabbos To All
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 2/28/2020 1:50 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Working man not feeling accomplished in learning -A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #512
Parshas Mishpatim 5780

QUESTION:

If a person feels he didn't accomplish enough in learning, how can he be satisfied? When he is in business, his heart hurts him that he's not able to learn enough?

ANSWER:
You know, that's the yetzer hora. Every night when a person comes back from work, he could have a little nap. If he can learn 45 minutes every night, he can become a great lamdan. Let him learn let's say just gemara alone, over and over again, one perek until he knows the perek; he can learn it with the translation if necessary. From beginning to end he should be able to daven through one perek. If he can say it like Ashrei, then you're on the road to success. Then another perek. You'll be surprised – after a while he'll know whole mesechtos. It's only the yetzer hora.

What about Shabbos? What about Friday night? What about motzei Shabbos? Sometimes he doesn't work on Sunday either – plenty of time to learn. You have to utilize it. He wants to be at leisure all day long and loaf all day long. So now he'll go back to the yeshiva, and instead of learning, he'll loaf all day long.

No! Don't fool yourself. Therefore if you have the opportunity to learn now, utilize whatever you have. Hamekabel oluv ol Torah, if a person takes the yoke of Torah when he's busy, so Hashem is mavirin mimenu ol malchus v'ol derech eretz, Hashem will make it easier for you and you'll find more and more time to learn as a result.

Make use of the opportunities that you have right now, and you'll be surprised how great you can become in Torah, even by studying Torah in your spare time.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 2/21/2020 11:46 AM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #511 (Understanding senility)
Parshas Yisro 5780

QUESTION:

Do these Torah concepts, even the greatest, have any permanence? Doesn't senility erase them from the mind?

ANSWER:
It does not. You are right, it erased them from the conscious mind, but in the subconscious they remain; I'll give you an example. A senile person who seems to understand nothing, sometimes surprises people by making a remark about his experiences. Where did he get that? He seemed to be out of his mind entirely. The answer is as was mentioned before, it's there. You can never erase from the subconscious, and that becomes part of the baggage of your soul.

Even though consciously he's not able now to summon – it's like a viewer. You have a machine that helps you view pictures. The viewer gets out of order and the pictures that are supposed to focus automatically don't come anymore; the conveyor broke down. So you look through the viewing scope and you don't see the picture anymore. But the pictures are there waiting only the apparatus broke down.

In senility the apparatus of recalling consciously all the facts that you once learned has broken down, but subconsciously they're all stacked away, it never could be erased. It's taken along with the neshomo; it's part of the baggage of the soul in the World to Come.

That's why the Gemara says, in the aron habris in the mishkon and in the mikdash they had the luchos that Moshe Rabbeinu brought down, but also the shivrei haluchos, the broken ones and the second tablets, the entire ones. Now the broken ones you have to know, that when Moshe Rabbeinu broke them, the inscriptions were destroyed – the writing was destroyed. So the question is what's the purpose? The answer is, they once had the writing on them.

And therefore the Gemara says we learn from this, והזהרו בזקן ששכח תלמודו מחמת אונסו דאמרינן לוחות ושברי לוחות מונחות בארון be careful with an old sage that forgot his learning, because even the broken luchos are also put in the aron; now that means something. An old sage, he's senile now let's say, you have to watch him that he should not run out in his underwear into the street, that's how senile he is. He even forgot that a street is not a place for underwear.

But in his subconscious everything that he learned is there, you cannot erase it. The bad things that he learned also he cannot erase, everything is there. When he comes to the Next World, and then his focusing apparatus is repaired, then he's going to see these pictures, only in a more glorious perspective.

Nothing goes lost that you learned in this world and that's why it's so important to learn only the right things.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 2/14/2020 2:58 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #510 (How to view suffering by goyim
Parshas Beshalach 5780

QUESTION:

Should we be sad when goyim suffer or die?

ANSWER:
When goyim suffer, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is sad. Ma'sei Yudei tovim bayam, Hashem is sad. What should we do? We should say Hashem is sad, that's enough. Don't spend any money on it, because there are plenty of poor Jews that need your money. Now, when an ambulance passes by, you should always say a tefilla. If it's chalila a Jew inside, say Hakadosh Baruch Hu should send him a refuah shleima.

