יום רביעי, א׳ אב תשפ״וWednesday, July 15, 2026
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Rav Reuven Taragin is the Dean of Overseas Students at Yeshivat Hakotel and Educational Director of World Mizrachi - RZA. He lives with his wife Shani and their six children in Alon Shvut, Israel.
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Prayer is part of how we express this faith. Turning to Hashem in difficult times expresses our belief that Hashem is the One behind our suffering as well as the solution to it.
Experiences that seem negative can do more than just protect. They often enrich.
During difficult times, we should remind ourselves that everything, including suffering, emanates from Hashem. Though Hashem is the ultimate good and wants the best for us, we know that grief also comes from Him: A person does not stub his toe below unless it was declared above (Chullin 7b).
Hashem’s first words to the first Jew direct him to move to Israel. Though Avraham’s religious quest and commitment began decades earlier, the Torah skips those stories and begins with his move to Israel. Judaism begins with the arrival of the first Jew in Israel.
We often choose to avoid confronting those who offend us. We are too hurt to speak it out, and doing so is uncomfortable. Unaddressed, though, our feelings fester and grow, and the hatred, distance, and demonization intensify.
You may be a wonderful, accomplished, and successful individual, but as long as you are not on speaking terms with your own sibling, you will not be whole. As long as a family is torn by mistrust and conflict, none of its members can be whole.
Tens of thousands of us studied Mishnayot in memory of those killed on Simchat Torah. Acheinu allowed us to do so together with Jews around the country and the world.
We are meant to realize that our success hinges on working together – not just to defend ourselves but also to realize our joint mission in Hashem’s world.
The October 7th massacre and the subsequent attacks on and demonization of Jews worldwide have reminded us that we are one big family who are all in the same boat. The external enemy and threats have galvanized and unified us.
It is not that I don’t want to or that I don’t force myself to make time to. Sleep just won’t come. I lie in bed and even shut my eyes, but what’s supposed to happen next just doesn’t.
Though it is always easy to focus on what we are missing in our lives, we must use Chag HaSukkot to focus upon and celebrate Hashem’s great blessings that we often take for granted.
Most of us are familiar with the process and stages of teshuva. But how do we purify ourselves?
Though the Yamim Noraim should also be a time when we draw close to and strengthen our love of Hashem, they begin with recognizing that He is judging us and determining our fate for the upcoming year.
Difficult times should inspire reflection and improvement. This is why the word we use to describe life lessons – mussar – shares a root with the word yisurin (suffering). Yisurin should inspire us to learn and internalize mussar lessons.
Looking back at Jewish history, we see that periods of suffering were always followed by periods of success and growth.
We must remind ourselves that everything, including suffering, emanates from Hashem. Though Hashem is the source of ultimate good and wants the best for us, we know that grief also comes from Him: a person does not stub his toe below unless it was declared from above (Chullin 7b).
We are meant to work hard to support ourselves, and the amount we earn seems proportional to the effort we invest. This leads many to assume that their efforts determine their success.
Though we occasionally face difficult situations, we should be optimistic about our future.
Because Hashem directs the world, things that happen to and around us are more than just coincidental.
Though the Torah commands many mitzvot that guide our relationship with Hashem, the mitzvot that govern interpersonal relationships are the most important. Disregarding them causes churban and subsequent mourning.
The Chafetz Chaim explained that it took him a long time to complete his Shemoneh Esrei because of the time he spent reciting the Modim beracha. (He was shocked that others could say the beracha so quickly.)
Each day we set and realize many goals. As these goals seem naturally within our grasp, we assume that we accomplish them on our own. We set our mind to something we are capable of accomplishing and we succeed in doing so.
As opposed to Yosef who saw Hashem’s Hand in determining the results of our decisions, Dovid saw Hashem as behind the decision itself!
Hashem’s control over what happens in the world means that our lives and fate (even in this world) are fully in His hands.
As part of the world Hashem constantly recreates, our existence also hinges on Hashem’s continuous constant renewal.
When we donate our money, time or effort to Hashem, we naturally assume that we are giving Him something that is our own. In truth, we are merely giving Him what is (already) His.
We are not created as a finished product, but, rather, with the need and responsibility to develop ourselves properly.
Talmud Torah is not just the world’s purpose; it is also the Jewish peoples. As the mishna in Avot (2:8) tells us, If you have learned much Torah, do not take special credit; it is why you were created.
