Dvar torah from Chaim

Hi everyone,



Thanks for all of the support and chizuk that has been coming our way these past couple of days. It truly is remarkable and very inspirational seeing how much people care. You have no idea how much it means to Talia and myself, so thank you for that. We are really blessed to have such caring friends and family.


I saw an idea tonight that even though i had heard it before, this time it really got me thinking. The parsha starts off by saying" That Moshes father in law, Yisro the priest of Midian, heard about all that God had done for Moshe and for His people Israel, when God took Israel out of Egypt". So many of our great and holy sages ask the question, was Yisro the only one that heard? No one else heard about the amazing miracles preformed for the Jewish people? Only Yisro was privy to this information? The answer is obviously not. The entire world heard and knew about everything that Hashem had done for the Jewish people, but Yisro was different. Says Rabbainu Rebbi Nachmun of Breslev ,


" Everyone heard, but only Yisro heeded the message "(Likutey Moharan 1,134). Only Yisro allowed the message to enter his heart and that allowed him to change. Yisro teaches us that hearing, is not just about hearing sounds. Rather real hearing is about internalizing, what it is we hear.


This has been a week filled with us hearing many different things. Personally, I have heard some disappointing and heartbreaking news, but at the same time i have heard so many inspirational ideas and words of chizzuk. I have heard people cry and get upset, and i have heard my kids laugh uncontrollably, like only holy sweet children can. I have heard stories that have brought me to tears of sadness, and i have heard stories that have brought me to tears of joy and yearning. But the common theme between everything thing that i have heard this week, is that i now must ask myself, what did i really hear ? Has anything that i have heard this week entered into my heart and have I internalized any of it. Because that is what real hearing is all about. Its about opening our ears in order to open our hearts. This is a challenge we are all faced with everyday. From moment we are blessed to wake up in the morning, to the moment we go to sleep we hear so much. Some times the sounds are loud, and some times they are small. We hear things from our spouses, children, friends and of course Hashem, and we must ask ourselves. Do we really hear what they are saying, or are we just hearing sounds. Are we paying attention to what it is they are really saying and trying to internalize the messages Hashem is sending our way, Because in reality everything that comes our way is Hashem calling out to us, I am right here with you and I love you. We just have to open our ears and our hearts so we truly hear and feel his call in everything we do. This is what the torah is teaching us when it says "Yisro heard". The lesson of how to truly hear. Lets all try this week, if only one time a day, to truly hear something or someone. Lets try and internalize what we can do with all that we hear, and how we can gear it towards strengthening our avodas Hashem and strengthening our relationships with others. I KNOW WE CAN DO IT.


Thanks for letting me share, and please let me know what you think. Its always great to hear from you. (Feel free to comment below).


From the bottom of my heart thanks again to everyone and remember,
 Tracht Gut Vet Zein Gut- Think Good, and it will be Good.


With much love and thanks


Chaim Yissachar