Now, if an Italian would hear me say this, and he asks, why don't you say this prayer for Italians too? So I say, do you pray if an Italian passes by in an ambulance? Do you pray for an Italian? You don't pray for your fellow Italian, so why should I pray for Italians? Therefore, you are mechuyov to pray for your fellow Jews. If you hear an ambulance, don't ignore it! It's making a wailing sound, it's crying out for help – maybe it's a Jew? Therefore pray that he should have a refuah shleima, if it's a Yisroel.

Hakadosh Baruch Hu is different. Hakadosh Baruch Hu has kavayochol tzar when a person has any tzar at all; ma'sei Yudei tovim bayam.

Good Shabbos To All
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 2/7/2020 1:03 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Television and the mind - A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #509
Parshas Bo 5780

QUESTION:

How can one convince a man who watches television to stop doing so?

ANSWER:
Take him out in the street to a sewer, and dip a cup of water into the sewage as it's rushing from the sidewalk into the sewer, and say l'chaim my friend, take a drink.

So he says, it's dirty water!

So tell him "it's much cleaner than what you drink every day on television, because you are pouring the dirtiest kind of filth onto your mind, besides atheism!" The worst thing that can happen to a man is to get water on the brain, and to get sewage on the brain? Then there's no hope for him.

Television today is poison. Anybody with a little bit of understanding knows that if he wants to have any hope of coming to the Next World… it says Elokei neshama sh'nosato bi tehora he, You gave me a pure soul, and you're supposed to return it to Hashem, at least the way you got it. The truth is, you should make it better, but at least the way you received it. And Hakadosh Baruch Hu is going to be pretty angry when you return the soul to Him and it smells bad. It's waterlogged with sewage. Because the way a man dies, that's the way he's going to remain forever.

If a man leaves this world with a soul that's putrefied with television garbage, he'll have to live with it all his life forever and ever for the next million years. That's a principle; the way a man leaves this world, the Rambam says that in Avos, that's how you are going to remain forever.

Therefore it's important to purify the mind, and put into it as much kedusha as you can, and that's what you are going to exist with forever and ever.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 1/31/2020 12:41 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Protecting oneself in adverse environments, dam, tzefardea etc -A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #508
Parshas Va'eira 5780

To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210
QUESTION:

What should a person do (when he is in an adverse environment) to protect his mind from being wrongly influenced?

ANSWER:
Number one, he should hold a sefer in his hand, even a small sefer. Open it whenever you can, look inside and think over something that you saw there. And while you're thinking, your mind cannot occupy two thoughts at the same time. The Rambam says that when a mind is empty of divrei Torah, then the other things come into your head. When the mind is occupied and is full of divrei Torah, then the other things cannot come into your head. And even if you're thinking of a machlokes of Romi bar Chomo and Rava, it's also good enough to fill your mind – think about it. As you are on the subway or wherever you are, keep it in your mind, go over it again and again, and you'll be able to keep your mind perfectly clear of anything else. When your mind is a vacuum – there's no such thing as a vacuum – something will come in and fill your mind.

Now, it's a good idea to get in the habit of choosing topics to think about. Zichru niflosuv asher asa – it's a commandment. Remember His niflos that He made. Why does it say that He made them, if it's His, then He made it? He made it in order that we should remember, that's why He made it, Hashem made it in order that we should remember.

So let's say you're in the subway, I'm going to think of makos dam. Finally it's exhausted and you have nothing else to think – tzefardea begins. Plenty to talk about in tzefardea, a very big mako, I can speak an hour on tzefardea. Pharoh is going crazy from the noise of the tzefardea, he said please save me from the noise of the tzefardea. The noise was terrible, and some of them were poisonous too, it was a terrible mako. Then kinim; imagine kinim. If you think about these nisim, you are mekayeim zichru niflosuv asher asa. Everybody says these words but nobody does it, it's a pity. Remember the maan, He made the maan, you should remember it.

Everything that Hakadosh Baruch Hu did that was against nature was a nes. Hashem doesn't like to go against nature, because He made nature. Why did He make it against nature? In order that you should remember: למען שתי אתתי אלה בקרבו ולמען תספר, you should talk about them.