When the Kotel was returned to us in 1967, we heard Hashem’s call to reconnect with Him. The state founded 19 years earlier took on new meaning.
The lists of ten are uniquely significant because the number ten symbolizes something full and complete. These lists appear in historical order.
Why do our possessions belong to Hashem? The simplest explanation is that Hashem’s ownership is rooted in His creation of the world and all of its content.
Obviously, our awareness of the constant presence of Hashem’s “eyes” should have an even stronger impact. That is part of what makes religion a force for honest and altruistic behavior and mitzvah observance: the belief that G-d sees what we do.
The Rambam saw the three pillars as modes of personal development. Torah develops our intellectual ability, gemilut chasadim our character, and avodah our observance.
This alternative explanation highlights Hashem’s care for us more strongly. On that fateful night, he did more than just skip over our homes. He actively and personally protected us from danger.
Why should we value the ability to control others? Even if that had value, what difference does that ability make if we cannot control ourselves?
We are meant to focus our lives and attention on meaningful things. Though we often become distracted, we should never direct our attention to meaninglessness.
Rashbag’s conclusion reminds us of the ancient saying quoted by the Gemara: If one word is worth a selah coin, (then) being quiet is worth two (Megillah 18a).
The mishna implies that it is important to do things, not just in this world and while we are young, but also achshav – now, right away, as soon as possible.
After Esther hesitates due to the danger involved, Mordechai responds with sharp rebuke. He emphasizes the personal responsibility she has to use her position on behalf of her people and explains that it is, in actuality, Esther, not the Jews, whose fate hangs in the balance.
Though Israel was his preferred Torah destination, Rav Aharon accepted the mission to travel to America. When he got there, he opened the Lakewood Yeshiva, which has played a central role in spreading Torah across America.
Rebbi Yochanan is making a profound statement about poverty. It is not just a challenge to overcome. It should actually assist fulfillment; it is an opportunity to take advantage of.
Many people cite Yeshayahu’s description of the Jewish people as an or la’goyim – a light unto the nations, as a clarion call for us to enlighten others. But what way of life makes this possible?
Easy come, easy go. Only the Torah that we make sacrifices to learn remains with us years later.
People are often disillusioned by their failures and the strength of their yetzer hara. Instead, we should appreciate how the challenges we overcome add to the value of our successes.
The Torah teaches us eternal heavenly truth, wisdom and direction. Its study gives us the ability to free ourselves from contemporary fleeting perspectives.
How does a person who accepts the yoke of Torah have other responsibilities removed from him?
Luring another to sin is worse than killing them because killing only removes the victim from this world, while sin removes one from the next world as well.
As opposed to the standard issur hana'ah, which prohibits any and all types of benefit, the issur hishtamshut prohibits specifically redirecting the Chanukah lights towards one’s personal use.
Rabbeinu Yonah explains that, in addition to our own conditioning (goreret), when we perform a mitzvah, Hashem rewards us (gives sechar) by strengthening our efforts.
Though mitzvah observance can sometimes be cumbersome, we should compare the great reward we receive to the (relatively) small sacrifice we make by observing them.
A good friend shares one’s values, goals and sensitivities. A good friendship involves friends who can be trusted with personal information and care about helping one another.
There is a natural tension between our focus upon our own needs and goals and our caring for and assistance to others. Rebbi’s point is that we need to strike the right balance between these (often) competing values.
Yashrut (straightness) is one of our central personal growth goals.
A person who truly values Torah will take full advantage of the opportunity to speak in Torah with anyone they meet.
Friendship is not just a responsibility we have towards others; it is important for our own healthy personal development as well.
The Chasid Yavetz explains that sharing Torah at meals is uniquely important because it defines and expresses how we view our lives. Man, like animal, needs to eat in order to stay alive.
Focusing our Torah and Torah celebration on our children celebrates our passing of the Torah heritage on to future generations.
Though similar to the harvest celebrations of other cultures, ours differs in that it focuses on the Beit HaMikdash (Moreh Nevuchim 3:43). We celebrate lifnei (before) Hashem because we realize that He is the cause of our success.
The conclusion of the Yom Kippur pasuk – the word “tit’haru” – commands us to purify ourselves. The Kohen Gadol used this word at the height of the Yom Kippur atonement service to remind those in the Mikdash of their responsibility to purify themselves.
