Daily Bitachon - delivered directly to your computer and/or mobile device https://itorah.com/daily-bitachon/sutton/all en-us Copyright 2026 iTorah.com Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:01:11 GMT Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:01:11 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss itorahwebsite@gmail.com Rabbi David Sutton Daily Bitachon Podcast - Daily Bitachon By Rabbi David Sutton Daily Bitachon by Rabbi David Sutton: Building Strength from your love, faith and devotion to Hashem episodic Torah Learning Resources. itorahwebsite@gmail.com No https://learntorah.com/content/f1ecdce2-08d9-4c98-aecb-21ae4afa56e1.mp3 Rav Chaim Palagi, in Moed LeChol Chai (24:25), cites Nazir Shimshon on Masechet Sukkah, which records an ancient manuscript detailing a well-known custom: on Hoshana Rabbah, women bite off the pitom of the etrog, distribute tzedakah according to their means, and pray for an easy labor and a healthy child. Why specifically bite the etrog rather than simply eat etrog preserves? Chazal teach that according to one opinion, the Etz HaDa'at (Tree of Knowledge) was an etrog tree. Eating from that tree brought mortality into the world, along with the decree of painful childbirth ( Tza'ar Gidul Banim and Chevlei Leidah ). By waiting until the mitzvah is completed, a woman demonstrates that her desire is subservient to the Divine will. She then recites the traditional tefillah : הנה הטקסט עם ניקוד מלא ומדויק: רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, גָּלוּי וְיָדוּעַ לְפָנֶיךָ דִּבְשְׁבִיל שֶׁאָכְלָה חַוָּה מֵעֵץ הַדַּעַת גָּרְמָה בְּחֶטְאָהּ לְהָבִיא מִיתָה לָעוֹלָם, וְחֶבְלֵי יוֹלֵדָה. וְאִם אֲנִי הָיִיתִי שָׁם בְּאוֹתוֹ זְמַן, לֹא הָיִיתִי אוֹכֶלֶת מִמֶּנּוּ, וְלֹא הָיִיתִי נֶהֱנֵית מִמֶּנּוּ מִכֹּל וָכֹל, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁלֹּא רָצִיתִי לִפְסֹל אֶתְרוֹג זֶה בְּכָל יְמֵי הֶחָג שֶׁעָבְרוּ, וְעַתָּה שֶׁפְּסַלְתִּיו [שֶׁפְּסַלְתִּי אוֹתוֹ] בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁנִּגְמְרָה מִצְוָתוֹ, וַאֲנִי לֹא הָיִיתִי עוֹבֶרֶת מִצְוֹתֶיךָ. וּתְקַבֵּל בְּרָצוֹן אֶת תְּפִלָּתִי וְאֶת תְּחִנָּתִי שֶׁלֹּא אָמוּת מִסִּבַּת הָעִבּוּר וּמִסִּבַּת הַלֵּדָה. וְהוֹשִׁיעֵנִי שֶׁתְּהֵא הַלֵּדָה בְּנַקֵל וּבְנַחַת, וְלֹא בְּצַעַר וְלֹא בְּקֹשִׁי, וְלֹא תִהְיֶה לִי וְלַוָּלָד שׁוּם נֶזֶק, כִּי אַתָּה הָאֵל הַמּוֹשִׁיעַ. Master of the Universe, it is revealed and known before You that because Chavah ate from the Tree of Knowledge, her sin brought death into the world, along with the pains of childbirth. And had I been there at that time, I would not have eaten from it, nor would I have derived any pleasure from it whatsoever! Just as I did not wish to disqualify this etrog throughout all the days of the festival that have passed, and now I have disqualified it only because its mitzvah has concluded, so too would I not have transgressed Your commandments. May You accept my prayer and supplication with favor, that I should not die from the pregnancy or from the childbirth. Save me, so that the birth will be easy and smooth, without pain and without hardship, and let no harm come to me or to the baby, for You are the God Who saves. The Parashah Dilemma: Did We Accomplish Nothing? This prayer highlights the overarching purpose of the Yamim Nora'im and Sukkot: repairing the primordial sin of Adam HaRishon, cleansing the stain of the Golden Calf, and returning to a state of spiritual purity. From the solemn introspection of Rosh Hashanah through the joy of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, we labor to restore that lost equilibrium. Yet, the very next Shabbat, we open Parashat Bereshit—and there they go again. Adam and Chavah eat from the tree, and humanity is plunged back into darkness. There is a well-known folk tale of a simple woman who wept bitterly in shul every year during Parashat Vayeishev when Yosef was sold into slavery. One year, she sat quietly, completely dry-eyed. When asked why she wasn't crying, she replied, "Year after year, he falls into the same trap. After three or four times, he should have learned his lesson to stay away from them!" We might easily look at the cycle of the chagim the same way: Did we just spend an entire month in spiritual rehabilitation, only to wind up right back at square one? Chiseling the Rock: The Ramchal's Perspective The answer is an emphatic no. We did not fail, and our effort was not wasted. The Midrash ( Yalkut Shimoni , Hoshea §532) comments on the verse "For you have stumbled in your iniquity" (Hoshea 14:2) with a parable: A massive boulder sat in the middle of a crossroads, causing travelers to stumble. The king appointed a strongman to remove it, but the rock was too heavy to move in one piece. The king then commanded: "Place a hammer beside the road. Let every passerby strike the rock and chip away a small piece. In time, the entire stone will be reduced to dust and cleared away." The Ramchal ( Da'at Tevunot , Siman 96) uses this Midrash to elucidate the Gemara in Sanhedrin (37a), which states that every person must say, "The world was created for me." The world was created for each of us because each soul possesses a unique portion of that boulder to chisel away. In Derech Hashem , the Ramchal explains that spiritual time is cyclical rather than linear. Every year is a brand-new orbit. We do not re-enter the exact same space; rather, we peel back an entirely new layer of the stone. The spiritual accomplishments of the previous year are permanently sealed in the Divine treasury. When we encounter Bereshit again, we meet it on a higher plane, confronting the deeper, subtle layers of the Yetzer Hara that we are now equipped to refine. The Pattern of History This cyclical ascent mirrors all of Jewish history: The Avot: Yaakov Avinu rectified the image of Adam HaRishon to such a degree that Chazal state the beauty of Yaakov reflected the original radiance of Adam ( Bava Metzia 84a). Matan Torah: After the refining crucible of 210 years in Egypt, Klal Yisrael stood at Har Sinai and reached the state of Adam before the sin—free from the grasp of the Angel of Death. Evil existed purely on the outside. But when the Satan deceived them with the vision of Moshe's bier, they stumbled at the Golden Calf. Hashem declared: "I said, 'You are godlike...' but indeed, like Adam you shall die" (Tehillim 82:6–7; Sifrei , Ha'azinu). Eretz Yisrael: Midrash Rabbah ( Eicha Rabbah , Petichta 4) cites Hoshea (6:7): "They, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant." Hashem brought Adam into Gan Eden, commanded him, and upon his transgression, lamented with "Ayekah?" ( Where are you? ). In identical fashion, He brought Bnei Yisrael into the Land, gave them mitzvot, and when they strayed, He exiled them with the lamentation of "Eichah." The "Slow-Release" Kedushah Shemini Atzeret represents an encounter with the World to Come ( Me'ein Olam HaBa ), transcending the ordinary limitations of nature. We dance with the Torah, pure and detached from terrestrial flaws. Why are we not permitted to remain in that transcendent state? The Ramchal explains that if the full intensity of the holiness we absorb during the chagim were integrated all at once, our free will would dissolve. The clarity would be so overwhelming that spiritual challenge would cease, depriving us of the merit of our toil. Hashem therefore stores that immense illumination in a spiritual reserve—acting like a "slow-release capsule." Throughout the long, ordinary winter months, this reservoir feeds our neshamah the precise measure of strength required to face each day's tests. When you open the Chumash this Shabbat and read about the fall of Adam and Chavah, do not despair. It is not an exercise in futility; it is the summons to a new frontier. Last year's work is secure. Now, hammer in hand, we return to the stone. Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/5b15872e-648c-4add-9fcf-0b60c0c2e7e4.mp3 Welcome to Daily Bitachon, a special edition for Isru Chag, the day immediately following Yom Tov. The primary source for the concept of Isru Chag is found in Gemara Sukkah 45b, expounding on Tehillim 118:27: אל ה ויאר לנו, אסרו חג בעבתים עד קרנות המזבח Hashem is God, He has illuminated for us; bind the festal offering with cords until the corners of the altar. On a straightforward level, this verse refers to the three pilgrimage festivals, Shalosh Regalim, when korbanot were tied with cords and led to the altar to be sacrificed. The Meaning of Binding the Festival The Gemara in Sukkah 45b teaches: כל העושה איסור לחג באכילה ושתיה Whoever makes an issur, a binding or extension, to the festival through eating and drinking, Scripture accounts it to him as if he built an altar and offered a sacrifice upon it. In his second interpretation, Rashi explains that this refers to eating and drinking on the day directly following the festival. You want to preserve the holiness of the holiday, so you bind it. You tether it down so that it does not slip away. That is why it is called Isru Chag, because we are tethering the spiritual elevation of the holiday to carry it forward into the mundane world. Why We Celebrate the Day After The Chasam Sofer in Toras Moshe, Bamidbar 29:35, notes that the practice of observing a second day of Yom Tov in Chutz Laaretz, the Diaspora, is conceptually rooted in Isru Chag. In the Diaspora, surrounded by hostile nations, our ability to fulfill a holiday is such a triumph that we celebrate the mere opportunity to keep Hashems mitzvot. He explains that this is why we make celebratory meals, seudot, such as at a Brit Milah, to express joy over our mitzvah observance, something needed even more acutely in exile. The Ben Ish Chai in Ben Yehoyada, Sukkah 45b, probes deeper: Why does the Gemara frame this as binding oneself through eating and drinking? Because we desire the light of the holiday to endure. By anchoring yourself to your home and family, rather than immediately scattering back into the hustle of daily life, your dining table is elevated into an altar through sacred thoughts and intentions. The Circle of Protection: Chag and Ohr Makif The Ben Ish Chai further cites his son, Rabbi Yaakov, pointing out the etymological root of the word Chag: In Tehillim 107:27, where it says (כז) יָחוֹגּוּ וְיָנוּעוּ כַּשִּׁכּוֹר they go in circles and move like a drunk, the root חג denotes circular movement. Rashi equates it with a compass, which draws a circle. A Chag represents a circle. On Sukkot, this circular dimension manifests as the Ohr Makif, the surrounding, transcendent divine light. After the solemn days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Hashem places us within the Sukkah to envelop and shield us from spiritual impurity, tumah. However, external protection alone is incomplete; kedushah must also penetrate inward. As the Arizal explains, this is why we bring the Arba Minim, the Four Species, into the Sukkah: while the Sukkah provides the surrounding light, Ohr Makif, waving the Lulav and Etrog draws that sanctity inside as internal light, Ohr Pnimi. Daily Life as a Microcosm of Sukkot A fundamental spiritual principle is that holiday experiences serve as archetypes that remain accessible in miniature throughout the entire year. The Ben Ish Chai in Halachot, Parashat Bereishit, Year 1, explains that every morning when a man wraps himself in the Tallit, he steps into the spiritual equivalent of a Sukkah. This connection is reflected in the verses recited right after donning the Tallit: מה יקר חסדך אלהים, ובני אדם בצל כנפיך יחסיון... כי עמך מקור חיים, באורך נראה אור How precious is Your kindness, O God! The children of man take refuge in the shade of Your wings... For with You is the source of life; in Your light we see light. The Shade: Just as the Sukkah is Tzila DMehemnuta, the shade of faith, the Tallit provides refuge in divine shade. The Four Elements: Inside the Sukkah, we shake the four species, which correspond to the four letters of the name of Hashem. Beneath the Tallit, we place the Tefillin, which contain four sacred Torah sections, parashiyot. Divine Shield: Regarding Tefillin, the Torah states that all the peoples of the earth shall see that the Name of Hashem is called upon you, and they shall revere you, which Chazal identify as the Tefillin of the head, Tefillin Shel Rosh. Every day during morning prayers, we reenact Sukkot: wrapped in the surrounding light of the Tallit, which corresponds to the Sukkah, and internalizing kedushah through the four compartments of the Tefillin, which corresponds to the Arba Minim. The Breaking of the Cords The Imrei Emes (Succos) connects this to a famous passage in the Gemara in Avodah Zarah 3a. In the Messianic era, the nations of the world will request an opportunity to observe a mitzvah. Hashem grants them the easy mitzvah of Sukkah. When the sun beats down intensely, they kick the Sukkah and storm out, declaring: ננתקה את מוסרותימו ונשליכה ממנו עבותימו Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. Chazal apply this identical verse elsewhere to throwing off the straps of Tefillin and the fringes of Tzitzit. The Imrei Emes explains that these two interpretations are identical. The nations cannot endure being enveloped in holiness, the Sukkah and Tallit, nor can they tolerate internalizing it, the Lulav and Tefillin. They cast off the cords of both. Our sacred task, conversely, is to bind the holiday with cords, preserving both the outer shield and the inner sanctity. The Essential Role of the Jewish Home How do Jewish women, who are exempt from time-bound positive mitzvot like Sukkah and Tefillin, express this dynamic? The Vilna Gaon in Biur Ha-Gra on Mishlei 1:8 addresses this through the verse: שמע בני מוסר אביך, ואל תטש תורת אמך Hear, my son, the discipline of your father, and do not forsake the Torah of your mother. The father discipline represents the outward protection, the boundary fences and surrounding shields against external secular influences. The mother Torah represents the Ohr Pnimi, the radiant internal warmth. The mother nurtures the soul of the child, instills early emunah, teaches blessings, and tends to emotional and spiritual needs. As the Ibn Ezra notes, mitzvot like Tzitzit are designed for when one goes out into the world, so that you shall see them and remember. The sanctuary of the Jewish home, epitomized by the verse describing the full glory of the daughter of the king within, is inherently protected. Through preparing the holiday meals, fostering family unity, and curating the warm inner atmosphere of the home, the Jewish mother directly grounds that divine light into daily life. Carrying the Festival Forward Just as the custom on Erev Sukkot is to give generous tzedakah before entering the divine presence in the Sukkah, halachah prescribes giving tzedakah every morning before putting on the Tallit and Tefillin. Everything experienced on Sukkot and Simchat Torah continues dynamically into the rest of the year. Isru Chag is not merely a vacation day from school. It is an intentional transition day designed to tether the inspiration of the High Holidays and Sukkot, ensuring that its protective shield and internal kedushah illuminate our homes and families throughout the entire year. Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/b68241e4-a672-4c4d-b4c4-f186d68fb5ba.mp3 Continuing our theme of humility during the holiday of Sukkot, we will now connect it to Hoshana Rabbah, based on the teachings of the holy Ben Ish Chai. First, we look at what the Kaf HaChaim writes in siman 664 in the name of Sefer Mateh Moshe . He explains that Hoshana Rabbah is known as a great day of kapparah (atonement). God told Avraham: "I am One in the world and you are one in the world. I am going to give your children a special day to forgive their sins, and that day is Hoshana Rabbah." God has a holy name, Ehyeh ( אהיה )—spelled Alef , Heh , Yud , Heh —which has the numerical value ( gematria ) of 21. Avraham Avinu marks the beginning of the 21st generation: ten generations from Adam to Noach, and another ten from Noach to Avraham. Furthermore, Hoshana Rabbah falls on the 21st day of the month of Tishrei. God assured Avraham: "If your children do not attain kapparah on Rosh Hashanah, they will have Yom Kippur; and if they do not receive it on Yom Kippur, they will have Hoshana Rabbah." This name, Ehyeh , is the very name God revealed to Moshe Rabbeinu at the Burning Bush when Moshe asked how he should identify Him to the Jewish people: Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh ("I Will Be What I Will Be"). This divine name, bearing the value of 21, is deeply bound to the 21st day of the month. The Name of Humility: "I Will Be" The Ben Ish Chai reveals a profound concept: this name of Ehyeh embodies the trait of the humble; it is the name of humility itself. Why? Because Ehyeh literally translates to "I will be." The humble person always says: "I will be. I am not there yet. I am doing well, but I can do better. One day, I will attain greater heights." The humble person never settles on their present state. The arrogant person, by contrast, feels they have already arrived, thinking, "I am." For this reason, Hashem revealed Himself to Moshe through this name of humility. It was in the merit of this modesty that He promised redemption: "In the merit of humility, I will take them out of exile—both from Egypt and from all future exiles." As Tehillim 18:28 states: כִּי אַתָּה עַם עָנִי תוֹשִׁיעַ "For You deliver a humble nation." Our Sages teach that Mashiach will not arrive until arrogance is eradicated: Ein ben David ba ad sheyichlu gasei haruach . When Mashiach finally arrives, God will call out: "Anavim, anavim—O humble ones, humble ones—the time of your redemption has arrived!" The Sefer Ma'or VaShemesh ( Parashat Korach ) adds that Ehyeh is also the name of teshuvah (repentance), driven by the declaration: "I will be better in the future." That is the essence of repentance: acknowledging that we must grow. This is the heart of Hoshana Rabbah. Even if we have reached elevated spiritual heights over the holidays, we remain grounded: "I can do better. I am not there yet." True Greatness in the Eyes of Hashem The Yalkut Shimoni on Devarim (Chapter 7, Remez 845), commenting on the verse "Not because you were greater than all the nations..." ( Lo merubchem mikol ha'amim ), quotes Rava, the son of Rabbi Yosi HaGelili: God said to the Jewish people: "Do you know why I love you? Because even when I bestow greatness upon you, you humble yourselves before Me. I gave greatness to Avraham, and he said, 'I am but dust and ashes' ( V'anochi afar va'efer ). I gave greatness to Moshe and Aharon, and they said, 'What are we?' ( V'nachnu mah ). I gave greatness to David, and he said, 'I am a worm and not a man' ( V'anochi tola'at v'lo ish )." The initial letters of Avraham, David, and Moshe spell the word Adam ( אדם —man). These three leaders attained the status of the ideal, perfected human being, and all three are directly linked to the number 21: Avraham initiated the 21st generation. Moshe revealed the name Ehyeh (numerical value of 21). David HaMelech is the Ushpizin guest of Hoshana Rabbah, the 21st day of Tishrei. Their greatness was entirely forged through their humility. The Aravah: Dirt on the Lips and Absorbing Insults Rav Chaim Palagi, in his Sefer Mo'ed LeChol Chai (Chapter 24), explains the custom of beating the aravot (willow branches) against the ground. The willow leaf resembles lips, coming to atone for sins committed through speech. What should someone do if they have traversed the entire high-holiday season and still require atonement? The verse in Eichah (3:29–30) provides the answer: יִתֵּן בֶּעָפָר פִּיהוּ אוּלַי יֵשׁ תִּקְוָה. יִתֵּן לְמַכֵּהוּ לֶחִי יִשְׂבַּע בְּחֶרְפָּה . "Let him put his mouth to the dust; perhaps there is hope. Let him turn his cheek to the smiter; let him be filled with insult." To place one's mouth in the dust means to embrace profound humility. Wherever you find yourself, there remains hope if you humble your spirit. Bearing an insult without retaliation brings powerful kapparah . David HaMelech modeled this very principle. When Shimi ben Gera cursed him bitterly, David refused to retaliate, stating: "Hashem amar lo kallel" —"God told him to curse; I accept it. I am the one at fault." David's refusal to retaliate was the catalyst of his enduring greatness. Seeing Ourselves as the Willow The Sefer Yismach Yisrael offers another insight into the four species. The aravah is seemingly the lowliest among them: it has neither taste nor fragrance. Throughout the festival of Sukkot, a person might pridefully think: "I am surely like the etrog, or at least the lulav or the hadassim." Hoshana Rabbah arrives to redirect our perspective: realize that you are the aravah . The ultimate goal of this day is to say: "On my own, I have no merits to boast of. I am the aravah." When we recognize our limitations, we create the vessel for Hashem's salvation. Furthermore, Tehillim 119:122 says: Arov avdecha l'tov ("Guarantee the good of Your servant"). While arov typically refers to a guarantor, the Sforno notes that the root also means "to mix" ( l'hitatev ). Thus, the verse can be read: "Mix Your servant among the righteous of the generation, and then I will be good." Just as the humble aravah binds together with the other species, we declare on Hoshana Rabbah—the "Day of the Aravah"—that we cannot succeed in isolation. We pray to be bound up with the collective merit of the Jewish people. The Two Perspectives on the Beaten Branch A clever insight is often shared regarding why we strike the aravah on Hoshana Rabbah, offering two complementary interpretations: The Rebuked Willow: After seven days tied alongside the etrog , lulav , and hadassim , we turn to the branch and say: "You spent seven full days alongside the righteous, and you haven't improved at all? You are still just an aravah! There is nothing left to do but strike you." The Elevated Willow: Having spent seven days in the company of the holy species, the willow has absorbed their sanctity to such an extent that we can now serve Hashem using the aravah entirely on its own. Both lessons ring true: Have we absorbed the spiritual work of Sukkot, or have we remained unchanged? We can emerge either as the willow that requires striking or as the willow refined enough to stand in divine service by itself. The Radiance of Restraint Tehillim 76:9–10 describes two distinct phases of judgment: מִשָּׁמַיִם הִשְׁמַעְתָּ דִּין אֶרֶץ יָרְאָה וְשָׁקָטָה. בְּקוּם לַמִּשְׁפָּט אֱלֹהִים לְהוֹשִׁיעַ כָּל עַנְוֵי אֶרֶץ סֶלָה . "From heaven You pronounced judgment; the earth feared and was still. When God arose to judgment, to save all the humble of the earth, Selah." The first phase, where the earth trembles and falls still, reflects Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The second phase—where God arises specifically to save the humble—refers to Hoshana Rabbah. In Shemirat HaLashon (Sha'ar HaTevunah, Chapter 8), the Chafetz Chaim writes that whenever a person silences their ego and accepts judgment without protest, the Holy One elevates them in both this world and the World to Come. He draws this directly from David HaMelech's restraint toward Shimi ben Gera. Our Sages teach that at that precise moment of silent forbearance: באותה שעה זכה דוד להיות רביעי לרגלי המרכבה "At that very hour, David merited to become the fourth leg of the Divine Chariot, alongside Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov." The Chafetz Chaim emphasizes that this potential belongs to every individual. As the Talmud teaches ( Shabbat 88b): "Those who are insulted but do not insult in return, who hear their disgrace and do not respond, who act out of love and rejoice in suffering—concerning them the verse states: 'And those who love Him shall be like the sun going forth in its strength.' " Why are those who overlook insults compared specifically to the shining sun? Because when the moon complained in the beginning of creation, arguing that two kings cannot wear a single crown, the sun remained silent. It did not argue; it did not retaliate. Because the sun held its peace, Hashem Himself defended its honor, granting it radiant, enduring light. That is the culminating lesson of Hoshana Rabbah and the conclusion of the seven days of Sukkot: true spiritual strength, forgiveness, and light are discovered through the vessel of humility. Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/0b19e0f6-ec6b-40bc-a3b2-9fc8b4b8bbae.mp3 Welcome to Daily Bitachon . We have been discussing the concept that Sukkos is fundamentally an era of humility. Rav Avraham Schorr, in his Sefer Lekach VeHaLibov on Sukkos (page 20), teaches that the Yom Tov of Sukkos is intimately connected to Avraham Avinu. As the Midrash ( Bamidbar Rabbah, Nasso 14:2) notes, when Avraham invited the angels and said, "Hisha'anu tachas ha'etz" ("Rest beneath the tree"), it served as an allusion to the sukkah. Avraham Avinu is renowned for his defining middah : "V'anochi afar va'eifer" ("I am but dust and ashes")—the absolute pinnacle of humility. To genuinely build and inhabit that sukkah concept, one must embody humility. Why is this necessary? Rav Schorr explains that the sukkah is the dwelling place where Hashem's Shechinah is revealed. Hashem rests within the sukkah, and we enter to join Him. Yet, regarding someone lacking humility, the Gemara ( Sotah 5a) states that Hakadosh Baruch Hu proclaims: "Ein Ani v'hu yecholin ladur b'dira achas" ("I and he cannot dwell together in the same abode"), as it is written, "To'avas Hashem kol g'vah lev" ("Every haughty heart is an abomination to Hashem"). How can someone enter the sukkah while remaining self-absorbed? You can raise the physical walls and spread the sechach , but experiencing the true holiness of the sukkah—the intimate revelation of God—demands the character trait of Avraham Avinu. During the Hoshanos, we repeatedly plead, "Ani vahu hoshiah na" ("I and He, please save"). While this phrase carries many deep kabbalistic explanations, Rav Schorr interprets it along this theme: our prayer is to reach the spiritual standing where Ani v'Hu —man and God—can dwell together in one home. That humility is the primary objective of Sukkos. Uprooting the Idol Within Rav Schorr further cites the Alter of Kelm from Chochmah U'Mussar (Volume 1, Essay 10), who presents a penetrating insight: a person can navigate his entire life performing every mitzvah properly, yet remain completely self-serving. Our primary spiritual mission, he argues, is to uproot the idol residing within man. Where does the Torah speak of an internal idol? The Gemara ( Shabbos 105b) quotes the verse: "Lo yiheyeh b'cha eil zar, v'lo tishtachaveh l'eil neichar" ("There shall not be within you a strange god, nor shall you bow to an alien god"). Why does the verse use the seemingly repetitive terms eil zar and eil neichar , and why specifically "b'cha" ("within you")? The Gemara answers: What is the strange god that lives inside a person? That is the yetzer hara . Rav Shlomo Wolbe explains that eil zar literally signifies a "god of estrangement." The yetzer hara alienates you from Hashem until you become a stranger to Him, dissolving your genuine connection to the Divine. The Alter of Kelm takes this deeper: What is that inner eil zar ? It is ahavas atzmo —pure self-love. Self-absorption is modern avodah zarah . When a person serves only himself, he becomes a ba'al ga'avah (an arrogant individual). He transforms himself into the center of the universe; everything and everyone must revolve around his ego. Even his Torah and mitzvos risk becoming instruments of self-gratification. The Cure: Nosei B'Ol Im Chaveiro The Alter of Kelm emphasizes that nosei b'ol breaks the stranglehold of ahavas atzmo . By stepping into the lives of others, you dismantle your own self-centered existence. In the introduction to Sefer Nefesh HaChaim , Rav Yitzchak of Volozhin recounts a profound lesson from his father, Rav Chaim of Volozhin: "My father would frequently rebuke me whenever he noticed that I was not sufficiently sharing in the pain of others. He would constantly impress upon me: 'Zeh kol ha'adam' —this is the purpose of all mankind. 'Lo l'atzmo nivra' —man was not created for himself, 'rak l'ho'il l'acheirim, k'chol asher yimtza b'chocho la'asos' —but only to benefit others to the absolute limit of his ability." The root of his father's rebuke was simple: You are not partnering in the sorrow of your fellow man. This is the classic middah of nosei b'ol im chaveiro —bearing the yoke alongside one's friend. When someone else suffers, you must not stand by as an indifferent observer. You place your own neck under that yoke, feeling their distress as your own. This empathy is the ultimate antidote to ego. It pulls a person out of his narrow self-interest and forces him to acknowledge the world around him. This trait defined our greatest leaders: The Chafetz Chaim: Found sleeping on the hard floor one night, he was asked by his wife why he would not sleep in bed. He replied, "How can I sleep comfortably in a bed when Jewish soldiers are suffering in frozen trenches?" Reb Elimelech "Mike" Tress: Traveling with activists after World War II to visit displaced persons (DP) camps, he vanished from their hotel one evening. When he returned the next morning and was asked where he had been, he responded, "Where was I? I was sleeping on the floor of the camp with the survivors. We did not travel here to rest on comfortable hotel mattresses; we came to see and feel their pain." Moshe Rabbeinu: The Ultimate Model of Empathy It is no coincidence that the greatest exemplar of nosei b'ol was Moshe Rabbeinu. In Chochmah U'Mussar , the Alter of Kelm notes that the Torah introduces Moshe through consecutive acts of sharing the burden: He goes out to his brethren, sees an Egyptian striking a Jew, and intervenes. The next day, he sees two Jews fighting, and he steps in again—ultimately forcing him to flee Egypt. Arriving in Midian, he sees shepherds mistreating the daughters of Yisro, and once more, he stands up to protect them. Moshe Rabbeinu consistently shouldered the burdens of others. For this reason, the Torah crowns him as "anav mikol adam" —the humblest person on earth. Humility and empathy are inseparable: carrying another's yoke purges self-centeredness, allowing a person to live for those around him. Furthermore, when Hashem first appeared to Moshe at the burning bush, the message was: "Imo anochi b'tzarah" ("I am with them in their distress"). When an individual down below awakens his empathy for others, he mirrors and draws down Hashem's compassion into the world. Halachic Empathy in Practice In his pamphlet Mishnas Avraham (Year 3, Issue 3 for Sukkos), Rav Avraham Pam illustrates how this acute sensitivity to others consistently guided the greatest Torah luminaries: The Chafetz Chaim's Priority: During World War I, an entire community had access to only a single set of arba minim . During Hallel and na'anuim , the town sought to honor the Chafetz Chaim by giving him the set first. He adamantly refused, explaining: "There are other distinguished rabbis present. Am I to cause them heartache and public embarrassment merely to satisfy an individual minhag? Overlooking another's feelings borders on violating a Torah prohibition (d'oraita)!" The Rainy Sukkah: In Mishnah Berurah (639:35), the halachah addresses heavy rain on the first night of Sukkos. While some authorities suggest waiting until midnight ( chatzos ) in hopes that the rain will stop, the ruling is clear: if guests or family members are hungry, one may not wait. Causing others distress and hunger violates severe Torah principles, which take precedence over waiting for a more stringent performance of a mitzvah. Rav Chaim Volozhiner and the Shochet: When townspeople attempted to expel a local ritual slaughterer over a question regarding lung inspections, Rav Chaim intervened: "Checking the lungs is ultimately a Rabbinic requirement, as most animals are halachically assumed kosher. Are you going to violate explicit Torah prohibitions against lashon hara and machlokes (strife) to enforce a Rabbinic stringency?" Preserving Dignity: When a burial society refused to bury a deceased follower of the Radzyner Rebbe because the man wore techeiles (a custom not widely accepted in the town), they claimed that burying him with those tzitzis would cast aspersions on earlier generations buried without them. The Chafetz Chaim rebuked them sharply: "You are concerned about casting potential aspersions on the dead, yet you are willing to subject the living family to public humiliation and disgrace?" Conclusion These teachings bring us back to our essential Yom Tov task. Sukkos calls on us to strip away the internal idol of ahavas atzmo —self-absorption and ego. By genuinely caring for the dignity and needs of those around us, we merit the humility of Avraham Avinu and Moshe Rabbeinu, creating an abode where man and the Divine can dwell together. Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/3a576169-bebe-4288-aa2e-e6c28293a840.mp3 When Sukkot Doesn't Go as Planned Welcome to Daily Bitachon. We are currently celebrating Sukkos, and it is a very different kind of Sukkos this year due to the heavy rain brought on by a nor'easter. Many people were fortunate enough to get some of their meals in, while very few managed to eat all of them in the sukkah. Most people could not sleep inside, and some even had their sukkahs blown away. So, what should we be feeling right now? What emotion should be in our hearts and minds? Should we feel sad? Should we feel frustrated? Or should we simply tell ourselves, "Well, we just have to be happy because it's Yom Tov— ושמחת בחגך (and you shall rejoice on your festival)" ? What is our attitude truly supposed to be? The Sun, the Sukkah, and the Kick To understand this, we turn to the famous Gemara in Masechet Avodah Zarah (3b). The Gemara describes Hashem judging the nations of the world at the end of days, systematically refuting every argument they present. Finally, Hashem says, "You know what? I will make it easy. I will give you an accessible, inexpensive mitzvah: make a sukkah, and let us see how you do." Everyone goes up to their roofs and builds a sukkah. Hashem then brings out an intensely hot sun, making conditions unbearable. In response, they kick their sukkahs and storm off. The Gemara asks: "Wait a moment— מצטער פטור מן הסוכה (someone who is in distress is exempt from sitting in the sukkah). Why are they faulted?" The Gemara answers: "True, they were exempt, but you do not kick the sukkah on your way out." Kicking signifies anger, irritation, and frustration that things did not go according to plan. That is not the Jewish way. The Jewish approach is: "I walk out with humility. I tried, but my service was not accepted." As the Gemara in Masechet Sukkah teaches, when it rains on Sukkos, it is compared to a servant coming to pour a cup for his master, only for the master to splash the pitcher back in his face. What does the servant feel at that moment? He is humbled: "I wanted to serve my master, but I am unworthy. For reasons known to Him, it was rejected." When you internalize that lesson, you grasp the true essence of Sukkos—humility. You can acquire humility by dwelling in the sukkah, and you can acquire humility by having to leave the sukkah. The objective is to walk away without frustration or resentment, fully humbled, hoping to serve the Master in whichever way He truly desires. Tamar vs. Eishes Potifar: Pure Intentions Under Pressure Rav Wolbe explores this theme through the contrast between Tamar and the wife of Potifar (Eishes Potifar). As Rashi notes, both women acted with what they believed were holy intentions: both foresaw through prophecy or astrology that great lineages would emerge from them. Tamar saw Mashiach ben David, while Eishes Potifar saw Mashiach ben Yosef. Rav Wolbe asks: where, then, lies the difference? The difference emerges when the plan falls apart. Tamar made extraordinary sacrifices. She married Yehudah's first son, and he died. She married the second, and he died. She waited for the third, but was put off. Finally, she devised a discreet, desperate plan: she disguised herself as a harlot so she could bear children through Yehudah himself to build the royal lineage. It worked, and she became pregnant. Yet, after all that effort, just as she was on the verge of fulfilling her holy mission, she was accused of adultery and sentenced to death. She possessed the evidence to clear her name by exposing Yehudah, but she knew that publicly embarrassing someone is forbidden. Rather than forcing her mission through by violating Hashem's will, she remained silent and gave Yehudah the space to step forward on his own. At that critical juncture, she faced an immense test. Human nature would say: "I worked so hard for this holy outcome; I must reveal him to save the mission!" Instead, she recognized that she had reached a boundary. She was willing to perish rather than break the rules, humbly thinking: "I tried my best, it didn't work, and I will submit to Hashem's will." Because her dedication was completely selfless and solely for Hashem's honor, she merited becoming the matriarch of the Davidic dynasty. Eishes Potifar, by contrast, also foresaw that she was destined to bring forth descendants through Yosef who would lead to Mashiach ben Yosef. However, she was unaware of the principle that raising an orphan is considered equivalent to giving birth to them. Seeing no children of her own, she concluded, "It must come through me directly." In reality, that lineage was destined to arrive through her adopted daughter, Asnat bat Potifera. She pursued Yosef relentlessly, but when her plan failed, she did not step back with humility. She grew resentful, became furious that Yosef was thwarting her designs, and threw him into prison. That is the litmus test: how do you react when you are patur (exempted or stopped)? That moment reveals whether you are pursuing Hashem's will or your own agenda. The Meaning of Patur: It Is Not About You Rav Dov Landau shares a moving story about the Chafetz Chaim in his nineties. He was frail and sickly, requiring constant care. One afternoon, his caregivers stepped away and left him unattended so they could catch Mincha. When the Chafetz Chaim found out, he was dismayed: "What are you doing? You are patur! That is not what Hashem wants from you—to abandon a vulnerable person just to say Mincha. Tefillah is not an ego trip; you are halachically exempt right now. Accept that and care for the person, because עוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה (one engaged in a mitzvah is exempt from another mitzvah)." Rabbi Ades offered the exact same guidance to mothers overwhelmed with raising young children and managing their homes who feel guilty when they miss formal prayer: "You are not falling short. You are immersed in a primary mitzvah, and עוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה applies to you. This is what Hashem asks of you right now. Accept your mission with joy." The Chazon Ish addresses this directly in Sefer Emunah u'Bitachon : What is the real engine behind our actions? Is it our personal satisfaction, or is it seeing Hashem's will fulfilled? The answer becomes obvious when we are declared patur . He tells the story of a host who loved having guests for Shabbat. Every Friday night, he would eagerly bring home visitors from shul who needed a meal. One week, the coordinator inadvertently assigned his expected guest to someone else. The host walked home empty-handed. His family was crestfallen, asking, "Where is our guest? Why don't we have one tonight?" The man gently reminded them: "A guest is a human being in need, not a prop for our spiritual fulfillment. The person needed a warm meal, and he received one. That is all that matters. It is not about our satisfaction or fanfare." A similar sentiment is found in the story of a prominent sage visiting another sage who was ill. Sensing that the visitor was treating the visit like a mechanical checklist item, the sick sage wryly observed: "Excuse me, but I am not your etrog." When we perform acts of lovingkindness, the recipient is not merely an object for our personal merits; we are there to serve their genuine needs. If the need is met elsewhere or we are prevented from helping, we step back peacefully. This lesson applies broadly. Consider someone who runs a vital charitable initiative. If another organization arises and performs that service more effectively, the original founder should not harbor resentment or cling to a monopoly on kindness. If the need is met, the mission is achieved. It is not about us. Similarly, as individuals age and can no longer carry the responsibilities they once shouldered, they can take comfort in knowing they have fulfilled their part and are now exempt. Reward for Stepping Aside Returning to Sukkos: this is the mindset we must carry when rain disrupts our holiday. We designed our sukkahs, prepared delicious meals, and hoped to dwell in them fully—yet Hashem decreed otherwise. We became patur . Passing the test of performing a mitzvah is essential, but passing the test of letting go when exempted is equally vital. The Gemara tells of Shimon HaAmsoni, who spent years deriving practical laws from every occurrence of the word et ( את ) in the Torah, which generally serves to amplify or include additional applications. For instance, in "Honor your father and your mother" ( כבד את אביך ואת אמך ), the word et includes one's older brother. Eventually, he arrived at Devarim 10:20: " את ה' אלקיך תירא (You shall fear Hashem your God)." He paused. There is no one who can be equated with the reverence owed to the Almighty. Faced with this theological reality, he abandoned his entire life's thesis on the spot. His students asked, "What will become of all your previous teachings?" He replied: "Just as I received reward for the inquiry ( כשם שקיבלתי שכר על הדרישה ), so too I receive reward for stepping back ( כך אני מקבל שכר על הפרישה )." The same principle was applied to the Netziv when the Russian authorities demanded the inclusion of secular studies in the famed Volozhin Yeshiva. Believing it would compromise the integrity of Torah study, he made the agonizing decision to close the yeshiva's doors. He understood that when Hashem closes a path, standing down is the required service. Finally, when Rav Matisyahu Salomon organized the historic gathering on technology at Citi Field, rain was predicted. When asked if he was worried, he answered simply: "I am not doing this for myself; I am doing this for Hashem. If He desires rain, let there be rain." That is the hallmark of true servitude: throwing yourself fully into your responsibilities, yet stepping aside with deep humility the moment Hashem indicates that the plan belongs to Him. Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/a075b56e-f9bb-4518-b5d9-6214c8ed68b3.mp3 Welcome to Daily Bitachon and our final pre-Sukkot thought. As we all know and have mentioned before, our sukkah is a continuation of Yom Kippur, specifically in the realm of teshuvah . The Rambam, in the Laws of Teshuvah (2:4) and based on the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah 16b, outlines a sequence of steps to help a person achieve full teshuvah and kapparah . He concludes with the principle that one exiles himself, because exile brings atonement for sin by causing a person to become humble and low of spirit. Sukkah as Exile and the Path to Humility Humility leads directly to teshuvah . That is why the Pesikta DeRav Kahana teaches that Sukkot follows Yom Kippur: if exile was decreed upon us, dwelling in the sukkah serves as that exile. How does the sukkah accomplish this? Exile humbles us, and entering the sukkah instills that very humility. That humility is our ultimate goal. Rabbeinu Yonah in Shaarei Teshuvah (1:23) writes that humility is one of the fundamentals of teshuvah , citing Tehillim 90:3: "Tashev enosh ad daka" —"You return man to the point of being crushed," meaning until he is truly humble. This process began on Rosh Hashanah; as the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah 26b notes, the bent shofar symbolizes a bent, humble posture. Our primary focus throughout this entire season has been cultivating humility. On Rosh Hashanah, we emphasize humility. On Yom Kippur, fasting humbles us as we confront our frailty and powerlessness. The climax of Yom Kippur—Ne'ilah—centers on this realization: "Mah anu? Mah chayeinu?" What are we? What is our life? What is our strength? What is our power? Great leaders are as if they never existed, and the wise appear without wisdom. It is entirely about recognizing that we possess no independent power; we stand humbled before Hashem. Now, with Hashem's help, we can connect this theme to Chag HaAsif —the Festival of Ingathering—which traditionally refers to harvesting our grain and produce. The Furrows of Arrogance Rav Yerucham often noted that one can study a negative trait and apply its inverse to the positive. Rabbeinu Yonah in Shaarei Teshuvah (1:27) explains that arrogance causes numerous sins and grants the yetzer hara the strength to overpower a person. He cites Devarim 8:14: "Your heart will become haughty, and you will forget Hashem your God." He also brings Mishlei 21:4: "Haughty eyes and an arrogant heart are the furrow ( nir ) of the wicked for sin." What does this mean? Haughtiness functions like a furrow plowed by the wicked into their own hearts. Once someone adopts an arrogant mindset, sins take root and grow abundantly, just as crops thrive in the furrows of a plowed field. If a farmer sows an unplowed field, the seeds struggle to take root and yield a meager crop; but when the soil is well-plowed, seeds take root easily, producing a bountiful harvest. Rabbeinu Yonah is teaching us that the seeds of wrongdoing readily take root in a haughty heart and yield an abundance of sin. Those very same seeds of transgression would shrivel and die in a humble heart. The Beit HaLevi opens his essay on humility by stating that haughtiness is among the most severe sins in the Torah, leading a person toward every possible evil. He quotes the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 22:6): when the yetzer hara sees an arrogant person, he says, "This one belongs to me." Rabbeinu Yonah elaborates that just as a farmer plows furrows to produce an abundant yield and gather a large crop ( le'esof rov tevuot ), the wicked plow furrows of haughtiness to cultivate and gather sins. Notice his use of the root asifah (ingathering)—the exact terminology of Chag HaAsif . Plowing the Heart for Teshuvah In his commentary on Mishlei (21:4), Rabbeinu Yonah states what he said in Shaare Teshuvah and adds that this metaphor also works in the positive direction: a baal teshuvah must cultivate his heart for repentance. In Yirmiyahu 4:3, Hashem instructs the people of Yehudah and Yerushalayim: "Niru lachem nir ve'al tizre'u el kotzim" —"Plow for yourselves a furrow, and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to Hashem, and remove the barriers of your hearts." (See Rabbenu Yonah Mishlei 24:30 more at length) Just as a farmer plows to soften the soil so seeds can take root, while uprooting thorns that would ruin the crop, a Jew must plow furrows in his heart. This allows the seeds of teshuvah to flourish while eliminating the destructive barriers of arrogance. This brings us to our main point: throughout the Yamim Noraim, we plowed our hearts to cultivate humility. Our Sages teach: "Kol shanah sherashah bit'chilatah, mit'asheret besofah" —a year that begins poor and humble ends in spiritual wealth, echoing the verse "Tachanunim yedaber rash" (the poor man speaks with supplication). After plowing our hearts, we arrived at Yom Kippur and planted