It's a good idea when you are walking into the street, not when you are crossing the street, when you cross the street look here and look there. When you're on the other side of the street resume your thoughts. "What was I thinking about before?" remind yourself, and keep on thinking of that subject.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.


Posted 1/24/2020 2:05 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #507 (Chasidish versus Litvis...what's the difference
Parshas Shemos 5780

QUESTION:

Is there a difference between the chasidim and the litvish today, and what are the differences?

ANSWER:
I'll tell you a little story. Once upon a time there was a wealthy man. He had two kitchens, a fleishig kitchen with a cook, and another kitchen for delicious milchig meals. His fortunes took a turn and his wealth began to decrease, so he had less and less meat and more and more potatoes, also less and less cheese and more and more potatoes. After a while he only had potatoes, so he said why make milchig potatoes and fleishig potatoes, they're all potatoes!

Once upon a time there were chasidim, with avodas Hashem, firedik chasidim – old chasidim were fire. Misnagdim, Torah – learning all the time. Little by little... chasidim began to learn too, misnagdim started learning mussar – today there's not much difference.

By the way there is a difference, and I say each group should maintain its differences, we shouldn't become one. Hakdosh Baruch Hu wanted all the shevatim should be separate shevatim, Reuvain separate, Shimon separate, each shevet had its own characteristics, every shevet had its maalos. Those who are chasidim should remain chasidim, we need them. Misnagdim, who are all for learning Torah and yiras shomayim, each one should improve. It could be eventually that they will all become the same, all will become tzadikim gemurim! Very good, but in the meantime don't give up your idiosyncrasies.

Hakadosh Baruch Hu loves Reuvain, He loves Shimon, He loves chasidim, He loves misnagdim, He loves them all...כן ירבו וכן יגדלו

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 1/17/2020 1:55 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Falling ill, what to do first -A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #506
Parshas Vayechi 5780

QUESTION:

If someone is ill, what should he do the first thing?

ANSWER:
The first thing is he should immediately ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu for help. Secondly, he should immediately get the best assistance from experts for his illness. And third, yeilech eitzel chochom – that's a gemara. He should go to a chochom and ask him to be mispalel for him. I'll repeat these three things.

Number 1 – He should immediately ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu without any delay; tefila is number one and it doesn't take any time. Because if a man doesn't have any tefila, he's putting his trust in physicians or medicine, and that's ארור הגבר אשר יבטח באדם, accursed is a man who trusts in human beings, ושם בשר זרעו, and he makes flesh his strength, ומן השם יסור לבו, his heart turns away from Hashem. At the outset you should speak to Hashem.

Number 2 – ורפא ירפא the gemara says, מכאן שניתנה רשות לרופא לרפאות, we learn from here that the physician has a right to heal. Which means the physician is not trespassing on Hashem's domain when he tries to heal, because Hakadosh Baruch Hu Himself gave that command.

Number 3 – He should seek competent tefilos of somebody whose words are obeyed by Hashem: yeilech eitzel chochom.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 1/9/2020 9:59 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Dvar Torah # 702 Parshas Vayigash
הוי שקוד ללמוד תורה ודע מה שתשיב לאפיקורס ודע לפני מי אתה עמל (אבות ב:טו)
Rebbi Elazar says, be diligent in the study of Torah, and know what to answer to a heretic, and know before Whom you toil.