The Torah tells us that it was Avraham who searched for (“Vayisa Avraham et einav”), found, and decided to sacrifice the ram. G-d had relieved him of his duties, but Avraham continued looking for opportunities to serve.
The Torah emphasizes the importance of our work in its very first parshah, Bereishit. The world’s vegetation was ready to sprout, but did not because there was no man to work the ground.
Even when we pray on behalf of individuals, we pray for them as part of the broader community.
The challenge of the shortness of life is compounded by the enormity of the task.
One should never be complacent and feel that he has achieved enough. Every moment of our lives can and should be used for continued growth.
Rebbi encourages reflecting upon Hashem’s presence and omniscience. “Look at three things and you will not come to sin: know what is above you, a seeing eye, and a listening ear, and all of your actions are recorded” (Avot 2:1).
The two not only emphasize the need for more action than wisdom; they also highlight the problem with having less action than wisdom.
Torah coupled with good deeds is the ideal form of life.
Torah coupled with good deeds is the ideal form of life.
It was Hashem’s goal in creation and the ultimate goal of our personal development . . . G-d does not seek our fear; He seeks our appreciation.
In the end of the third chapter of Pirkei Avot, Rebbi Elazar ben Azariah introduces us to four pairs of interdependent concepts.
In order to generate peace, the Sages (Mishnah Brachot 9:5) instituted using the word shalom as a friendly greeting to one another despite it being Hashem’s holy name.
Understandably, judges responsible to maintain a healthy, fair, functional society need to be “men of truth” (Shemot 18:21). This attribute gives them the best chance to achieve the first goal listed by Rashbag – din (law/justice).
The word used by the Mishnah to describe our choice, reshut, means domain or control. The implication is that we are given not only free choice to decide, but also control over the outcome.
Rav Kook defined shalom as people appreciating and finding the appropriate place for each other’s strengths.
Rebbi Akiva compared a Jew’s need for Torah learning to a fish’s dependency on water.
The ten tests Avraham passed expressed and taught his contemporaries about commitment to Hashem and thus earned him his reward.
Our souls ultimately seek things more meaningful than what this world has to offer, and we should make sure not to get lured astray by the non-spiritual aspects of our world.
Whether this particular Mishnah is making this point or not, we know that Hashem sees not only the present, but also everything in the future.
People who serve Hashem with ulterior motives take what is meant to be focused on Hashem and make it about themselves. As this diametrically opposes the goal of creation, it would be better for such a person to not have been created.
The gift of life comes with the expectation that we use it properly.
The masses who had visited Rav Chaim seeking his beracha and advice during his lifetime would not let anything keep them from coming to mourn and showing their respects and appreciation for him after his death.
When we muffle our identity, He muffles his love and care for us. When we assert our true selves, He expresses his true love.
A person who identifies with Hashem’s will must use the unique abilities and circumstances Hashem created him with and places him in to appreciate how he is meant to best serve Him.
Since everything we do for the sake of Heaven (including neutral, permissible actions) contributes to kavod Hashem, we should appreciate and fully focus upon whatever we are doing at each moment.
The Medrash takes this further by asserting that the Jewish people themselves embody G-d’s glory, and that one of the purposes of their galut is to spread G-d’s word throughout the world.
These sources seem to imply that the world was created for our own personal development rather than for G-d’s honor. How can we reconcile these contradictory understandings of why the world was created?
After the last perakim of Sanhedrin speak about sinners executed by Beit Din for their sins, this mishnah emphasizes that though these people are killed because of their grievous sins, they still have a portion in Olam Haba.
We are all brothers – children of Hashem. Separating from one another is an affront to the unity of Hashem’s oneness.
Though the Torah describes Hashem creating man in His image in its first chapter, Hashem only tells man about it in chapter nine.
Rav Kook says, “Anyone who thinks in a pure, G-dly way cannot hate or denigrate any creation or potential found in our world.”
We ought to recognize that in addition to creating all objects, Hashem is also responsible for specific objects being in our possession.
Judaism is about belonging to a people who descend from and still identify with our avot and imahot.
When Jews lived in ghettos and were barred from interaction with general society, they could more easily maintain their unique identity. When surrounding societies permitted interaction, assimilation grew.
July 10, 2026 
