The Zohar writes that Hashem did not give the Torah to the Jews until Pharaoh and the Egyptian people capitulated. This seems perplexing. Why did the Almighty need one king and his civilization to submit to Him? The submission of Egypt did not last long anyway. Soon after they returned to their idolatrous lifestyle.

The Shem Mishmuel poses another question. How could Datan and Aviram, who witnessed so many miracles that Moshe performed in Egypt, continue to deny the truth of Moshe's mission?

He explains that the Jewish people spent more than 200 years in Egypt. The wicked sins and failings of the Egyptians had influenced them to such a degree that changing their mindset was as a great a challenge as redeeming them from physical enslavement. Pharaoh arrogantly said, "Who is Hashem that I should listen to his voice?" The Jews were so engulfed in Egyptian culture that they believed Pharaoh when he said he was the creator. Although Moshe performed miracles before their eyes, Datan and Aviram had a way of twisting them, to keep the ideology of Egypt alive.

Why was it important to break Pharaoh so he would concede to the truth? Not because Hashem needed him or the Egyptians, but because He wanted the Jews to spiritually extricate themselves from the clutches of the Egyptian mindset. As Pharaoh began to submit, the Jews reclaimed their belief in Hashem. The first two mitzvot they received in Egypt were brit milah and korban pesach. They required great courage, faith, and self-sacrifice in the face of danger. Soon after, the Jewsfollowed Hashem into the desert in an incredible act of bitachon. They marched into the Red Sea and it split in the merit of their unbending faith. Although in practice they had very little mitzvot, their emunah raised them from the 49 levels of impurity until they were worthy to receive the Torah.

During the first seven plagues, Pharaoh remained haughty and obstinate. Only after the last three plagues did he begin to submit.

At the end of our current exile, our enemies will be brazen and arrogant but Hashem will sublimate them. Before the crack of dawn, the night is darkest. There will be much suffering, but then the geulah will come and we will return to the land of Israel.

Just as Hashem needed to take Egypt out of the Jews, we must extricate the exile from within us. We must free ourselves of the blackness and impurity surrounding us. The key is Torah study. Hashem took us out of Egypt in order to bring us to Sinai. As we prepare for the redemption, we must increase our Torah learning and our performance of mitzvot. We must raise our children with these important values. In this way we will fulfill the promise Moshe proclaimed to Pharaoh, "B'narein uv'zkeinu nelech." With our children and our elders we will go!

As soon as a Jew awakens in the morning, he should be filled with gratitude to Hashem for a new day with fresh opportunities for growth and achievement. Life is supposed to be challenging, but it doesn't mean living in fear. Hashem can give us olam habah without making this a world of horrors. However, we shouldn't think life will be easy and peaceful just because we deserve it. Our mitzvot should be an expression of thanks to Hashem for uplifting us and giving us so much.

Joy comes from closeness to Hashem. We can express gratitude by using our gifts to bring us nearer to Him. The people who are least happy are the ones who destroy their own lives through kinah, taavah, and kavod (envy, the pursuit of prestige, and desire). Learning and gaining inspiration take us out of the web of these evil vices.

There's no moment in a person's life that Hashem's goodness isn't upon him. The gift of life itself is an enormous benefit. It's easy to get lost in the maze of everyday living. Yet from time to time we must stop and question ourselves, "What am I doing? How am I doing it? Am I getting to where I want to go?"

There's nothing in this world that isn't a recipient of His goodness. The more one looks beyond the surface of the natural world, the more one can see the intricacy and the enormous compassion of the Creator. This should lead to ahavat Hashem and bitachon.

We are a part of the unending continuum of Hashem's giving. He can guard us from tragedy just as he can confront us with tragedy if it is for our benefit.

Watching history as it accelerates can get us on a Messianic high, thinking the redemption is going to happen soon. When it doesn't, it becomes harder to awaken that hope. Everything really depends on our readiness and willingness. The Rambam tells us that we don't have to be perfect, we just need to desire to change. This can happen at any moment. The more disillusioned people are with falsity, the more they want to recognize truth when they see it. Mashiach could come today the same way all sorts of "impossibilities" happened in a very short time. There's no such thing as impossible or unexpected. We just need to be open and willing to change.