When asked by Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai which is the proper way to which a man should cling, Rebbi Elazar answered, "a good heart." The Meforshim explain that the three instructions mentioned in the Mishna are three ways of acquiring a good heart. It is understandable how diligence in Torah study and knowledge before Whom one toils can be means of acquiring a good heart. However, it isn't clear how the knowledge of what to answer to a heretic can help one achieve this goal.
Rav Wolbe (Alei Shur vol. II p. 288) notes that Rabbi Elazar does not instruct us to answer heretics, since one should not enter into a dispute with a heretic. Rather, he tells us that one should "know what to answer" to a heretic. A person must have ironclad, crystal clear emunah to the degree that no one would succeed in budging him from his belief. In addition to the emunah rooted in feelings, it is necessary for emunah to be well founded in a person's intellect. Conviction in emunah (the knowledge that Hashem is the source of everything) is another means for acquiring a good heart.
There is no need for philosophical arguments or intense research. Every mentally sound individual should be able to arrive at the knowledge that Hashem created the world, gave us the Torah on Har Sinai and will eventually bring the redemption. It is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no way that our remarkable world could have possibly created itself. It also follows, that if there is a Creator of the world, He certainly informed His creations of the purpose of the world and gave them detailed instructions how to navigate life. Additionally, the revelation at Sinai was witnessed by millions of people and recorded in the Torah, and there is no documentation of any ancient writer who disputed this reality. We also can be certain of the veracity of what transpired since it has been passed down through our unbroken chain of mesorah of leaders who we know would never lie; beginning with Moshe and continuing with the Prophets, Tannaim, Amoraim, Geonim, Rishonim and Achronim.
Likewise, the need for a Final Redemption is rational. It is understandable that the Creator is not going to allow His creations to grope in the dark forever. The world was created with a purpose and when He decides that the goal has been reached, the world will cease to exist in its present state.
These are simple straightforward ideas that help a person strengthen his emunah; and there are countless other ideas and proofs that can do the same. Nevertheless, if a person doesn't give this topic any thought, he will be left with a half baked emunah that won't stand up in a time of need.
A person never knows where he might end up and he has to be spiritually ready for any situation. Yosef HaTzaddik was uprooted from his spiritual enclave and deposited in a depraved society where he spent more than twenty years without any spiritual backing. In Russia Jews were uprooted and placed in Siberia, and during the holocaust Jews were displaced from their communities. Rav Wolbe himself spent eight years alone in a country devoid of religious life. Hopefully none of us will ever have to endure such an upheaval, but nevertheless, our emunah should be able to weather any storm.

A practical suggestion to help implement this idea: Take some time to go through the Kuzari, Derech Hashem (Rav Wolbe in Alei Shur ibid. suggests both of them) or any of Rav Avidgor Miller's seforim. They have the ability to do wonders for your emunah.


Posted 1/3/2020 12:01 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Reason for Agadata in the Gemara - A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #505
Parshas Vayigash

QUESTION:

Why is it that about 1/7th of Shas Bavli consists of moralistic teachings, stories and advice (agadata)?

ANSWER:
The gemara is not given to us just as a book of laws. The gemara is a way of life, therefore it tells us what we need in order to live. It's the same question that you can ask, if you have a human being, why is there such a mixture? There is blood mixed together with tissue, and bones, all stuff mixed together. Wouldn't it be better if you had all the bones in one place, a box of bones, and here is a box of meat, and a big bottle of blood… The bottles are on the shelf but he wouldn't be alive.

In order for the Talmud to be alive, you have to mix all these elements. You have to have a history, if you don't understand history from the Torah viewpoint then you're a cripple, you're mentally a cripple. That's why those boys who learn the gemara and skip the agadata, are mental cripples. Not only boys, but even rosh yeshivos who have skipped agadata all their lives, they just learn the halacha, they don't understand what Torah is, because Torah is an entity that contains all the parts that go together that make it one thing.

You have to have derech eretz, you need good manners, and the gemara is full of agadata. You have to have tanach – tanach is the breath of the gemara, it's the spirit of life of the gemara. The medroshim that the gemara comments on, explains things, enlightens things, opens our eyes. And you need health, if people don't have advice about proper living, then they won't take care of themselves, and like the Rambam says "you can't be a servant of Hashem if your body is not healthy".

So you need all the things together, and that's why it's mixed, the agadata is not in a separate sefer, it's all mixed. And as you are learning gemara there's a little island of agadata, and you refresh your neshomo, you get what you need and you go on again to the gemara, to the technical halachos. And this wonderful plan, the great minds of Rav Ashi's yeshiva perfected. It's not by accident, it's not haphazard, it's not a ramshackle thing; talmud bavli is extremely cunningly planned.

It's like somebody who wants to do a good job, so he extracts from the wheat, from the flour all the vitamins. You could do it by milling, or by sifting, you get rid of all the bran and you leave only the starch. It looks beautiful, you bake a challah, here's a challah with nothing but starch, but there is nothing in it; no vitamins, none of the minerals. So if you eat it, what's going to happen to you? Therefore you have to put the vitamins back in again, that's what they do today.