the seeds of teshuvah —our positive commitments and resolutions for the new year. Miraculously, within just four days, a harvest begins to emerge. In many communities, the Yom Kippur liturgy around Kol Nidrei highlights the verse "Or zaru'a latzaddik u'leyishrei lev simchah" —light is sown for the righteous. On Rosh Hashanah, Hashem is our light ( Hashem ori ), and we sow those lights. These spiritual seeds sprout with extraordinary speed. Just as the Jewish people crossed the Jordan on the tenth of Nisan and miraculously harvested grain for the Korban HaOmer days later, Hashem fosters rapid growth in our hearts. By the time Sukkot arrives, we are ready for Chag HaAsif —the ingathering of the spiritual harvest cultivated within us. The True Meaning of Chag HaAsif The Rashbam (on Vayikra 23:43) explains why Sukkot occurs during this specific agricultural season. When a farmer gathers his grain into the silo, a natural sense of self-satisfaction and pride arises over his hard work and success. Hashem therefore commanded the mitzvah of sukkah to remind us that we once lived in the desert without permanent shelter, dwelling only in fragile booths. By reflecting on this, we recognize that every success is an unearned gift from Hashem, leading us to deep gratitude. This timing directly counteracts the haughtiness that material prosperity often generates. The sukkah instills humility so that we do not become arrogant and forget our Creator. This also explains why Sukkot is celebrated in Tishrei rather than in Nisan, when the Clouds of Glory ( Ananei HaKavod ) first appeared: we need this specific lesson at harvest time. In Moreh Nevuchim , the Rambam writes that Sukkot teaches us to remember difficult times while experiencing prosperity. This perspective inspires genuine gratitude and deepens humility. We leave our comfortable homes to dwell in temporary huts—just as our ancestors wandered in the wilderness—recalling our vulnerable beginnings. Any prosperity that followed was not achieved by our own power; it came through Hashem's kindness and the covenant He made with Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov in honor of their righteousness. The Rambam notes that this is a foundational principle of the Torah: every blessing we receive comes through the merit of the Avot . This is the deeper message of the season. Sukkot is about harvesting what we have cultivated. We are presented with two paths: we can plow the heart with arrogance, sowing sin and harvesting its consequences; or we can plow with humility, softening our hearts to receive the seeds of teshuvah and gathering the beautiful spiritual harvest of our mitzvot during this festival. Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/786c34a1-0c7d-40cc-a9a9-d3e00c6e3a24.mp3 I'd like to share a beautiful thought on Sukkos developed by Chacham Yosef Harari-Raful, Rosh Yeshivah of Ateret Torah. As we all know, Sukkos is zman simchateinu , the season of our rejoicing. But to truly understand this, we must first ask: What is genuine simchah , and when does a person truly feel happy and fulfilled? The answer begins with a fundamental human necessity—having a place in this world. The Tragedy of Placelessness In the narrative of Bereishit, when Kayin killed his brother Hevel, Hashem declared that the blood from the ground cried out for reckoning. What was the curse of Kayin? Na vanad tiyeh ba'aretz —"You shall be a perpetual wanderer on the earth." He was condemned to be an exile, stripped of root and ground. By severing the sanctity of life, Kayin lost his entitlement to exist in a defined space. There is no greater punishment than being deprived of a rightful place. Although Kayin repented and reached a compromise with Hashem, the core lesson remains. The Sfat Emet (Parashat Vayeshev 5764) expounds upon this concept within the laws of the arei miklat , the cities of refuge. He explains that by strict justice, someone who takes a life—even unwittingly—should forfeit their right to exist in this world, just like Kayin. Yet in Hashem's mercy, He created a refuge: Vesamti lecha makom asher yanus shamah —"I will assign you a place to which he may flee." Even in exile, divine compassion established a space for the displaced. In the tefillah recited after Shir Hashirim, we say: Venizkeh l'Makom shehanefashot vehaneshamot veharuchot nechtzavot misham —may we merit to arrive at the Place from which all spirits, souls, and vital breaths were hewn. That is the ultimate fulfillment: for the soul to return to its origin. When people comfort a mourner, bar minan , they say, HaMakom yenachem etchem . Many understand this to mean that the departed soul's place in Gan Eden should bring comfort. Even more than that, it means they have finally arrived at their ultimate station; they have reached their eternal makom . Entering the Sukkah: Returning to the Source This reality echoes in every facet of our earthly journey. When someone finds their rightful spouse, their shidduch , an overflowing joy takes hold because they have finally arrived at their true station in life. Why do we feel a spontaneous simchah the moment we step into the sukkah? Because the neshamah recognizes that it was not carved from the fabric of this material world. Week after week, throughout the cycle of the year, the soul incessantly pleads to break free from the constraints of the mundane. When a person crosses the threshold and enters the sukkah, enveloped by its sacred walls, an immediate sense of arrival washes over body and soul. The Imrei Emet ( Shabbat Chol HaMoed Succot)—that the Pesikta asks: Why do we build a sukkah immediately following Yom Kippur? Because if it was decreed on Yom Kippur that we must go into exile, we fulfill that exile by departing into the sukkah. And why does Hashem enter the sukkah with us? Because the Halachah states that if a student is exiled to an ir miklat , his rebbe goes into exile with him. Before a baal teshuvah repents, his sins strip away his foundation; the earth is pulled out from beneath him. What does Hashem do for us? He creates an ir miklat —He provides us with a refuge, and that refuge is the sukkah. When we step inside, pure happiness follows. Traditional sources teach that one of the most severe punishments—even beyond Gehinnom—is kaf hakela , a spiritual sling in which a soul is perpetually flung about without a resting place. Although the sukkah is designated as a dirat arai , a temporary dwelling, it is spiritually our enduring home. We do not belong to this material existence. Our true role in this world is to recognize its impermanence and anchor ourselves in what lies beyond. Hashem is called HaMakom because He is Mekomo shel olam —He is the Place of the universe; the world does not contain Him, He contains the world. Reaching our true makom means realizing that our real home is within Hashem. When we reach this sanctuary, the Ushpizin come to visit us, feeling completely at home within the shade of faith, the tzilah d'heimnuta . Joy Found Within Boundaries The greatest rejoicing in the Beit HaMikdash was Simchat Beit HaShoevah. The Rambam describes this extraordinary celebration in Hilchot Sukkah (Chapter 8, Halachah 14), emphasizing that not just anyone could lead or perform there. A person had to know their place. The leaders and the heads of the yeshivot were the ones who danced, while the rest of the nation watched from their designated spots. In Midrash Rabbah (Bereishit 34:15), the rabbis expound on the verse in Yechezkel (36:26): Vahasiroti et lev ha'even mibasarcheim —"I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a lev basar , a heart of flesh." The Midrash notes that the word basar ( בשר ) can also be read homiletically as boser ( בוסר ), meaning sour or bitter—resembling the interchange of sin and samech found in words like sotah and shotah . The Almighty promises to remove the heart that feels bitter over the success of another. True simchah , as explained by the Tiferet Yosef on Chag HaSukkot (written by Rav Mordechai Yosef Elazar Leiner of the Radzyn dynasty), arises when a person knows their exact place. When you know your place and feel comfortable in your own skin, you become genuinely sameach bechelko —content with your portion. There is no greater happiness than that. Simchat Beit HaShoevah embodied this awareness: every soul recognized where it belonged without trespassing into another's territory. That is the essence of the blessing she'asah li kol tzarki —Hashem has provided me with everything I need, and I have no reason to covet what is on someone else's plate. The Shem MiShmuel (Bamidbar, 5673) teaches that the joy of the degalim (the tribal banners in the desert) stemmed from this exact clarity: everyone knew their assigned place. There were twelve tribes and twelve paths. Each person rejoiced in their distinct path, knowing every soul possesses a designated post. These banners mirrored the celestial hosts above: the camp of Michael embodies lovingkindness, the camp of Gavriel represents awe, and each carries out its unique role. Because of this, Oseh shalom bimromav —there is peace in the heavens, without jealousy or strife. This harmony mirrors the prophetic vision of Yeshayahu (11:13) regarding the ultimate redemption: Ephraim lo yekaneh et Yehudah —Ephraim will not envy Yehudah, and Yehudah will not vex Ephraim. That was the secret of Har Sinai: Vayichan sham Yisrael —they encamped "as one person with one heart." Guarding the Sacred Four Cubits This is also the heart of Shabbat: Shevu ish tachtav —"Let every person remain in his place." Shabbat is defined by menuchah , tranquil rest. It is the time when you return to your true setting. Recall the Midrash Tanchuma on Kayin: what was the protective sign given to preserve him? It was the sign of Shabbat, as the verse says, Ot hi beini uveineichem —"It is a sign between Me and you." Shabbat grants us our rest; on Shabbat, we come home. There are divine boundaries: remain in your spot, do not step outside your realm. The Shem MiShmuel (Korach, 5677) notes that Korach opposed the concept of Shabbat because Shabbat signifies completion—the acceptance of boundaries. As the Chiddushei HaRim observed, even in spiritual aspirations, one must be content with their assigned mission. Korach refused to accept his place; he demanded what was not intended for him, and thus Korach and the spirit of Shabbat stand in direct opposition. Rav Yehudah Ades shared in the name of Dayan Wosner that every individual is granted their own four cubits ( daled amot )—roughly six feet of private space. In Halachah, if an ownerless object enters your four cubits, you acquire it; it is your personal domain. The same principle governs the laws of Shabbat: carrying an object beyond four cubits in the public domain violates the boundary, for the Torah instructs, Al yetzei ish mimkomo —"Let no person go out of their place." Yet, as Dayan Weiss noted, carrying a smartphone can dismantle that space. When you are continuously tethered to a screen, you are no longer present in your own four cubits. You lose your private world. On the Shoulders of Hashem The authentic place of the Jewish people is revealed by Rashi on Shemot (17:8): we are carried upon Hashem's shoulders. The ananei hakavod , the clouds of glory, represent those divine shoulders—which the sukkah evokes. As long as we recognize that we are carried by Hashem, we remain secure. But when we lose that awareness, we step outside the protective clouds, leaving an opening for Amalek to attack. Amalek shares the same numerical value as safek ( ספק ), meaning doubt. As the classic adage reminds us, Ein simchah kehatorat hasefeikot —there is no greater joy than the resolution of doubt. Amalek personifies uncertainty; when doubt pulls us away from our spiritual coordinates, joy disappears. When Hashem spoke to Moshe at the burning bush (Shemot 3:5), He said: HaMakom asher atah omeid alav admat kodesh hu —"The place upon which you stand is holy ground." The Chafetz Chaim remarked that people often daydream: If only I lived in that house, if only I studied in that yeshivah, if only I had been born into that family or found myself in different circumstances... But the Torah responds directly: the ground you are standing upon right now is holy. Find your designated place. Recognize where you are, remove your shoes, and connect with bare feet to the mission given to you. And that is precisely why on Yom Kippur we remove our shoes: to step fully and without barrier onto our sacred ground, anchored in our true makom before Hashem. We continue this with the Holiday of Succot and try to keep it going the entire year. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/2b09e243-e44a-4331-99a9-2ca24470b74e.mp3 Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/d5f29712-9667-4667-807d-62fb10aa2e99.mp3 The Connection Between Yom Kippur and Sukkot Welcome to Daily Bitachon. We are currently in the days between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, and many of us are aware that Sukkot serves as a direct continuation of Yom Kippur. It is no coincidence that Sukkot follows immediately after. Many of us are familiar with the intrinsic connection between this transition and the mitzvah of the sukkah itself. The Return of the Clouds of Glory The most famous explanation comes from the Vilna Gaon. He explains that the entire process began with the Cheit Ha'eigel (sin of the Golden Calf) on the seventeenth of Tammuz. Hashem ultimately forgave us for the Golden Calf on Yom Kippur. The goal was to build the Mishkan (Tabernacle), which would bring the Shechinah (Divine Presence) down to rest among the Jewish people. Over the four days following Yom Kippur, the people gathered and prepared the materials for the Mishkan, and it was through this process that Hashem's Clouds of Glory returned. The profound insight here is that when Bnei Yisrael sinned with the Golden Calf, the Clouds of Glory departed. The clouds were an added layer of Divine affection—a spiritual luxury. Hashem continued to provide the Mahn because the people needed to eat, and He maintained the Be'er Miriam (Miriam's well) because they needed to drink. Sustenance was essential, but they lost the privilege of the Ananei HaKavod (Clouds of Glory). Those clouds only returned after Yom Kippur. This resolves a classic question: if the Clouds of Glory originally appeared when we left Egypt, why do we not celebrate them in Nisan? The Tur famously answers that if we were to sit in booths during the spring, it would not be apparent that we were doing so for the sake of a mitzvah, as people naturally sit outside when the weather turns pleasant. By dwelling in the sukkah in the autumn—when the weather cools and people normally move indoors—it is evident that our dwelling is lishmah , purely for the mitzvah. The Vilna Gaon, however, offers a deeper, internal explanation: we are not commemorating the original Clouds of Glory from the Exodus. Rather, we are celebrating the Clouds of Glory that were restored to us after our sin was forgiven on Yom Kippur. We sinned, we achieved atonement, and Hashem demonstrated His enduring love by returning His protective embrace. That is the foundational link between the sukkah and Yom Kippur. Connecting the Arba Minim to Forgiveness How do the Arba Minim (the Four Species) fit into this theme of forgiveness? At a basic level, Sukkot is Chag Ha'asif —the harvest festival. It is the time of gathering the produce, so we wave the prime agricultural species of Eretz Yisrael to thank Hashem for our sustenance. But how do the Four Species reflect the themes of teshuvah and the cleansing of sin from Yom Kippur? To understand this, look closely at the Al Cheit confessions recited throughout Yom Kippur. A striking number of these confessions specifically focus on individual bodily organs: אימוץ הלב – Hardening of the heart ביטוי שפתים – Careless utterances of the lips דיבור פה – Harsh or improper speech הרהור הלב – Impure