One should regard everyone else as greater than himself. If another is more of a talmid chochom, one is obligated to honor him. If another is wealthier, he is also deserving of honor as Talmud Eruvin 86a relates: “Rabbi Yehuda haNasi would honor the rich”–one should think that since Hashem granted this other person wealth, he is surely worthy of it. – R’ Shlomo Gantzfried zt”l
The answer to yesterday’s “Identify that Prayer” is “Yehei rava kadamuch…” at the end of “Brich Shemei.”
“May it be Your will that You open my heart to the Torah and that You fulfill the wishes of my heart and the heart of Your entire people Israel for good, for life, and for peace.”
This one is a bit more difficult. The answer will be in tomorrow’s post.
Additionally, if anyone is interested, I heard this incredible Purim shiur last year from R’ Ephraim Lever called “Don’t Miss Opportunities.” I then listened it to again, then transcribed it and then thought about it all year. It is that good! Here is the link: https://www.torahanytime.com/video/purim-dont-miss-opportunities/
One who speaks ill of others become contemptible even to those who listened to his evil talk and accepted it as truth….And [they] will forever suspect that he might one day speak ill of them. ~ The Chofetz Chaim
When I ponder the miracle of the survival of the Jewish people, it is in my mind greater than all the miracles and wonders that God performed for our ancestors in Egypt, in the wilderness and in the land of Israel. The longer the exile persists, the more apparent the miracle becomes. ~ R’ Yaakov Emden (1697-1776)
Nothing can hold you back – not your childhood, not the history of a lifetime, not even the very last moment before now. In a moment you can abandon your past. And once abandoned, you can redefine it.
If the past was a ring of futility, let it become a wheel of yearning that drives you forward. If the past was a brick wall, let it become a dam to unleash your power.
The very first step of change is so powerful , the boundaries of time fall aside. In one bittersweet moment, the sting of the past is dissolved and its honey salvaged. ~ R’ Tzvi Freeman
The luxuries we indulge in eventually come to seem to be necessities, as if we could not live without them. ~ R’ Yisroel Salanter zt”l
The Gemara tells us that a father is required to teach his son how to swim. The secret to swimming is to move along in the water without allowing one’s head to go under. We live in a world that pulls us along, but we must always be careful to keep our heads above the water – not allowing ourselves to be totally dragged under by the constant struggles of daily life. ~ Kotzker Rebbe
It is not enough for one’s heart to be in the right place; his hands must be there too. ~ R’ Shraga Silverstein zt”l
All forms of loshon hora are prohibited even when no names are mentioned, if it will be possible for people to determine who is being discussed. If names are omitted but the story will reflect badly on an entire group of people, it may not be spoken. Speaking critically about an unnamed student at a yeshivah is often taken as a statement about the entire student body or as a reflection on yeshivah students in general. If this is the implication, the statement is a more serious form of loshon hora, for it reflects on a multitude of Jews. ~ Sefer Chofetz Chaim
