Last weeks Parsha starts off ‘ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה. The Torah continues את הברכה אשר תשמעו אל מצות ה’ אלוקיכם והקללה אם לא תשמעו אל מצות ה’ אלוקיכם וגו’ ,

The נתיבות שלום asks a few questions here. One of the questions is why the Torah doesn’t use the word תעשו. Isn’t that what we are supposed to be doing with the Mitzvos?

Says the נתיבות שלום that throughout a persons life Hashem keeps sending us messages. Hashem is talking to us, trying to to keep us on the path of Torah and Mitzvos. How does He talk to us? Through the events that transpire throughout our life, and we need to listen very well to those messages.

Says the נתיבות שלום that when we pay attention to the messages and we take it to heart then this is the greatest bracha. However, when we ignore the messages or we hear the messages but we don’t take it to heart then this is the greatest קללה. This is what the Torah is teaching us.

So we are hearing now that Hashem is constantly sending us messages. The only question is are we listening, or do we hit the snooze button, turn over and go back to sleep. Or do we hear the messages and turn over a new leaf.

אלול – We are now at the threshold of Chodesh Elul and the Shofar will resound on a daily basis. We need to realize that the Shofar is sending us daily messages and we need to take them to heart. The Rambam tells us the general message of the Shofar is עורו ישנים משינתכם. However, to be more specific everyone needs to wake up in the areas that they are sleeping.

The truth is that on a national level Hashem is talking to Klal Yisroel and to each individual as well. That is through the current events of the world. For example when a hurricane happens or any other natural disaster Hashem is talking to us as the Seforim teach us. When there is a rainbow in the sky then there is another message.

Recently, a Yid approached me and asked me the following question. “Many Tzaddikim are saying that Moshiach seems to be at our door as we can see from the current events of the world. Does that mean that I need to listen to the news in order to await Moshiach?” A good question indeed.

The truth is that this question bothered me as well and I believe that the answer is as follows. As we mentioned earlier Hashem talks to us through the current events of the world. When Hashem turns over the entire world which has been happening, it should be clear to everyone that Hashem wants to bring Moshiach.

Especially when it comes to great wars that are happening in the world, and even more so when the wars revolve around the world powers. Even more so when the war revolves around Eretz Yisroel.

Chazal tell us that הרואה האומות מתגרות זו עם זו יצפה לרגלי משיח. Chazal tell us clearly that when war is brewing in the world one should anticipate the arrival of Moshiach. In other words when there are wars in the world Hashem is talking to us. He is telling us that it’s time to come home and He wants to bring Moshaich. Are we listening?

Some people may have the attitude that “okay I get the message but what should I do about it?” So if you pay attention it’s pretty cleat what we should be doing now. Chazal tell us יצפה לרגלי משיח. This means that we should anticipate the arrival of Moshiach.

Let’s return to the question that the Yid asked me. The answer is that everyone on planet earth sees and hears the basic idea what going on in the world [unless you are sitting 24/7 in Yeshiva with earplugs]. The only question is what are we doing with the information? Are we listening to the messages – את הברכה, or visa versa chas veshalom – והקללה.

So you don’t need a newspaper or to follow all the news to get the idea. As long as you hear the basic news you can hear Hashem’s voice loud and clear telling us to wake up and get involved. However, we need to pay attention to the messages.

However, for those that are not listening to the messages for whatever reason, Hashem has to keep giving more and more messages to wake them up. Unfortunately despite everything thats going on some people still don’t get it. This is a והקללה r”l.

Listening to tragedies – Recently, Klal Yisroel was rocked with a tremendous tragedy, with the Petira of Reb Baruch Her Ziemba zt”l. Anyone that knew him can begin to understand the magnitude of this great loss. What’s the message?

When this tragedy occurred, I overheard people discussing how it happened and why it happened. My friends, we need to understand that this kind of talk is a distraction from the message that we are meant to be listening to. Let me explain.

If someone would write down all the occurrences that transpired during his life, and I mean all the close calls one would able to fill up a few books. Whether it’s during driving a vehicle or in other areas, all of us have those close calls in which we were in grave danger and Baruch HaShem the last second it was averted.