thoughts of the heart וידוי פה – Insincere verbal confession חוזק יד – Coercive or wrongful use of the hand טומאת שפתים – Impurity of the lips לשון הרע – Slanderous speech (which Rav Shlomo Wolbe noted literally implies a "damaged tongue") נטיית גרון – Haughtiness expressed through an outstretched neck סיקור עין – Prying, inappropriate gazes שיח שפתותינו – Misguided speech of the lips עינים רמות – Haughty, arrogant eyes עזות מצח – A brazen forehead or unyielding attitude קלות ראש – Lightheadedness or levity of the head קשיות עורף – A stiffened, obstinate neck תמהון לבב – Confusion and turmoil of the heart Our confessions focus relentlessly on our physical limbs. The Spiritual Anatomy of Man As Rav Wolbe pointed out, our physical organs perform our actions, and our sins leave a direct spiritual mark upon them. The Chafetz Chaim elaborates on this in his introduction to the third volume of the Mishnah Berurah . Man possesses 248 limbs and 365 sinews, which correspond directly to the 248 positive commandments and 365 negative prohibitions of the Torah. Every mitzvah nurtures and animates its corresponding spiritual organ. Fulfilling a mitzvah properly maintains the health of that limb; neglecting it causes spiritual impairment. Just as with the human body, certain mitzvot correspond to vital organs like the brain or the heart—such as Shabbos and emunah (faith)—without which spiritual life cannot survive. Other mitzvot parallel secondary extremities like fingers or toes; they are valuable and whole, but their lack is not immediately fatal. The Chafetz Chaim adds a sobering insight: after 120 years, when a soul enters Olam Haba (the World to Come), its spiritual health will be visible for all to see. If someone was careless with their tefillin , the spiritual arm corresponding to that mitzvah may appear broken or in a sling. As Kohelet states: סוֹף דָּבָר הַכֹּל נִשְׁמָע, אֶת הָאֱלֹקִים יְרָא וְאֶת מִצְוֺתָיו שְׁמוֹר, כִּי זֶה כָּל הָאָדָם . "The end of the matter, all having been heard: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the entirety of man." Our ultimate identity and spiritual form in eternity are determined by how we care for the limbs of our soul through our mitzvot in this world. The Forty-Day Spiritual Spa This brings us back to the work we began on Rosh Chodesh Elul. Rav Yerucham Levovitz once visited the mineral baths at Carlsbad and overheard two arriving travelers say, "Let's leave our luggage here and go straight to the baths!" They understood that when you enter a healing spa, you take advantage of every single moment. Rav Yerucham noted that the month of Elul is precisely that—a spiritual spa. It is an intensive period dedicated to nursing our spiritual bodies back into optimal shape. We spent forty days immersed in this regimen: prayer, introspective discipline, and careful self-examination. Finally, on Yom Kippur, we reached the culmination of the treatment. Through the Al Cheit prayers, we methodically examined and purified every spiritual limb, emerging renewed, atoned, and spiritually whole. The Arba Minim: Preserving the Results Having emerged from Yom Kippur in peak spiritual condition, how do we express and protect this renewed state? We take the Arba Minim , which correspond directly to the key organs of our body: The Lulav: Represents the spine. The spine is the structural foundation of the body from which all primary nerves branch. Kabbalistic tradition notes that, including the rings binding the species, the lulav incorporates 18 distinct ties (a practice prominent in Sephardic custom), corresponding to the 18 vertebrae of the human spine as taught by the Arizal. The Etrog: Represents the heart—pure, vibrant, and free of blemishes. The Hadassim: Represent the eyes, fresh and clear. The Aravot: Represent the lips, upright and cleansed of improper speech. We hold these species together: pristine, fresh, whole, and beautiful. They represent the spiritually cleansed body we worked so hard to build over the Yamim Noraim. Holding the Four Species serves as a mirror and a reminder: "Look at your heart. Look at your eyes, your lips, and your spine. Everything has been reset, purified, and aligned. Do not ruin it now." When someone spends forty days on an intensive fitness and wellness regimen, working out daily and refining their diet, they do not discard their progress the very next day. They stay mindful of their choices and maintain their discipline. Every time we pick up the lulav and etrog on Sukkot, we are reminded of the intensive spiritual labor of the preceding forty days. They stand before us as a physical blueprint of our spiritual health, urging us to guard that purity, preserve our strength, and remain spiritually whole throughout the coming year. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/85097598-26f2-47e2-be88-b2e5fe79b100.mp3 Welcome to Daily Bitachon, a special Erev Yom Kippur edition. Avot DeRabbi Natan—an expanded commentary on Pirkei Avot—quotes Rabbi Yochanan ben Dahavai in chapter 27, who tells us: do not distance yourself from a measure that has no limit, and do not distance yourself from a job that has no end. This is comparable to a man taking buckets of water from the ocean and pouring them onto dry land. The ocean is not emptied, and the dry land is not filled. Eventually, he grows weary and frustrated. Another man approaches him and asks, "Foolish one, why are you getting upset? Every single day, you receive a gold coin from your employer." In other words, this man completely misunderstood his mission: his employer never expected him to drain the ocean. He simply wants him to show up, do the work each day, and receive his daily wage for every single effort. This teaching expands on the famous Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (2:16), where Rabbi Tarfon teaches: it is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it. If you have studied much Torah, you will receive great reward, for your Employer is trustworthy to pay you for your labor. The Bartenura explains that one should never think, "Since I can never master the entire Torah, why should I even bother trying?" God is not like a mortal employer who only pays when the entire project is completed. He pays for every single moment and every individual step. The Chasid Yaavetz notes that Rabbi Tarfon is cautioning us against this exact trap. Spiritual work is fundamentally different from material labor: in Avodat Hashem, every single unit of effort is an end in itself. When constructing a physical building, an individual brick is merely a means to an end; on its own, it serves little purpose. With Torah and mitzvot, however, every action is an ultimate goal because the primary objective is connecting to God. Every ounce of service establishes that connection immediately. The Chafetz Chaim expounds on this passage, applying it specifically to guarding one's speech (In the introduction to his his sefer shemirat halashon ), though it holds true for every area of life. He explains that the Yetzer Hara constantly tries to discourage us from undertaking monumental spiritual projects. The evil inclination whispers: "What are you actually gaining from this? Do you honestly believe you can guard your tongue your entire life without ever stumbling? Your resolve won't last more than a day or two. And even during those two days, do you think you'll do it properly? You live in the real world, surrounded by people. Why waste your energy on a task with no end?" Rabbi Yochanan ben Dahavai refutes this mindset entirely, addressing the Yetzer Hara's arguments head-on. First: "It will only last a day or two." Even if the Yetzer Hara is correct, does that mean we should give up entirely? Imagine walking along the seashore and discovering diamonds washing up onto the sand. Would you refuse to bend down and gather them simply because you can only carry a few? If that holds true for physical wealth, it is infinitely truer for spiritual connection. The Vilna Gaon taught that for every single second a person restrains their speech, they merit a hidden, transcendent light that no angel or creature can fathom. Mishlei (2:4) instructs: "If you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures..." Just as one would eagerly scramble to collect even one or two loose pearls, we must treat every small spiritual achievement with the same urgency. A well-known parable illustrates this through a young girl selling vegetables in the marketplace. When a thief overturned her cart and bystanders began grabbing the scattered produce, she froze, helpless and weeping. A wise observer urged her: "Why are you just standing there crying? Start grabbing for yourself!" The same applies to our divine service: even if the Yetzer Hara robs you of focus for most of your prayer, seize whatever remains. Fight for the final words. That leads to the second complaint: "I cannot do it perfectly anyway." Consider a person who refuses to go to work, arguing, "Why bother? I will never become a multimillionaire." The obvious reply is that failing to attain extraordinary wealth is no reason to abandon your livelihood altogether. As Shlomo HaMelech declared in Kohelet (9:10): "Whatever your hand finds to do within your power, do it." You might not finish the task, but that is no excuse to withhold your effort. We learn this directly from Moshe Rabbeinu. In Masechet Makkot (10a), the Gemara analyzes Devarim (4:41): "Then Moshe designated three cities [of refuge] across the Jordan." Halachically, these cities could not provide sanctuary until Yehoshua later established the remaining cities in the land of Israel. Moshe was fully aware that these cities would remain non-functional during his lifetime. Why bother? The Rambam explains in his commentary on Avot (4:2) that Moshe lived by a single principle: "When a mitzvah comes my way, I will seize it." Adds the Rambam "If Moshe Rabbeinu—the greatest prophet and the pinnacle of human spiritual perfection—eagerly pursued even an incomplete mitzvah, how much more must we cherish whatever small measures we can attain?" As the secular adage notes, "Perfect is the enemy of good." The Gemara in Menachot (110a) offers the divine perspective: "Whether one does much or one does little, what matters most is that one directs their heart toward Heaven." The Yetzer Hara manifests in subtle, insidious ways. Beyond the cartoonish trope of an external tempter, Hashem built internal psychological tendencies into our nature that the Yetzer Hara exploits. One of the most destructive is perfectionism. At its root, perfectionism often stems from subtle arrogance ( gaavah ). We crave flawless performance as a psychological shield against shame, vulnerability, and the fear of inadequacy. Yet perfection belongs exclusively to Hashem; accepting our limitations is an essential act of humility. As Mishlei (24:16) teaches, "A righteous man falls seven times and rises." Righteousness is defined not by never falling, but by having the humility to rise and begin again. Perfectionism breeds a destructive cognitive distortion: all-or-nothing thinking. It insists that anything short of complete triumph is total failure. In the Perakim section of Nefesh HaChaim , Rav Chaim of Volozhin interprets the verse, "Every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Bereishit 6:5). He notes that the Yetzer Hara's primary strategy is not merely inciting wrongdoing; it is the incessant, demoralizing inner critique whispering: "You are worthless; you are inadequate." When an endeavor must be completely flawless, it generates overwhelming anxiety and tension. Paralyzed by high stakes, a person concludes it is safer to do nothing at all. This resembles someone who refuses to host guests for a mitzvah simply because their tableware is incomplete. This is why we declare at a siyum: "We toil and they toil; we toil and receive reward, while they toil and do not receive reward." In secular pursuits, labor is merely a vehicle; reward depends strictly on output and finished deliverables. In the Torah's economy, however, God rewards the amal —the sincere effort and toil itself. We recite this specifically upon completing a tractate to prevent arrogance or misunderstanding. The celebration is not merely that a milestone was achieved, but that sustained, honest labor was offered along the way. A perfectionist never truly celebrates; reaching a goal brings only fleeting relief before they raise the bar to an impossible, punishing height. As we enter Yom Kippur, our task is to dismantle these two foundational lies of the Yetzer Hara: Lie #1: "It will only last a day or two." The truth: every single second of connection is an eternal, irreplaceable triumph. Lie #2: "You can't do it perfectly anyway." The truth: Hashem asks for sincere, dedicated effort, not perfection. When we internalize these truths, we free ourselves to commit wholeheartedly to real growth—fully aware that our efforts may be fragile, and confident that they are deeply cherished by Hashem. Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/572abc49-ecbe-4223-84d6-e85d12ff4c4e.mp3 Welcome to Daily ביטחון , a special Friday edition for שבת שובה . We are going to start with the מדרש רבה on בראשית 22:13 . The מדרש is talking about קין , stating that when he walked away from God, he departed like one attempting to deceive the Almighty—meaning his תשובה was not wholehearted. The next line of the מדרש continues: פגע בו אדם הראשון . He met up with אדם הראשון , and אדם asked him, "So, what happened with your judgment?" קין answered, "I repented and arrived at a compromise with God." אדם then began to slap himself on the face and said, "Such is the power of תשובה , and I did not know?" Immediately, אדם arose and recited the מזמור in תהילים 92:1: מזמור שיר ליום השבת טוב להודות לה׳ —"A song for שבת ; it is good to thank השם ." Now, what exactly is going on here? What does this have to do with שבת ? מדרש number two, found in מדרש תנחומא (בראשית, פרק י׳) , says that God placed an אות —a sign—upon קין to protect him. What was that sign? The מדרש תנחומא explains that it was שבת that protected him, as it says in שמות 31: ביני ובין ישראל אות היא לעולם —"Between Me and the children of Israel, it is an everlasting sign." The sign of protection was שבת itself. Just as שבת protected אדם, שבת protected קין . This introduces a fascinating turn in the narrative. שבת protected אדם —perhaps אדם did not fully realize it at the time, because his punishment was delayed until מוצאי שבת due to the lingering אור הגנוז (the hidden light). So שבת was already working for אדם , and it worked for קין as well, and it seems אדם הראשון only fully grasped this through קין . Regardless, how exactly is שבת a protection for קין ? What did אדם הראשון see in קין 's protection that made him realize, "Oh, if only I had known"? The ספר עבודת ישראל on פרשת בראשית —authored by the קאזשניצער מגיד, רב ישראל האפשטיין (1737–1814), a student of the מגיד of מעזריטש and רב אלימלך of ליזענסק —addresses this with a question: What does it mean that קין was decreed to become a wanderer? Anyone can technically choose to stay wherever they want, so what forced him to wander? The answer is that God placed within him an internal dread—a pervasive anxiety—such that he could never feel at peace wherever he was. The עבודת ישראל explains that if קין had been able to connect properly to הקדוש ברוך הוא , all these fears would have dissipated, and the harsh judgment would have been sweetened. But the curse itself was that his mind was clouded, preventing him from reconnecting to השם . True ביטחון involves cleaving ( דבקות ) to השם , and that cleaving is what shields a person. Because קין lacked that clarity, he lived in continuous fear and anxiety, constantly on the run. Therefore, what protected him and mitigated his decree was שבת , because שבת granted him the capacity for מנוחה (rest). שבת brought inner peace. It enabled him to reconnect to הקדוש ברוך הוא , granting him a sense of reprieve. When