Author Archives: Orit Esther Riter

BS’D

Today the 29th of Tammuz is the yahrzeit of Rashi HaKadosh.  May his merit protect Klal Yisrael and serve as an advocate on high, Amen.

Chazal teach us to pray with heartfelt intent that Hashem soon rebuild the Beit HaMikdash and hasten the geula.  Why does Chazal find the need to emphasize that we ask for the redemption?  Shouldn’t it be a given that every Jew pray for it to happen?  Unfortunately to many it is not at the top of their request list.

When we find ourselves in the midst of our ‘personal sorrows’ we tend to forget about anything else.  There is a Torah teaching that says, “The last of ones problems make a person forget the first of his problems.”  The current  issues at hand such as looming war, financial strain, marital strife, health and other mounting issues unfortunately take up so much of our brain space that we don’t seem to ‘remember’ the root cause of all difficulty; galut.

Many think, “How can I focus my mind on mourning Yerushalayim and the Beit HaMikdash when there are so many hardships I must cope with right now?” Yet if we delve deeply into this idea we will discover that we are experiencing the ‘symptoms’ associated with exile.  As we put our minds and hearts into praying for solutions to personal sorrows we ought to keep in mind that they are offshoots of the real pain at hand.  We are not in our ‘true place’ physically, emotionally and spiritually and therefore we are experiencing confusion and pain.

Klal Yisrael is living in a plague of darkness; restless over the present and terrified over the future.  “Al Naharot Bavel Shahm Yashavnu… (On the rivers of Babylon there we sat ….)” we sat and wondered, ‘what will be?’  “Gam Bachinu b’Zochreinu et Tzion (Also we cried when we remembered Tzion {the destruction and devastation of Tzion})”.  The Chatam Sofer ztk’l writes we were consumed by thoughts over our own devastation, yet we still remembered why they occur; the long and bitter exile and the destruction of Tzion.  So too today we must connect all pain and suffering to our exile.

Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated to the refuel shleimah of Tal Talya bat Rivka and the newborn baby Meir Chaim Ben Tal Talya. This wonderful young woman (34), mother of three, is in critical need of our prayers right now.
She has stage IV cancer and is intensive care. We need to storm the heavens with our prayers so this decree is obliterated completely and she can go back to caring for her family.  2.5 weeks ago, she discovered the disease had riddled her intestines, after being admitted to the hospital for what they thought was dehydration. She was 28 weeks pregnant. A successful albeit complicated surgery was performed, with baby in utero, to remove the whole large intestine. 2 weeks later, the staples got undone and the infection began to swell her stomach. This infection meant an emergency C-section delivery on Sunday, July 5th, 2015. What should have been a momentous, happy celebration, was just news taken in stride, along with further reports of Tal’s critical condition. The wife is being intubated and sedated in order to flush the toxins out of her system and has not seen her new baby yet. The stomach has been left open in a sterile condition for five days now in order to allow the doctors to clean it out daily.
The baby is premature by 2 months, and is currently in NICU. He is on antibiotics and is also fighting for his life at this stage. These are horrible yissurim for a beautiful young mother to go through. She is a model citizen, and a very loving mother, and a holy Jew. Her two children at home, are being taken care of by neighbors and friends and family, while the father runs between his wife, his newborn, and hospitals, trying to find the best care for her.
Please don’t ignore this email. It is not for donations, it is not for anything other than the words that come out of your mouth. This link:http://tehilimyahad.com/mr. jsp?r=PBnJ0S7RGU is special because it tracks the amount of tehillim that is read for this one specific case. It shows how many people read, and how many donated their good deeds for the full recovery of this woman. I update Tal’s family and her husband with the incredible amount of prayers said so far (20 books finished in five days since I posted the link) and it gives him so much hope in a time of bleak darkness and constant worry, not knowing what will be with his wife.
Please take the time to say even one perek. The more the merrier. And please pass it along to just one person, but the one person who you know will read for Tal.

BS’D

Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated to the yeshua for Pinchas ben Bassya Yehudit. May Hashem shower him with all of the goodness and clarity that he needs, Amen.