The truth is that it’s a lot more than we think. There are many many instances that we were clueless that there was a danger but Hashem smoothed it out for us like the cloud in the desert that went ahead and killed the scorpions and snakes. This is part of our basic Emuna.

This is what we are referring to when we say three times a day in the Modim ועל ניסיך שבכל יום. Yes, even in the Galus Hashem is still protecting us with His constant miracles that He preforms for us on a daily basis and many of them without our knowledge. Perhaps when Moshiach will come Hashem will reveal to us the real story of our life and boy will we feel humbled.

Now I ask of you my friends, with this tragedy of Reb Baruch Ber who was a מושלם in all areas of Avodas Hashem. He had sterling Middos and he was beloved by all and we can be assured that he was beloved by Hashem as Chazal tell us in Pirkei Avos. Do you think for one second that Hashem couldn’t save him like he does for us each day? Obviously, as the Novominsker Rebbe put it he was a Korban for Klal Yisroel which should wake us up to do Teshuva.

However, it’s even more than that. Chazal tell us that the death of a Tzaddik is as great and if not greater than the burning of the Bais Hamikdash. What this means is that Klal Yisroel just had the burning of the Bais Hamikdash r”l.

Chazal tell us כל דור שלא נבנה בית המקדש בימיו כאילו נחרבה. This means that if we dont rebel the Bais Hamikdash then that is tantamount to us lighting a Match and burning it down r”l. This is what the Baalei mussar teach us. So how can it be that תשעה באב תשפ”ד just passes us by and there is still no Bais Hamikdash? Is that not troubling?

Rav Moshe Feinsten after Tisha B’av when he saw that Moshiach had not arrived he would be engulfed in tears and he would cry for hours. He understood that Tisha ba’av was a tremendous opportunity and a missed opportunity.

We need to realize that if now when Hashem is showing us simanim and the chevlei Moshiach is intense and Moshiach has still not arrived, then obviously we are lacking something and it’s time to make a cheshbon hanefesh. We can’t just move on indifferently and forget about the month of Av that is slipping away. Let us discuss two areas that we can be mechazek ourselves [obviously we should mechazek ourselves in all areas as well].

צפיתלישועה – The truth is that this discussion is way too big to discuss right now, but we will give a little hadracha and chizzuk to begin working on this vital chiyuv and Mitzva [Recently, a book came out win English called “Yearning for Geula” and in Hebrew called ומצפים לישועה. This is a good start. Let’s get moving].

It’s obvious that we are lacking in this area, because Chazal tell us explicitly יש דור שמחכים למלכותי מיד הם נגאלים. The Chafetz Chaim would reiterate this that if Klal Yisroel would be waiting properly for Moshiach he would come immediately, so it’s obvious that we aren’t waiting properly.

Why aren’t we waiting for Moshiach is a whole discussion. However, there is one huge misunderstanding. We need to know is like the Chafetz Chaim told someone “we are not waiting for Moshiach for ourselves, rather we are waiting for Moshiach for Hashem”. This should knock down any Cheshbonos that one may have, just like one doesn’t make cheshbonos to die for Hashem on the ג’ עבירות.

Moreover, we need to have a great desire to come close to Hashem and to live in Ertetz Yisroel and for the Bais Hamikdash to be rebuilt. This is when the Shechina will return to Eretz Yisroel and we will once again have the Shechina returned to our hearts as well. Now we are like a dead person as the Gr”a tells us.

Today is the Yartzeit of Rabbeinu Yoel from Satmar zt”l. The Rebbe would often say that one can be living in Ertetz Yisroel but he is ultimately living out of Eretz Yisroel, and someone can be living out of Eretz Yisroel but in essence he is living in Ertetz Yisroel. How is that?

He says that it all depends where your heart and mind is. If your body is in Eretz Yisroel but you really would love to live in the Golden Medina [which is out of gold] then that’s where you live r”l. However, if someone walks around in America with the attitude of לבי במזרח and he is מצפה לישועה then he lives in Eretz Yisroel.