Today when you learn gemara without the agadata, it's eating starch without the vitamins. That's why they introduced mussar into the yeshivos, mussar is like putting back the vitamins. But when you eat the whole gemara it's whole wheat, like Hakadosh Baruch Hu planned it. He planned whole wheat, all the good stuff is there.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 1/2/2020 1:39 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Is Josephus regarded by the Jews as a hero or a renegade?
Parshas Mekeitz 5780

QUESTION:

Is Josephus regarded by the Jews as a hero or a renegade?

ANSWER:
Josephus is regarded by those who know – as a disloyal Jew who was loyal to Jewish traditions. He was a patriot for his people, and he was a maamin, he believed in everything, and he loved his people. But they consider him a man who sold out in order to gain privileges, in order to gain the favor of those who had power.

Josephus is considered by many as a true patriot, but they are people who really don't know the history. The sefer doros harishonim is the one whose opinion is always quoted here. There is no question that Josephus believed in everything, and he was a loyal believer, and he was proud of his Judaism, and he understood what there was to be proud of, and there are many things in his works that are really inspiring!

But he sold out to the enemies of his people, and as a result when the Bais Hamikdash was destroyed by Titus, the Roman general who later became Emperor, Josephus was allowed to live the rest of his life in the palace of Titus.

He lived in the Palace of Titus.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 12/27/2019 10:01 AM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Desiring to be free of troubles -A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #503
Parshas Vayeishev

QUESTION:

What is wrong when a person wishes to be free from troubles?

This person was listening to what I said about the greatness of tzaros, so what is wrong in wishing to be free from tzaros, in order to utilize all our energies in positive striving for perfection? When a man doesn't have any illnesses, he's able to strive for perfection.

ANSWER:
I'll tell you a story that everybody knows.

Once there was a rabbit and a turtle, and the rabbit said to the turtle, let's have a race. So the turtle said alright... and they started out, and in one minute the rabbit was out of site. The turtle was plodding along, slowly. After a while, after some hours he saw from a distance the rabbit was sitting by the side of the road sleeping. It's no use running, he's sleeping, he slept and slept and the turtle kept on going, and finally when the turtle was just about to reach the goal the rabbit looked up, and saw the turtle was a mile ahead. He tried to catch up but it was too late.

It's possible for people to strive for perfection mitoch shalom, mitoch shalva. But the trouble is like I explained before, shalva is to become unaware, to fall asleep. And that's what happens when everything goes well, people fall asleep. In the meantime, here is a man who has tzaros… let's say a baal teshuva, and he came in from the outside world, he had a lot of trouble. He had to fight against his parents, sometimes he had to give up his old wife when he married when he was irreligious, or she has to give up her old husband; all kinds of tzaros. These people are like turtles, because how fast can they travel? They can barely make a pace at a time, and still these are people who are aware, they are accomplishing something, because they know what they once were, and they are very much aware, they're sensitive to progress, whereas as Jews who had all the opportunities are usually not aware, and they fall asleep and don't gain perfection.

If you'll show me somebody who's able to develop a sense of awareness mitoch shalom, when everything always is going right, and he never needs a spur to keep him on the run, and he's always going full speed ahead, certainly that person will be most successful. But Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows that's not human nature. Moshe Rabeinu had the best head, and Moshe Rabeinu was given plenty of tzaros in his life - nevertheless, he utilized these things as spurs. He became greater and greater because of his difficulties.

Avrohom Avinu started out with all kinds of tzaros. He was thrown into the fire, and for years he was in prison, for years he was a fugitive the Rambam explains in Hilchos avodah zara, Avrohom was a fugitive for many years in the forests and in the deserts, and all this made him even greater.

So therefore theoretically people can grow great most easily if they have a life that facilitates making progress, but in practice it's not so. In practice almost everybody needs from time to time a spur, some kind of vicissitudes that will cause him to reappraise his situation and then to go full speed ahead.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 12/19/2019 11:52 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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We are known as Yehudim not Yisroelim, why? - A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #502
Parshas Vayishlach 5780

QUESTION:

Why are we called Yehudim today?

