Author: ArtScroll Staff

Adapted from: Rabbi Frand on the Parashah

אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם כֻּלְּכֶם — You are all standing here today. (Devarim 29:9)

Immediately after enumerating the long litany of ninety-eight curses they would face if they disobeyed Hashem, Moshe called together the Jewish people and said, “You are all standing here today.” What is the significance of this sequence of events?

The Midrash, quoted by Rashi, explains that when the Jewish people heard the curses they turned green. “Who can withstand all these curses?” they moaned despondently. “What will become of us?”
Therefore, Moshe called them together to calm them down. “Don’t be so worried,” he said. “You are all standing here today. After forty turbulent years in the desert, after angering Hashem so many times — with the Golden Calf, the Meraglim, the complainers — you are still here today. Hashem has not destroyed you. So you see, you do not need to despair.”

The commentators are puzzled. Moshe seems to be taking the wind out of his own sails. First, he read off all the horrible curses to scare the Jewish people into obedience, to put “the fear of the Lord” into them. The threat of the curses accomplished their purpose. The people were terrified. Then, all of sudden, he relented and told them that it’s not so bad. They don’t have to be so terrified. Wasn’t he defeating his whole purpose by taking the sting out of the Tochachah?

The answer is that there is a vast difference between healthy fear and hopelessness. It is a good thing to be realistically apprehensive about the future. It is unhealthy to live in a fool’s paradise, believing you can do as you please without suffering any consequences. But hopelessness is destructive. It demoralizes, debilitates and reduces a person to a bowl of quaking jelly.

Moshe saw that the Jewish people had gone beyond fear when they heard the curses. They lost hope and threw in the towel. Therefore, he had to calm them down until they recovered their hope and all they felt was a healthy fear.

Our Sages tell us (Bava Metzia 59a) that after the destruction of the Temple “all the gates of prayer were closed, except for the Gates of Tears.” The Gates of Tears are the channel of last resort for prayers, and they are never closed.

But if they are never closed, asks Reb Bunim of Peshis’cha, why is there a need for gates at all? Why not remove the gates and leave the entranceway wide open?

There are some tears that do not get through, says Reb Bunim of Peshis’cha. The gates screen out tears that don’t sincerely cry out to Hashem for help; tears that simply express despair and hopelessness. Yet if a person in a state of helplessness then turns to Hashem as his sole hope, wringing out the perspiration of his heart and soul and sending his hope-laden tears heavenward, there are no barriers in Heaven to a prayer of this sort. It travels directly to the Heavenly Throne.

The Izhbitzer Rebbe explains that this is the reason why all Jews are called Yehudim, specifically after Yehuda. Because when the brothers stood accused of theft before Yosef in Egypt, the Torah tells us that Yehudah “stepped up” to argue in their defense. When all seemed to be lost, when faced with the overwhelming weight of evidence against them, Yehudah never gave up hope. That is the definition of a Jew, a person who knows that the Almighty will never abandon him. A person who never gives up hope.

Adapted from Rabbi Frand On the Parashah

Adapted from: Living Emunah on Yamim Noraim by Rabbi Rabbi David Ashear

As we take steps to improve ourselves during the glorious month of Elul, we must remind ourselves of the value of every single improvement we make, no matter how small it may seem. Whatever we do is very precious to Hashem and will benefit us at some point in the future.

Rabbi Silver’s* daughter Esther was diagnosed in 2019 with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a life-threatening condition which, until then, had no known cure. The doctor told the young rabbi that the FDA had just approved a new prescription gene therapy called Zolgensma, but the cost for a one-time infusion was a staggering $2.2 million. Furthermore, it was only approved for children under the age of two, and Esther was just a month shy of her second birthday.

The Silvers immediately tried to get the medication through their insurance plan, but it was denied. They hired a lawyer to fight the insurance company on their behalf but lost the case. With just a week remaining before her second birthday, little Esther’s life was on the line. Rabbi Silver had to come up with a plan — fast.

“Can we pay for the medication out of pocket?” he asked the doctor.

“Of course — but how would you get the money to do that?”

“I have a very rich Father,” Rabbi Silver replied. “Hashem is my Father, and He can do anything.”

Many family members took upon themselves life-changing kabbalos, and the next day, they launched a chesed campaign online. Amazingly, in just five days, they collected the full $2.2 million. Ashreichem Yisrael! However, the actual cash would not be available for at least another few days, and they didn’t have time to wait.

A certain wealthy gentleman heard about the urgent situation and offered to lay out the $2.2 million from his own pocket. The Silvers took the money and managed to get the medication and have it administered in the hospital the same day — July 19, 2019 — the day before Esther’s birthday.

Baruch Hashem, today Esther is doing well.

When the Silvers went to repay the kind benefactor who laid out the money, he refused to take it. “It was my zechus to give it,” he insisted, overwhelming them with his generosity.

The next task was to inform the more than 20,000 donors on the chesed page that the family no longer needed their money. Most of the people said they still wanted their donations to be used for charitable purposes. Rabbi Silver used the $2 million to start a new fund to provide for children with special medical needs.

Our people are amazing! Their desire to help others knows no bounds.

From the time Esther was diagnosed until she actually got the medication was an emotional roller coaster for the family. They have so much hakaras hatov to Hashem for bringing about their salvation. When the young rabbi had a chance to reflect on and contemplate all the events that had taken place, he had a striking revelation. Eight years previously, when he was not yet religious, he was faced with a very big test. His friends were going out to party on the night of Tishah B’Av and were urging him to come along. Deep down, he knew how wrong that was. He managed to fight the peer pressure and stayed home.

“That night was the turning point in my life,” he later said. Overcoming the challenge gave him the strength to grow in religious observance — and eventually become a rabbi.

The night of Tishah B’Av when he passed his test was July 19, the exact same date on which, several years later, he was able to almost miraculously get the medication, give it to his daughter, and save her life.

Everything we do for Hashem is precious to Him. He remembers everything and uses it to help us. Everyone has their own tests, on their own level. The common denominator is that no deed is ever considered small by Hashem. The sacrifices we make to do His will will be used to help us both in this world and the Next.

Adapted from Living Emunah on Yamim Noraim by Rabbi Rabbi David Ashear