Sometimes people ask me where I live and I respond that I live in Eretz Yisroel. The next question that follows is so why are you here? So I respond that I am here on a mission. At that point they look bewildered. Then they ask me “so where in Eretz Yisroel? So I respond that I am not sure yet as I am still waiting to find out where my chelek is. At that point they smile as they finally catch on.

The attitude – Some people have the attitude that we will still be in Galus for the next twenty years or so chas v’shalom. This attitude is against the whole concept of what we say three times a day כי לישועתך קוינו כל היום. Some are even planning the upcoming elections. How unfortunate.

The Klal is that when it comes to such things we need to go through the motions and yes we need to vote but not with our heart. Our attitude should be that we certainly don’t want a Democrat but we don’t want a republican either. We want You Hashem to rule over us with Moshiach ben Dovid ותמלוך אתה ה אלוקינו מהרה לבדך.

שנאתחנם – Oh no, here we go again. Yes, here we go again. As long as we are in Galus and we are not out there is obviously something that we need to rectify and we cannot stop until we just just do it once and for all. Let’s explore.

I once heard from a Chashuve Yid that said the following. Baruch Hashem the awareness to Shemiras Haslashon has gone viral and people are really improving in this area, yet sometimes there can still be something missing. Let me explain.

One can learn to control their mouth and their ears from listening to lash on hara but they can still harbor ill feelings to a family member, a friend, and employee, teachers and students or anyone else. It may be true that they may not speak lashon hara about them as they have learned to control their tongue. However, they still haven’t mastered the midda of ותרנות which includes letting go and forgiveness.

אסתרהמלכהunderstood the importance of Achdus to be zoche to the Geula that they needed then, so she sent a message to Mordechai לך כנוס את כל היהודים. Yes, it’s achdus that we need at this point. This will purify our hearts from שנאה and קנאה.

Baruch HaShem I am hearing that a new movement has arisen which is a forgiveness program which is making waves worldwide, and I would suggest that we all jump onto this wagon. We need to work on letting go from the שנאה that is sitting deep within our hearts and eradicate it once and for all.

This program that I found is a ten step forgiveness program that helps release the שנאה that is inside us and to achieve the long awaited forgiveness [the email to receive a copy in two languages is 10stepforgiveness@gmail.com]. However, whether you opt to use this program or not we need to get moving and work on this midda [recently an amazing Sefer came out in this area]

As we mentioned earlier Rav Baruch Ber Ziemba excelled in the area of בין אדם לחבירו and perhaps we can do this forgiveness לעילוי נשמתו

We are now standing at the last days of Chodesh Av which represents that Hashem is our Father. Therefore, the Avoda this month is to yearn to reunite with our Father Hashem Yisbarch and at the same time reunite with Hashems children, because this is what every father wants. This will bring us into the month of אני לדודי ודודי לי a month of קרבת אלוקים לי טוב.

שבת קודש – Shabbos is a day when we reunite with our father when we spend three meals with Hashem as Reb Shimshon Pinkus elaborates. It’s a day that we sing zemiros and we yearn for the Bais Hamikdash as we see throughout the zemiros. At the same time Shabbos is a time that we also connect with our family and friends as we spend time together and we greet each other joyfully.

Let’s make this Shabbos special and utilize the day to work on yearning to come close to Hashem especially with Moshiach. At the same time work on reconnecting to people with achdus. It’s well known that in the house of Reb Elimelech of Lizensk on Erev Shabbos everyone would ask Mechila one from another. Accoring to what we are saying this custom is well understood. Indeed Chazal tell us that if Kal Yisroel would keep the Shabbos they would be redeemed immediately.

In the zechus that we wake up and listen to messages from Hashem and we take it to heart and we forgive people with all our hearts, and we yearn for the Bais Hamikdash with all our hearts. Hashem should reciprocate and blow the Shofar Gadol and bring down the long awaited Bais Hamikdash of fire that is/was built on the yearning with fire and the fiery love that we showed our fellow Jew. במהרה בימינו אמן

פינחס הלוי דאפפעלט