ANSWER:
Let me explain to you, briefly. Yisroel was a name, a generic name, given to denote the superiority of the Am Yisroel. They are going to conquer with the help of Hashem, Yisro - keil they are going to conquer with the help of Hashem. And that's the name to this day.

However, among the tribes of Yisroel there was one that remained most loyal. The sons of Yosef did not remain most loyal. Ephrayim and Menashe broke away. Yerovom ben Nevot from shevet Ephrayim broke away, and he lost contact with the Beis Hamikdash, and he went into devious paths that bordered on idolatry, and finally they went lost among the nations.

But Yehuda (ויהודה עד רד עם אל (הושע יב.א, Yehuda was still clinging to Hashem. It's because of the influence of Dovid of Yehuda. Dovid's heart was most loyal, בעבור דוד עבדי, My servant Dovid. And therefore because the Yehudim were the ones who clung to Hakadosh Baruch Hu despite everything, that's why today we are called Yehudim.

It's not enough to choose virtue and to make a Kabolas Hatorah, and to become great; it's essential to stick to it, על אבותינו ועלינו,על בנינו ועל דורותינו, all the generations. But there came a time when they fell down on the job, and therefore they were rejected, they were lost, ואבדתם בגוים, they were lost among the nations.

But Yehuda remained till this day, and now we are called Yehudim.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 12/13/2019 1:48 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #501 (John Lennon
Parshas Vayetzei 5780

QUESTION:

What was the purpose of a certain pop singer (I won't mention his name) who perished in a car accident last Friday night?

ANSWER:
Well I didn't hear about this gentleman, but since you did hear about him, so learn the lesson that people can be on the top of the ladder of success and think that they are going to enjoy this world for the next million years – and suddenly in a flash it's all over. It's an important lesson to keep in mind. I don't know if he was a tzadik or a rosho, probably the second, so if he's a rosho it's important, it says רק בעיניך תביט ושלמת רשעים תראה, you should look at the recompense paid to reshaim.

When John Lennon got a bullet and he dropped dead, in New York City they made a John Lennon Square in his memory; it's a beautiful memorial to him. Because you have to remember that many thousands of young people died young because of LSD or other narcotics that he encouraged with his songs. Therefore when the bullet came, we say that the bullet came a little late; it should have come much earlier.

It's a lesson to the world that reshaim get their recompense. Of course the world prefers to mislead themselves, so right away they stop thinking about Lennon and ask why did this frum Jew get a cold.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 12/6/2019 11:03 AM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Praying for children before one is married - A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #500
Parshas Toldos 5780

QUESTION:

Should one be mispallel for children even years before they’re married?

ANSWER:

Certainly, he should be mispallel for his future. You should ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu that you should live long when you're young, because it's important what happens in your youth. Sometimes chalila something happens in your youth that will make it impossible to live long. Pray for a long life, certainly. Even a child should pray for a long life, and to pray ahead of time for children, absolutely. He should pray for a lot of things beforehand, and the best time to pray is before you find yourself in a fix.

When Iyov was in trouble, he was in tzaros, so his friends said to him, היערך שועך לא בצר, did you set forth your prayers when you were not yet in distress? Which means, you waited only until now to pray? You hear that accusation? So the time to cry out is when you're well! Then Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, look this man is well and still he cries out to me, so I'll see that he remains well. But if a man waits until chas v'shalom, and then he cries out, it helps also but it doesn't have the efficacy of crying out when you're well. When a man is young and healthy, זכור את בוראך בימי בחורתך, remember your Borei when you're young.

Of course when you're old and all your bones are aching already – old is not good you know – your bones are aching, and your eyes are dim, and your stomach doesn't act properly, a lot of things are troubling you. And now you cry out to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, you remember Him? Very good, it's a very good thing, but how much better it would have been when you were full of juice and your joints were lubricated, and everything was working well, then you cried out to Hakadosh Baruch Hu? זכור את בוראך בימי בחורתך, when you're young remember Him, that's the best thing.