אדם saw the power of שבת to bring מנוחה —which ultimately fosters דבקות —he was awestruck. He exclaimed: מזמור שיר ליום השבת , a song for the day that restores peace of mind. That is approach number one. Approach number two comes from the חתם סופר on שבת שובה . He explains that when אדם met קין, אדם knew what the מדרש revealed: קין 's תשובה was not wholehearted. Had it been wholehearted, he would have received complete forgiveness rather than a compromise. That is why אדם said, "I did not realize the power of תשובה "—he had not realized that even a flawed, incomplete תשובה brings atonement. The ספר פרי צדיק (also on שבת שובה, אות י״ג ) builds on this theme, citing a פסיקתא where the Jewish people ask, "If we do תשובה , will it be accepted?" God points to קין as proof. Why would they question whether תשובה works? Doesn't the תורה explicitly teach that תשובה is accepted? The answer is that they were unaware of this lower tier of repentance. They understood תשובה מאהבה (out of love) and תשובה מיראה (out of awe/fear), but they did not know about תשובה from יסורים (suffering)—the kind of repentance born after קין was battered by a miserable life. They did not realize that a self-interested תשובה , done simply to escape suffering, could still find favor. אדם הראשון had assumed the same: "Having been expelled from גן עדן , how could I turn around and do תשובה expecting השם to accept me?" Once he heard from קין that even this level works, he broke into the song of שבת . Once again: what does this have to do with שבת ? Here we can turn to רב יעקב קמנצקי in the ספר אמת ליעקב . He asks: Why is this psalm titled מזמור שיר ליום השבת ? The content does not overtly speak about שבת . It speaks of individuals facing deep adversity ( אמונתך בלילות —faith in the dark nights); it speaks of the wicked flourishing; it addresses profound existential questions. What connects this to שבת ? Rav Yaakov explains through the מדרש that משה רבינו requested a day of rest for the Jewish people in Egypt. This is why we say ישמח משה במתנת חלקו ("Moshe rejoiced in the gift of his portion")—Moshe instituted שבת in מצרים , and God affirmed it as the holy day of rest. What did משה רבינו do on that day of rest? He wrote eleven scrolls of חיזוק , which correspond to the eleven chapters of תהילים authored by משה , beginning with תפילה למשה . This מדרש is referenced in connection פרעה commanded that their workload be increased to prevent them from resting, precisely because he wanted to strip away their opportunity to study these scrolls and draw weekly encouragement that הקדוש ברוך הוא would redeem them. The songs משה composed were geared specifically toward this message: even when you are broken in גלות , you can still return. Even if it is not מאהבה or מיראה , but merely ויאנחו —a cry stemming from sheer exhaustion and pain. As משה wrote in תהילים 90: תשב אנוש עד דכא —let man return even when crushed to the dust ( דכא , meaning דכדוכה של נפש , a pounded spirit). Furthermore, the opening letters of מזמור שיר ליום השבת form the acronym למשה . How do we reconcile whether this מזמור was composed by משה or אדם הראשון ? The מדרש in 22:13 explains that אדם הראשון originally uttered it, it was later forgotten, and משה רבינו restored it. טוב להודות לה׳ . This brings us to a final, beautiful insight. The word להודות means to give thanks or praise, but its root is also identical to וידוי (confession). It is good to confess to השם on שבת . Yet, how can that be, when formal וידוי is generally omitted on שבת ? The answer is that there are two forms of confession. The root י-ד-ה (as in מודה במקצת ) means to admit. Saying "thank you" is an admission of dependence; it acknowledges that you are indebted to another. That is the הודאה of שבת . It is a distinct form of confession: realizing how much we receive from God, and recognizing how little we reciprocate. It is a confession framed not by self-flagellation, but by humbled gratitude. As we enter שבת שובה , let us internalize the power of שבת . Let us embrace שבת 's ability to restore peace of mind so that we can reconnect to הקדוש ברוך הוא . Let us recognize that even if we arrive battered by the exhaustion of the workweek, our תשובה is embraced. We find our day of rest, look back at a week of personal גלות , hard work, and endless השתדלות , and remember that שבת shares its root with לשוב —to return to God. We may be turning to שבת not only out of pure longing, but out of a desire to escape the weariness of the week. Even when we stand at the point of דכדוכה של נפש , bruised and exhausted, הקדוש ברוך הוא welcomes us back. That is the essence of מזמור שיר ליום השבת . That is what אדם הראשון learned from קין : a person can return even under duress and distress. The same מדרש , in discussing תשובה born of suffering, cites King מנשה calling out to God from within a boiling cauldron, and King אחאב humbling himself under severe pressure—both of whom were accepted. Surely, then, God has an open door for us. That is the true spirit of שבת שובה. הקדוש ברוך הוא yearns for our return, even when prompted by our hardships. He provided us with a day of מנוחה to restore our connection to Him, despite our missteps. אדם הראשון faltered on ראש השנה , and every year we work to repair that root. Through שבת שובה , we are handed the timeless lesson of אדם . Take full advantage of this שבת . Have a שבת שלום , and בעזרת השם , may we all merit to achieve true תשובה . Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/699eb6fe-fc80-449e-91a8-cfa9acb4cf71.mp3 Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/52951afa-94a1-4043-82ed-95bcc1a610d6.mp3 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/3039c597-a39d-4220-91ff-4925b9d591b3.mp3 Welcome to Daily Bitachon. Today, we are going to discuss Sefer Yonah. We read Yonah for the Maftir on Yom Kippur afternoon, and it carries profound lessons for our lives. The Timeline and the Turnaround In chapter three, verse four, the verse states: "Vayachel Yonah lavo va'ir mahalach yom echad..." Yonah entered Nineveh, walked a day's journey, cried out, and said: "Od arba'im yom veNineveh nehepachet" ("In forty days, Nineveh will be overturned"). The Vilna Gaon notes that Yonah began this mission on the first day of Elul. He warned them that forty days remained until the decree would be sealed on Yom Kippur. The Rishonim raise a famous question: Nineveh was never destroyed, so was Yonah a false prophet? The answer is that Nineveh was overturned: they turned over a new leaf. Because of their internal turnaround, the physical destruction was averted. Every person faces this choice: what kind of turnaround will you choose? The Wake-Up Call: From Elul to Yom Kippur This connection begins right on Rosh Chodesh Elul. For Sephardic communities, Selichot begin the very next day. In Sefer Yonah, when Yonah flees Hashem on the ship, a storm erupts. Yonah retreats down to the hull to sleep, and the captain confronts him: "Mah lecha nirdam? Kum kera el Elokecha!" ("What are you doing sleeping? Get up and call out to your God!"). This directly mirrors the opening line of Selichot: "Ben adam, mah lecha nirdam? Kum kera betachanunim" ("Son of man, why do you sleep? Arise with supplication!"). Yonah was asleep, we are asleep, and we must be awakened. The Allegory of the Soul (Zohar II, 199b) The Zohar explains that the story of Yonah is an allegory for human life in this world: Yonah (The Soul): Yonah boarding the ship represents the soul descending into the body. Yonah shares a root with hona'ah (oppression/distress), reflecting how the soul endures the constraints and spiritual distress of this world. (Parenthetically, Rishonim note that the dove is vulnerable and has no natural defenses, which is why it is offered on the Mizbe'ach —just as the Jewish people are perpetually vulnerable and afflicted in exile). The Ship and the Sea: The ship navigating the turbulent sea represents a person navigating life, constantly on the verge of breaking apart. The Storm: The storm represents divine judgment. When a person sins and attempts to flee from their Master, ignoring the World to Come, Hashem sends a storm of strict judgment—a spiritual wake-up call demanding an accounting of deeds. Yonah Asleep: This represents someone struck by crisis or illness who remains spiritually unconscious, failing to awaken and repent even from their sickbed. The Captain (The Yetzer HaTov ): The shipmaster represents the good inclination, shaking the soul awake to say: "There is no time to sleep. You are being summoned to judgment for everything you have done. Repent!" The captain's interrogation of Yonah mirrors the ultimate soul-reckoning: "What is your occupation?" Reflect on how you have spent your life, and confess it before your Master. "Where do you come from?" Remember your humble physical origin so you do not stand before Hashem in arrogance. "What is your country?" Remember you were formed from dust and will return to dust. Where do you truly come from, and where are you going? "From what people are you?" You descend from Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. Reconnect to your heritage and ask yourself: "When will my deeds reach the deeds of my forefathers?" The Illusion of Sleep This recurring theme of awakening bridges the entire season: Rosh Hashanah: The Rambam explains that while the shofar is a divine decree ( gezerat hakatuv ), it carries a clear hint: "Uru yeshenim mishnatchem, vehanirdamim hakitzu mitardematechem" ("Awake, you sleepers, from your sleep; and you who slumber, arise from your slumber; inspect your deeds, repent, and remember your Creator"). The Yerushalmi: The Talmud Yerushalmi cautions against sleeping on Rosh Hashanah day, teaching that if a person sleeps, their Mazal (spiritual advocate above) sleeps. It is a tangible reminder to stay spiritually alert. Yom Kippur: The season culminates at Minchah with the reading of Yonah—the ultimate cry to wake up. What does it actually mean to be "asleep"? The Rambam explains that the "sleepers" are those who forget truth in the vanities of time, squandering their lives on emptiness that cannot save them. They are physically awake, but living in a fantasy. Rav Tzadok HaKohen writes in Machshavat Charutz that anyone immersed in this world's illusions is effectively sleeping while awake. Just as a sleeping person experiences vivid, fake dreams, an unconscious person walks through life wearing virtual reality glasses—seeing an illusion instead of truth. On Rosh Hashanah, three books are opened: the tzaddikim (the living), the resha'im (the dead), and the beinonim (those in the middle—all of us). What sits directly between life and death? Sleep. Chazal teach that sleep is one-sixtieth of death. The beinoni is neither fully alive nor dead; we are spiritually asleep. The entire mission of the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah—beginning on Rosh Chodesh Elul, moving through Rosh Hashanah, and culminating in the Minchah Maftir of Yonah on Yom Kippur—is to shake off the illusion, heed the call, and finally wake up. Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/6d63a5d7-2ef5-400b-bd7b-84e26d96ac42.mp3 Welcome to Daily Bitachon. We are now in Aseret Yemei Teshuvah . Everyone looks at Aseret Yemei Teshuvah just as it sounds: ten days of teshuvah , which means "to return." But the Rambam explains the pasuk that serves as the source for the power of Aseret Yemei Teshuvah : "Dirshu Hashem behimtzo" —seek God when He is to be found; "Kera'uhu bihyoto karov" —call out to Him when He is close. There are two phrases used here to describe Aseret Yemei Teshuvah : He is to be found, and He is close. Since He is to be found, return to Him and find Him. And since He is close, call out to Him. This means that not only is Aseret Yemei Teshuvah an auspicious time for returning, but it is also an especially auspicious time for prayer. We must take advantage of this period to pray. There is a beautiful tefilah from the Pele Yoetz in his sefer Beit Tefilah . In his introduction, he cites a famous Gemara: anyone who is able to pray for mercy on behalf of their fellow and fails to do so is called a sinner. We learn this from the Gemara in Makkot (11b), which notes that the Kohen Gadol bore a unique responsibility regarding those exiled to an ir miklat (city of refuge). The accidental killer had to remain there until the death of the Kohen Gadol —which effectively placed the Kohen Gadol on a "most-wanted" list. People wanted the Kohen Gadol to die so that their exiled relatives could go free. In fact, the Gemara says that the mothers of the Kohanim Gedolim would bring treats and clothing to the refugees to make them comfortable, hoping they would not pray with intense fervor for the Kohen Gadol to pass away. The Gemara asks: Why should the Kohen Gadol bear this consequence? The Gemara answers that he should have prayed for mercy for his entire generation so that such a tragedy would never occur in the first place, and because he did not, he was held accountable. There are two profound lessons here regarding prayer: The power of the Kohen Gadol : His prayers could have prevented tragedies across the entire nation. The power of someone who committed manslaughter: Even someone sitting in a city of refuge due to fatal negligence possesses prayer powerful enough to impact the Kohen Gadol's life. The mothers went out of their way to appease them to prevent those prayers from being answered. Connecting to this idea, the Pele Yoetz composed a tefilah specifically for Aseret Yemei Teshuvah , placing each of us into the role of someone who has the power and duty to pray for others. You might wonder: What changed? Do we suddenly become Kohanim Gedolim during these ten days? In a sense, yes. This is an eit ratzon (a time of divine favor), and we are granted extraordinary spiritual leverage during Aseret Yemei Teshuvah . We have a responsibility to use that power properly. There is another area where we step into the role of the Kohen Gadol . The shofar cannot come from a cow or ox; it must be from a kosher animal like a ram. (A ram is ideal because it evokes the Akeidat Yitzchak , but an ox is strictly forbidden because it recalls the sin of the Golden Calf.) The general principle is that gold or reminders of the Golden Calf are excluded lifnai velifnim —inside the Holy of Holies—so as not to act as a prosecutor before God. Outside the Holy of Holies, it is permitted. Yet when we blow the shofar , we are not in the Beit HaMikdash ; there is no physical Holy of Holies standing, and we might be blowing it right on Ocean Parkway! Why should the ox horn be disqualified there? The Gemara answers that because the shofar serves to bring our remembrance directly before God, the act itself is considered as though we are standing inside the Holy of Holies. On Rosh Hashanah, we take on the status of the Kohen Gadol entering the innermost sanctuary. And based on the Pele Yoetz, that elevated status and closeness to God extend through the entire ten days. We are near to God just like the Kohen Gadol , which means we must seize this unique window to pray for other people. The Pele Yoetz's prayer is thorough, covering every conceivable detail a person could need in life—down to praying that in old age, our teeth remain healthy. Every single detail matters. People often say, "I have no time; I'm too busy." But make time during Aseret Yemei Teshuvah . Consider everyday frustrations: recently, my flight was diverted due to bad weather, circled for thirty minutes, landed at the wrong airport, required an Uber transfer, the return leg got canceled, and my carry-on bag was forcibly checked. When I vented to someone, they simply said, "Well, at least the plane landed safely." That is true, but all of these details—both the major outcomes and the minor disruptions—are determined on Rosh Hashanah and sealed during Aseret Yemei Teshuvah . Let's use this time wisely. Rabbeinu Yonah wrote that if we truly appreciated the gravity of these days, we would take off from work entirely. Even if we cannot do that, we must dedicate real, focused time. Rav Wolbe taught that teshuvah takes time—and prayer takes time, too. Let's take full advantage of these fleeting, powerful days for both teshuvah (returning) and tefilah (prayer). Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/d8021706-19b8-41d7-a2ad-31654f9037e9.mp3 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/06dcf686-c6ea-43a6-a1d8-b60c87a732c7.mp3 Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/bde9e3d4-4ba5-4aab-bc0a-cfabb0f5ae60.mp3 Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/c84cef0b-663e-4f98-95d1-a03f428e87d3.mp3 Daily Bitachon: Bitachon and Rosh Hashanah Welcome to Daily Bitachon. Today, we focus on our core mission— bitachon (trust in Hashem)—and explore how it fundamentally defines our approach to Rosh Hashanah. The Tur ( Orach Chaim 581) quotes a Midrash on the verse, "Mi goy gadol..." —"For who is a great nation that has God so close to them?" The Midrash asks: Which nation is like the Jewish people, who know the customs and ways of their God, and understand how He judges? Analyzing this phrase, the Beit Yosef asks: Where in the word gadol (great) do we see that we know the ways of God? He explains that the word gadol shares a root with gidul —to be nurtured or raised. We are a nation raised by God, living, so to speak, inside the King's palace. Because of that intimacy, we know His ways and understand how His heavenly court operates. When an ordinary person stands trial before an earthly ruler with their life hanging in the balance, they dress in black, let their beard grow unkempt, neglect their grooming, and tremble in absolute uncertainty. Think of a fallen leader being led out in prison garb, utterly broken compared to his former days of power. Yet the Jewish people do not act this way on the Day of Judgment. We dress in festive white, cut our hair, groom our beards, trim our nails, partake in lavish meals, and rejoice. That is not how people facing a grave tribunal normally behave. Why do we do this? The Tur explains: because we know Hashem will perform a miracle for us. It is as if we are celebrating the miracle in advance. While our ultimate rejoicing culminates on Sukkot, we enter Rosh Hashanah already confident in that miraculous redemption. It resembles a childless couple buying a crib, or an unmarried woman purchasing her wedding dress with steadfast faith. We rejoice because we trust that Hashem will grant us life and vindication even before the trial concludes. Rav Wolbe writes in Alei Shur (Vol. 2, p. 434) that, in truth, we ought to be dancing with joy when we recite Aleinu on Rosh Hashanah; it is only the solemn eimata dedina (awe of judgment) that restrains us from breaking into dance. Rav Chaim Friedlander raises a profound question here: Does this unwavering confidence not border on presumption or false security? Judgment is intensely serious, and who among us can honestly proclaim, "My heart is pure from sin"? On what merit are we relying? He answers through the verse itself: Mi goy gadol —who is a great nation . This certainty does not belong to the solitary individual standing strictly on their own record. When evaluated as isolated individuals, we pass before Him kivnei maron —like single sheep—and none can guarantee their outcome. Rather, this bitachon stems from being an inseparable part of the collective Jewish people. The Jewish nation as a whole is promised eternal continuity and boundless heavenly mercy. Therefore, an essential prerequisite to this bitachon is nullifying oneself to the tzibbur —integrating fully into the community. When you stand embedded within the collective Jewish people, you partake in Hashem's overarching promise to perform a miracle. Where else do we find this principle that reliance itself forces open the gates of salvation? At the splitting of the sea ( Kriyat Yam Suf ). The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh explains that at the Red Sea, the attribute of strict justice ( middat hadin ) prosecuted the Jewish people fiercely, asking why they deserved salvation any more than the Egyptians. Strict justice stood as a barrier against the miracle. Hashem then told Moshe, "Speak to the children of Israel and let them journey forward." The Ohr HaChaim comments: Hashem was telling them to advance based solely on reliance upon the miracle. Marching whole-heartedly into the waters with absolute trust tilted the heavenly scales—as he writes, great is faith and trust in its power to decide the verdict for good. The Nefesh HaChaim echoes this principle. When Hashem asked Moshe, "Why do you cry out to Me?" He meant that the outcome rested upon the people themselves: if they stepped forward into the raging waters with unshakeable emunah and bitachon , the sea would split. The Imrei Emet explains that this is precisely what occurs every Rosh Hashanah. We step into the Day of Judgment leaning entirely on Hashem, trusting in His ultimate promise of life and continuity. This bitachon is not passive wishful thinking; it is an active reliance upon a divine guarantee. This intimate bond between the splitting of the sea and Rosh Hashanah is woven throughout our prayers. In the Musaf service of Rosh Hashanah, we recite thirty foundational verses. The first unit is Malchiyot (Hashem's Sovereignty), and its opening verse is: "Hashem yimloch le'olam va'ed" —"Hashem will reign forever and ever." This line concludes Aleinu , which originates from the Rosh Hashanah liturgy. Where does "Hashem yimloch le'olam va'ed" come from? It is from Az Yashir , sung at the shores of the sea. Thus, the very first verse affirming Hashem's eternal kingdom directly evokes Kriyat Yam Suf —a miracle catalyzed entirely by bitachon . These two moments mirror each other: the reliance that split the sea, and the reliance that carries us through Rosh Hashanah each year. Furthermore, the fourth verse of Zichronot states: "Zecher asah lenifle'otav, channun verachum Hashem" —"He made a memorial for His wonders; gracious and merciful is Hashem." Why is creating a remembrance of His wonders described as an act of grace and mercy? The Chida cites the Arizal, who taught that every year, the unique spiritual light present at the original miracle shines anew. Time is not merely linear; we cycle through the spiritual seasons. On Pesach, the light that shattered the chains of Egypt is rekindled as zman cheiruteinu . When we remember a miracle, we tap into that recurring reservoir of divine energy and reignite its power in our personal lives. That is why we recall the Exodus every single day right before the Amidah —to evoke the reality of the sea splitting. What original miracles of Rosh Hashanah do we reawaken on this day? First, the very creation of Adam was an act of pure, unmerited mercy. The ministering angels argued against creating man, foreseeing that humanity would sin and corrupt the world. Yet Hashem created Adam anyway. That miracle recurs each year: Hashem grants us another year of breath, potential, and life, even when our merits alone do not warrant it. Second, on the very day Adam was created, he sinned. Strict justice demanded immediate death, per the warning: "On the day you eat of it, you shall surely die." Yet Hashem mercifully defined that "day" according to His own calendar—where a day is a thousand years—granting Adam a long life. This divine mitigation of judgment ( hamtakat hadin ) awakens anew for us every Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah is built on the reality that we rely on Hashem to perform a miracle for us, just as He did at the sea. I once heard a beautiful thought from Chacham Yehuda Moallem: The Midrash indicates that the sea did not split all at once for everyone; it split when the water reached a person's nostrils and they realized, "I have reached the end of my natural strength; I need Hashem." Chacham Yehuda explained: If a person is humble and keeps their head bowed low, the water reaches their nose quickly, and the miracle arrives early. But if a person walks with their head held high and their nose in the air, it takes much longer for them to realize they are in trouble. This is the essence of the bent shofar—it represents our humility. When we set aside our ego and recognize that we can accomplish nothing on our own, we cast all our trust upon Hashem. That humility activates the miraculous salvation of Rosh Hashanah: the grace that brought Adam into existence and the mercy that softened his judgment. Recognizing that miracle brings salvation in its own right. As the piyut states: "Shir v'yosha mocheh pesha" —the song of Az Yashir erases sins. Celebrating God's miracles opens the channel for total forgiveness. When we recite that foundational verse in Musaf— "Hashem yimloch le'olam va'ed" —let us internalize it with the same clarity and trust our ancestors had at the shores of the sea. Have a wonderful day. Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/9e5b33d7-a88e-418e-9be4-88dae8f9b3cf.mp3 Mon, 07 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/94a75059-59ca-4470-98e3-6949a0e9c5f1.mp3 Welcome to Daily Bitachon. We are presenting a special Sunday edition today because time is running short, and we need to take advantage of every possible opportunity to prepare for Rosh Hashanah. This is our final class on Hakarat Hatov (gratitude), though there is always much more to say. Today, we will explore how Hakarat Hatov is essential for both our Avodat Hashem (service of God) and our Teshuvah (repentance). The Role of Hakarat Hatov in Teshuvah Rabbenu Yonah, in Shaarei Teshuvah (First Gate, Letter 12), discusses Charata (regret for sin). He writes: " ולא זכר יוצרו אשר בראו יש מאין "—regret that you did not think of your Creator, who made you something from nothing. Let's pause here, as this is a profound way to view ourselves. We recognize that the world was created yesh me'ayin (ex nihilo, something from nothing), but we often fail to realize that we, too, were created from nothing. Though we biologically come from something, fundamentally, we simply arrived on the scene. Rabbenu Yonah continues: " וחסד עשה עמו וידו תנחהו בכל עת ונוצר נפשו בכל רגע "—God did a kindness to create me; I did nothing beforehand to deserve it. His hand directs us at all times, holding our hands, and every moment He is actively recreating our soul. As we say in our prayers, " מחדש בטובו בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית "—God constantly renews the act of creation daily, and He is renewing our souls as well. The Tomer Devorah echoes this, explaining that at every moment, God is actively pumping life energy into creation and into every single individual. With all of this in mind, Rabbenu Yonah asks: " איך מלאו ליבו להכעיס לפניו "—How could your heart allow you to anger Him? Where is your Hakarat Hatov ? This profound realization is a core component of Charata ; it is exactly what a person should be thinking during repentance. The Minimum Standard for Avodat Hashem Now, we turn to our actual Avodat Hashem . The Chovot HaLevavot , in Shaar Avodat Elokim (The Gate of Service, Chapter 7), reminds us that the ultimate purpose of Shaar HaBechinah (recognizing God's goodness and having Hakarat Hatov ) is to bring us to serve Him. At the end of the chapter, the author addresses a critical question: What is the minimum level of serving Hashem? What is the baseline below which a person fails to fulfill their duty, and by which the continuation of God's goodness toward them is secured? If we fulfill our foundational duties, Hashem will continue to bless us. The Chovot HaLevavot outlines 10 points: Do not use God's blessings to rebel against Him. His goodness must never be an excuse or cause for sin. Do not become so consumed with the abundance of your blessings that you grow negligent in praise, thanksgiving, and service. You cannot enjoy the beautiful life and comfortable bed He gave you to the point of refusing to get out of bed to serve Him. You cannot use what He gave you against Him. Constantly speak of Hashem's goodness. Recognize His blessings and speak of them continually, expressing abundant thanks and praise both internally in your heart and outwardly with your speech. As it says, "Sichu bechol niflaotav" (Talk of all His wonders). Gratitude starts in the heart, but it must be verbalized. Do not minimize the blessing. Never dismiss a favor as insignificant. Don't say, "Big deal, I have a hot cup of coffee." It is a big deal. Do not attribute your success solely to intermediaries. If a favor arrives through a human messenger, do not thank only the intermediary while neglecting the Creator. The Gemara says, "Chamra le'marei ve'tibuta le'shakei" (The wine belongs to the master, but the thanks goes to the waiter). God is the one hosting the party; everyone else is just a bartender. Do not boast. Never imagine that your success was acquired entirely through your own strength, wisdom, or personal worthiness. Do not fall into the trap of thinking, "Kochi ve'otzem yadi" (My strength and the might of my hand made me this wealth). Do not believe your own effort sustains your blessings. Do not assume that your striving alone preserves what you have, or that without your hishtadlut (effort) and obsession it would all be lost. It is not all up to you. Do not look down on those who lack what you have. Do not view yourself as superior to the less fortunate. Perhaps God is testing you through this bounty to reveal hidden corruption in your character. This good fortune may be a nisayon (test) that you are failing, making the one who lacks it far greater before God than you. Rabbenu Yonah ( Shaarei Teshuvah , Third Gate, Letter 175) quotes Mishlei 17:5: "Lo'eg larash, cheref osehu" (He who mocks the poor affronts his Maker). Why? Because mocking the poor implies your success is entirely your own doing. That attitude insults Hashem, who made both the wealthy and the poor, as Mishlei 22:2 states: "Ashir varash nifgashu, oseh kulam Hashem" (The rich and the poor meet; Hashem is the Maker of them all). Never dismiss another person out of arrogance. Keep your heart whole before Hashem with genuine humility. Even if you cannot increase your active service or praise beyond your current level, at least maintain it. Strive to direct your intentions sincerely toward Hashem, and never let prosperity distract you or cause you to diminish your previous good deeds. Look down in worldly matters, but look up in spiritual matters. Always compare yourself to those who possess fewer material goods than you, not those who have more, so you can appreciate how wealthy you truly are. Conversely, look toward those who serve Hashem more than you, so you strive to reach their spiritual level. Looking at those who do less spiritually breeds complacency and arrogance. Later commentaries explain homiletically the phrase "Hashamayim mimaal veha'aretz mitachat" (The heavens above, and the earth below) can be understood as a remez (hint): In heavenly/spiritual matters, look mimaal (above you), but in earthly/material matters, look mitachat (below you). Do not be misled by God's patience. Do not let the Creator's prolonged concealment of your flaws and His immense patience lead you into a false sense of security. Do not think, "God hasn't punished me, so I must be doing great." You do not comprehend God's patience. The Tomer Devorah , when describing God's primary trait of "Mi Kamocha," explains that God is the ultimate tolerator of insults. Every moment, God pumps life-force into a person; thus, when someone sins, God is actively providing them the very energy they are using to rebel against Him. He could stop it, yet He tolerates the insult. The Mesillat Yesharim (Chapter 4) asks: What does God's mercy do? Without it, we would not survive. According to the strict letter of the law, a sinner should be punished immediately. Instead, God waits for the sinner to return. Do not be fooled by this