The Shechinah sustains life ~ she is the soul of the world.  As we immerse ourselves in a life of Torah and mitzvot we enhance the outpouring of love between the Shechinah and HaKadosh Baruch Hu.  This in turn injects our lives with life force and revealed goodness.  It is only through Torah learning and attachment to Torah principles that we ‘bring’ the Shechinah into our lives.  HaKadosh Baruch Hu so to speak ‘”shares” the Shechinah with His beloved nation in order to comfort and guide us through this confusing world.

What can we do to make the Shechinah feel welcomed?  It is written in the Talmud, “Rabbi Yossi teaches the Shechinah dwells only in a place of wholeness and not in a place of lacking, not in a place of sadness but only in a place of happiness and joy.”Although during Bein HaMeitzrim we are to diminish our happiness and use this time to reflect on our losses; we are not instructed to remove all joy from our midst.

Joy does not require that we laugh or necessarily smile.  Genuine joy comes from living a life of purpose; connecting all instances and experiences to the ultimate reason for existence. At this time we should contemplate the unbearable pain and hardships born from this long anguish-filled exile and acknowledge that we have drifted from our true and holy essence.  We need to ‘return’ to our purpose; we need to turn-on our emuna.

BS’D

Today’s daily dose of emuna lesson is dedicated to the immediate recovery and refuah shleimah of Esti Rappaport, her husband Misha and their four children who were involved in a major accident last night on Route 17 in the US.  Parents are in critical condition. May Hashem shower them among all of Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering with a complete refuah shleimah b’karov,b’rachamim, Amen.

As we know the next two weeks are din (judgment); let us explore what we can do in honor of the Shechinah. As we go about our lives, performing mitzvot it is of great importance to focus our intent on uniting the Shechinah back to HaKadosh Baruch Hu. The mystical teachings bring down that there is a disconnection in Shamayim between the male and female aspects of Hashem which disrupts our ability to maintain peace down below.

The Shechinah is with us in exile; She watches over the Jewish people everywhere we go. Whether we are at sea or treading on desert sand, through joy and sadness, She is hovering over Ahm Yisrael sharing our pain and suffering. She ‘yearns’ to see us happy and settled once again in our homeland; the way back is adorned with sincere Torah learning and Tefillot.

By strengthening our emuna we create a great stir above and create Oneness and unity. Essentially living a life of emuna proclaims, ‘All is One and all comes from One’ (the fundamental message of the Shema Yisrael). This proclamation binds the fragmented reality and enjoins it back to its source. Here we have the opportunity to co-partner with the Shechinah and escort Her back to Her beloved.

BS’D

Klal Yisrael is lost.  Mama Rachel cries over her children who have been dispersed amongst the nations and sent into exile.  We have lost our connection to our real purpose in life. Even though many have returned to the land of Israel, we are still broken hearted since so many still do not recognize the intimate bond we share with Torah and mitzvot.

Although we were lost without Eretz Yisrael; we have been found and returned as a broken nation. The tears shed by Mama Rachel are soothed by the promise (Yirmiyahu (31:15), “…v’Shavu banim l’gvulam (Her children will return to its borders)”.  The Jewish nation shall yet return to the ways of their forefathers as the RamBam ztk’l explains at the end of days we will all do teshuva; no one will be left behind.

The Shechinah is pained by her children since the entire reason for creation was to share Her light with us.  When the Jewish nation strays from Hashem’s path we cause a darkening of the entire world. The Divine light wishes to dwell in every Jewish heart and when She does not find a place in our hearts, she unfortunately is ‘forced’ into hiding causing a loss of light.

From here we see the great importance and value each of us holds in keeping a life of Torah and mitzvot. It is in our hands to ‘give strength’ to Hashem to lighten up the world with revealed goodness.  We learn this from the passukim, “Hashem oz l’Amo yiten (Hashem will give strength to His nation)” and “Tzur yiladcha teshi (Ha’azinu 32:18) (You forgot the mighty rock Who bore you; you forgot the G-d Who delivered you).”

Tzur is HaKadosh Baruch Hu who gave birth to us and anointed us to be His holy children.  When we attach ourselves to Hashem and rely on Him as a child leans on her loving parent, we essentially give Hashem the koach to shine His Divine goodness onto this world and fight off our enemies.