Certainly you should cry out to Hashem for everything, long before you need it.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 11/28/2019 4:05 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Knowing what you are looking for in a shidduch -A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #499
Parshas Chayei Sarah 5780

QUESTION:

Is it necessary for one to know what he's looking for when he's looking for a shidduch, or should he just wait till the right one comes along?

ANSWER:
He has to do both things. If you don't know what you're looking for, it's like going into a store with a pocket full of money and the storekeeper says what do you want? And you say I don't know. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is going to offer you all kinds of merchandise: tall, little, thick and thin, all kinds – blondes and brunettes. You have to know what you want, that's number one. You have to make up your mind, what do you want? You're looking for a frum girl, or you want a flapper type (unconventional style and behavior). Do you want a siren type, (dangerously beautiful)? Or do you want an idealist?

So you say, I want all the things, she should be a siren, and an idealist. But you have to know that to be a siren, it doesn't happen by itself. You have to sit in front of the mirror for a lot of hours to be a siren; boys don't know that, they think a siren is born that way. If a girl doesn't work on the job of looking appealing, looking attractive, she won't; it takes a lot of time. And to do both things is pretty difficult, so you have to make up your mind. It could be that Hakadosh Baruch Hu could send somebody who looks to you like a siren who happens to be a big idealist, because He wants you to take that one, so now your second point comes up. So Hakadosh Baruch Hu, when He sees that your mind is made up on the right girl, so He sends a girl to you.

In the eyes of others she looks pretty ordinary, but in your eyes she has seven graces, she's so beautiful that it clicks immediately. But you have to know that this is a reward for people who are deserving of it, otherwise you'll keep on looking and it vetzach nit clicking, it won't click. I met an old boy once, he was a Rabbi in the town next to me, and he hadn't been married for years and years. I met him on Pitkin Ave he was now sixty, I said, what's the matter? He says, I have a feeling that when the right one comes along, there will be a click, uber it is nuch nit g'clicked. Well, he died a bachelor.

So you have to make up your mind what you want, then Hakadosh Baruch Hu might make it click, too.

Good Shabbos To All

This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 11/22/2019 1:05 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)


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Men in the kitchen and Chinuch -A Moment with Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zt"l #498
Parshas Vayeira 5780

QUESTION:

What is my opinion of a frum man who takes very little part in helping his wife and children, in the kitchen and so on?

ANSWER:
It depends on circumstances. Sometimes a man works very hard for parnosso, and he has to take a lot of ill treatment – from his boss, from his competitors, or from customers. Sometimes a man comes home so broken that the house is like a hospital for him! And therefore he deserves a lot of consideration.

However, if it's a man that has a comparatively easy life, and he comes home in good condition, there is no reason why he should not help out a little bit; there should certainly be some token assistance, especially if the wife wants it. Now, some women don't want the husband to putter around in the kitchen, they tell him to keep out of it... he's a lucky man! But even then he should make some motions as if he's trying to help out, until she tells him to go out. But, there's no question at all, everybody should feel that it's his duty to help carry the burden of the house.

Now I want to say this. When it comes to taking care of the children's Torah education, it's a very big error to let the burden fall on the woman. Some women have to take care of coaching the children in the Torah lessons from the yeshiva; a father must shoulder that responsibility. A father must help out. Very many children need help, even aleph bais they need help, a father must help. Chumash they need help, and some fathers neglect that and therefore their children grow up failures, and sometimes they drop out chas v'shalom from the yeshiva, with the most terrible consequences.

It's not the children's fault. The blame is on the father.If he cannot have patience to do it himself, he must spend money. He has to hire a boy to teach his little child, or a girl to teach his little daughter, you must see to it that your children's learning is supervised.

Don't rely on the yeshivos! Don't rely on the teachers! Day to day check on your child if he's keeping up with the class. If he falls behind even one lesson, it's a tragedy, because the next day it will be two lessons, and he will be discouraged and he will lose cheshek chalila, and sometimes he becomes an enemy of learning as a result.

It's up to the father to constantly be on guard – this surely he has to shoulder the responsibility of the chinuch of his children. In aleph bais, in chumash, hascholas gemora.

If he's not capable he must hire help.

Good Shabbos To All

This email is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210


Posted 11/15/2019 1:53 PM | Tell a Friend | Parsha Pearls | Comments (0)



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