patience. The Chovot HaLevavot concludes by observing that historical accounts of previous generations, as well as modern observations of those who were showered with God's goodness but ultimately rebelled, show a clear pattern: they stumbled solely because they failed in these ten areas. He notes that whether in the past or the present, failing to follow these rules leads to spiritual downfall. This is a recurring concept, well-known and evident throughout the books of the Prophets in every generation. As Winston Churchill famously said, "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/6a6e9d65-652c-40bf-b8f5-fde9c9fab8e2.mp3 Welcome to Daily Bitachon. This is our final Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah. Over the past year, we have frequently discussed the profound importance of honoring Shabbat—especially leading into a year where Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, when Shabbat serves as our primary defense advocate in the heavenly court. This is our crucial opportunity to give our ultimate honor and respect to Shabbat. The Ben Ish Chai ( Parashat Pekudei , Year 2) comments on the placement of the Menorah opposite the Shulchan (the Table of the Showbread) in the Mishkan. The Menorah consists of a central shaft from which three branches extend on either side. He explains that the central shaft symbolizes Shabbat. Naturally, one might assume that if the seven branches correspond to the seven days of the week, you would count linearly from right to left: Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday on the right, making Wednesday the middle branch. The Ben Ish Chai explains that this is a mistake. The core of the Menorah is the center, which is Shabbat. The three branches on one side represent the three days leading into Shabbat—Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday—while the three branches on the other side represent the days extending outward from Shabbat—Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Shabbat stands squarely in the center. This principle is rooted in the Gemara ( Pesachim 106a) regarding legal documents: Kamei shabta ("before Shabbat") refers to Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Lebatar shabta ("after Shabbat") refers to Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. This dynamic directly informs practical Halacha: Havdalah: While ideally recited on Motza'ei Shabbat , one may technically recite Havdalah until Tuesday afternoon (provided one has not eaten beforehand), because Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are a direct continuation of the preceding Shabbat. Embarking on a Ship: The prohibition against embarking on a sea voyage within three days of Shabbat begins on Wednesday, as Wednesday marks the start of the days designated as "before Shabbat." Shnayim Mikra Ve-Echad Targum: Ideally, the review of the weekly Torah portion should be completed on Shabbat before Kiddush or Mincha. The next acceptable window extends until the following Wednesday, before the preparation for the next Shabbat begins. Both the Ben Ish Chai and the Shlah HaKadosh ( Parashat Pekudei ) explain that the Neshamah Yeteirah (the extra soul granted on Shabbat) arrives and departs in three distinct spiritual stages: Nefesh , Ruach , and Neshamah . On Wednesday , we begin receiving the Nefesh (the baseline vitality, connected to physical action and the liver). On Thursday , we receive the Ruach (the emotional dimension, connected to the heart). On Friday , we receive the Neshamah (the intellectual and spiritual height, connected to the mind). Following Shabbat, this extra spiritual energy gradually departs in reverse over Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. We live in a perpetual cycle of either preparing for Shabbat or carrying forward its residual light. This concept is reflected in the Friday night piyyut composed by the Arizal, Asader Lishvachin : "Yemina u-smala u-veinayhu khallah" —to the right and to the left, and between them walks the Bride. Just as a bride is escorted down the aisle with her parents on either side, the Shabbat Queen is flanked by the days of the week on both sides. The Source of All Blessing Shabbat is Mekor HaBeracha —the source of all sustenance, success, and prosperity. When we enter Shabbat, we invoke the three foundational categories of agricultural and economic blessing mentioned in the Torah ( Devarim 11:14): Dagan (Grain) Tirosh (Wine) Yitzhar (Oil) Just as the miracle of the oil with the prophet Elisha required a small vessel of oil to initiate the flow of blessing, spiritual abundance requires an earthly anchor. On Shabbat, we establish vessels for all three categories: We light the candles ( Oil / Yitzhar ) We sanctify the day through Kiddush ( Wine / Tirosh ) We break bread over the challah ( Grain / Dagan ) By engaging these elements, we channel divine blessing into every area of our livelihood. This is why many have the custom to position the Shabbat table in clear view of the candles. While standing for Kiddush with the cup of wine in hand, one looks at the candles, with the challah resting on the table—bringing all three components into harmony. As the verse states in Mishlei (10:22): "Birkat Hashem hi ta'ashir" —the blessing of Hashem brings wealth. That blessing refers directly to Shabbat, which is blessed above all other days ( u-verakhto mi-kol ha-yamim ). The Ben Ish Chai adds another insight regarding the Kos shel Beracha (the cup of blessing). A human hand possesses 14 knuckles/joints across the five fingers (three in each of the four fingers, and two in the thumb). The word for hand, Yad ( יד ), has the numerical value of 14. This corresponds to the standard 14 meals eaten during the seven weekdays (two meals per day). Shabbat introduces the 15th meal— Seudah Shelishit . The number 15 represents the fullness of divine blessing, matching the 15 words of Birkat Kohanim (the Priestly Blessing). When holding the Kos shel Beracha in the palm of the hand, the hand acts as the complete 15-part vessel to receive and contain the blessing flowing from Shabbat. Honoring Shabbat Before Rosh Hashanah As we have emphasized, spiritual and physical channels only function when they are treated with honor: If you respect your clothing, it will keep you warm. If you respect a Talmid Chacham , you benefit from his merit. If you respect Shabbat, the blessings of Shabbat will sustain and elevate you. Failing to honor Shabbat blocks the flow of blessing not out of punitive anger, but as a spiritual reality. The prophet Yeshayahu (58:13) instructs: "Ve-chibadeto me'asot derachecha... ve-kadosh Hashem mechubad" —you shall honor it by refraining from your everyday pursuits. As we enter the final Shabbat of the year, make a conscious commitment to elevate your Kavod Shabbat (honor of Shabbat). Now is the moment to reflect, repair any past lapses, and resolve to honor Shabbat with greater care and dignity. When Rosh Hashanah arrives, Shabbat will stand as an advocate of peace and merit on our behalf. Shabbat Shalom. May we all internalize the honor of Shabbat, tap into the wellspring of all blessings, and merit the fulfillment of the prayer: Tachel shana u-virchoteha —may the new year and its abundant blessings begin! Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/874203e9-ad4c-466c-b18d-fdbb42ce65f7.mp3 Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/e96e2a9e-8ce4-4b83-afea-b3a15c3dca6c.mp3 Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon https://learntorah.com/content/e5845c58-b842-4ad4-95c6-515ee84d2eb1.mp3 Welcome to the Daily Dose of Bitachon. We are continuing our discussion on the topic of Hakarat Hatov (gratitude). Rav Wolbe, in the previously mentioned va'ad in Alei Shur (Volume 2), explains that one of the primary accomplishments of Hakarat Hatov is that it generates love. The Gemara in Masechet Beitzah (16a) teaches that if someone gives bread to a child, they have an obligation to let the mother know. What does this mean in practice? Rashi explains that one should place a mark or indicator on the child. For example, if you give a child a jelly doughnut, leave a little jelly on their forehead. Why? When the child returns home, the mother will ask, "Who gave this to you?" The child will reply, "So-and-so gave it to me." This allows the parents to realize that this person cares for their child, fostering endearment, friendship, and unity. We see a fundamental principle here: when a favor is recognized and acknowledged, it actively deepens love and connection. Therefore, when doing a personal favor for someone, giving anonymously does not always achieve the ideal result—unlike charity ( tzedakah ) for the poor, where anonymity is virtuous. If you are sending a friend a gift, such as a bottle of wine, leaving it on the doorstep without a name misses the point of fostering connection. We see a similar concept regarding Mishloach Manot . According to the view that the primary purpose of Mishloach Manot is to foster friendship and close bonds, delivering them anonymously fails to fulfill that objective. An anonymous gift cannot generate mutual affection, recognition, and endearment between two people. (Of course, if the purpose is strictly to provide food for the Purim seudah , the physical need is met; however, to build love, personal recognition is essential.) When it comes to Hakarat Hatov , there are three distinct dimensions: Bein adam la-Makom (between man and God) Bein adam la-chavero (between man and his fellow) Bein adam le-atzmo (between man and himself) This third dimension is the profound insight ( chiddush ) of Rav Wolbe. Normally, we assume gratitude is purely an obligation toward the giver. Rav Wolbe explains that it is fundamentally about the recipient. It means developing an internal sensitivity: recognizing that you have received something and feeling the innate urge to reciprocate. It is not merely an external social nicety or polite etiquette; it is an internal refinement of character. Even if the giver is no longer around to receive your thanks, the obligation to express gratitude remains because it shapes who you are. A powerful example of this involves Mr. Ralph Tawil, a philanthropist and community leader in the Syrian Jewish community who was a passionate advocate for giving ma'aser (tithes). I once heard him share his life story at a dinner. Having lost his mother at a young age after emigrating from a Spanish-speaking country, he and his brother grew up in a Brooklyn orphanage. Decades later, as a successful businessman in his eighties, he reflected: "I lived in that orphanage for years. Someone paid for my room, my board, and my food. Who were those people?" He sought out the organization, but it had long since closed and been absorbed by another entity. Even if it were still running, the original benefactors were no longer alive. Nevertheless, feeling an overwhelming urge to repay that debt, he called the president of the successor organization and said, "I want to sponsor a dinner, serve as the guest of honor, and raise substantial funds for your cause." Surprised, the director asked where this sudden generosity came from. Mr. Tawil replied, "I benefited from this institution. I may not know who paid for me, but I have a duty to give back." The original givers were not there to receive the honor, but the act was about fulfilling his own internal need for gratitude. Similarly, I heard of a man who attended yeshiva on full scholarship because his parents could not afford tuition. Years later, after achieving financial success, he asked himself, "Who funded my education?" He called the Rosh Yeshiva and asked for the full cost of tuition from pre-1A through twelfth grade. Calculating thirteen years at roughly $10,000 per year, he wrote a check for $130,000, explaining, "I need to pay back what I was given." Rav Wolbe points out that this idea is embedded in the Pesach Haggadah: we say that we are obligated "le-hallel, le-shabe'ach, u-lefa'er le-mi she-asa..." ("to praise, laud, and glorify the One Who performed miracles for our ancestors and for us"). Why use the phrase "to the One Who performed," rather than simply addressing Hashem directly? It teaches us that gratitude begins with the awareness of having received; the urge to thank arises from our identity as recipients, directed toward whoever provided the benefit. This explains why our tradition contains many examples of showing gratitude even to inanimate objects or entities unaware of the gesture: Moshe Rabbeinu refused to strike the Nile River to initiate the plagues of Blood ( Dam ) and Frogs ( Tzefardeia ) because the water had protected his basket when he was an infant. Likewise, he did not strike the earth to bring the plague of Lice ( Kinim ) because the sand had concealed the Egyptian he had slain. The sand and water have no feelings, but the act refined Moshe's own character. The Rif (Rabbeinu Yitzchak Alfasi) , cited in the Shita Mekubetzet ( Bava Kamma 92b), once refused to judge a case involving a bathhouse because he had derived personal benefit from it. Even in a scenario where an impartial judge could guarantee complete objectivity (such as through absolute verification), he maintained that one should not act against a party from whom they have benefited, as doing so runs counter to the trait of Hakarat Hatov . Rav Wolbe demonstrated this deeply. I once had the privilege of sharing a Friday night meal with Rav Wolbe and his wife. During our conversation about clothing, I mentioned wanting to buy a new pair of pants and discussed the costs. Rav Wolbe pointed to his frock coat and said, "I had this made for my daughter's wedding eighteen years ago. The longer I wear it, the more I appreciate it. It has kept me warm for nearly two decades. I don't want to discard it—we have a relationship." While modern culture embraces a disposable mindset of constantly replacing goods, previous generations mended and valued what served them. Rav Wolbe viewed his belongings through the lens of gratitude. Rav Gustman was known to personally water the plants in his garden, explaining that the forest foliage had provided him cover and saved his life while hiding from the Nazis. Rav Eliyahu Lopian made a point of feeding the stray cats around the yeshiva to show appreciation for keeping the premises free of mice and pests. Returning to our opening theme: Hakarat Hatov creates and sustains love. Rav Wolbe emphasizes that relationships lacking continuous gratitude cannot endure. When a couple marries, there is natural affection at the start. However, as time passes, if husband and wife do not consistently acknowledge each other's daily contributions, that initial affection can fade into indifference or resentment. The same principle applies to relationships between parents and children, business partners, or coworkers. Living or working closely with others inevitably reveals their flaws, weaknesses, and irritating habits. How do we preserve harmony and warmth in the face of natural friction? The answer is to actively focus on the good they do for us. The Gemara relates that a certain Sage whose wife treated him difficultly still made a point of bringing her gifts. When asked why he treated her with such devotion, he answered: "It is sufficient for us that our wives raise our children and save us from sin." That baseline awareness of gratitude sustained the marriage. As the verse states: "Al kol pesha'im techaseh ahavah" —"Love covers all transgressions" (Mishlei 10:12). Where does this enduring love come from? It is built on the foundation of Hakarat Hatov . Just as the mark on the child's forehead prompts recognition and builds affection among neighbors, consistent gratitude serves as the vital bedrock for all lasting, loving relationships. Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:01:11 GMT Rabbi David Sutton Rabbi David Sutton No Learn Bitachon daily Learn Bitachon daily with Rabbi David Sutton Daily, Bitachon