In Parshat Chayei Sarah the pasuk says,"Va'Hashem beirach et Avraham bakol." Hashem blessed Avraham with everything. The Ramban explains that the result of Avraham's long and fruitful life was that Hashem blessed him with a certain level of consciousness called bakol, the ability to see Him in all things. Battling your desires and sublimating your ego opens you to see Hashem in everything

Rashi explains that bakol refers to a daughter. A woman's role is to build with the materials her husband provides. Hashem empowered Avraham to take the attribute of seeing Hashem in all things, kol, and act upon it.

There are obstacles that keep us from perceiving Him. On the outside we see things that are meant to challenge and move us forward. We respond by wondering where Hashem is because we don't see the whole picture and we don't think it's good. We are blinded by our internal limitations and the obstructions created by our desires and ego. When Mashiach comes, he'll take away all these obstacles. He'll open the curtains, so we see can see the light that was there all along. The prosperity of the times of Mashiach as described in the books of the Prophets means we will perceive Hashem in the physical world without being challenged by impurity. In the future, the Almighty will uproot the evil inclination from the hearts of the people so that our inner obstacles will disintegrate. Every one of us will know Hashem. .

Expect to be surrounded by Hashem's kindness and you'll learn to see it. "V'habotech b'Hashem chesed yisovivenu." One who trusts Hashem will be engulfed by His kindness. Really trusting Hashem means doing things that aren't to your immediate benefit in this world. It means being unafraid of opposition, not only from the inside but also from the outside. It requires letting go of being so busy with all the nonsense and vanity of this world and making Torah our priority. All this demands a lot of trust. It's like a circle. Trust breeds trust and in that sense chesed will surround us.

The Gemara tells us that the word Amen has several connotations: affirming that the blessing is true, and expressing hope that the blessing will materialize. One's intent while answering Amen will be different depending on the content of each bracha.

For some brachot we only have the first intention in mind, while for others we have the second intention in mind. Some brachot require both intentions. The middle blessings of the Amidah from Ata Chonen through Hamachzir Shechinato and the blessing of Sim Shalom are requests which necessitate both intentions. Kaddish, a prayer for the future, requires the second intention while Hagomel requires the first intention.

One who is in the middle of Pesukei D'zimra can answer Amen to any bracha. The blessings of Kriat Shema are more stringent. One can answer Amen yehei shmei rabbah and amen after d'amiran b'alma in Kaddish and, in Kedusha, the phrases that begin with Kadosh and Baruch. One can respond to Barchu and answer Amen to Hakel hakadosh and Shomea tefilah. Other interruptions are prohibited.

If one wants to fulfill his obligation with someone else's bracha he shouldn't answer Baruch hu u'varoch shemo. Additionally, the one making the bracha must be obligated in the mitzvah. For example, a boy below bar mitzvah can't be motzi an adult. Additionally, the person reciting has to have intent to be motzi others and the person listening has to have intent to be yotze with the person reciting. According to the Shulchan Aruch, if someone is relying on someone else's bracha, he must understand its meaning in order to fulfill his obligation. The common practice is to follow the lenient opinion. Nonetheless, you should at least try to familiarize yourself with the basic content of the Kiddush and Havdalah.

It is proper to enunciate Amen slowly, not truncating the aleph and not swallowing the nun. One should be careful not to answer Amen prior to the end of the bracha. This is called an Amen chatufah. One should answer immediately as waiting too long can result in an Amen yetoma. Ideally one should answer Amen toch kdei dibur, within the time it takes to say Shalom alecha rebbi u'mori. If there are people still answering Amen to the bracha one can still answer too.

It is proper not to answer Amen louder than the person reciting the bracha as it says in Tehilim, "Gadlu l'Hashem iti unremoma shemo yachdav." Declare the greatness of Hashem with me and let us exalt his name together.

One doesn't answer Amen after one's own bracha. The exception is Uvne yerushalayim in Birkat hamazon, which distinguishes between the first three brachot of bentching which are from the Torah and the fourth bracha which is of rabbinic origin. If a person recites one bracha and the chazzan recites a different one and both conclude simultaneously, the person can answer Amen to the chazzan's bracha. If both finish the same bracha at the same time, the common Ashkenazic practice is not to answer Amen. The exceptions are Yishtabach and Shomer Yisrael l'ad and the bracha concluding Hallel where one does answer Amen. This is because these brachot represent the conclusion of a series of brachot.

Question:

Our sages taught so many lessons. How does a person decide which of the many lessons to adapt to life? I find that while these values are inspiring, I'm never sure how far to take them.

Answer:

Go for the maximum. Life is short. If you have the money, time and space, open ten gemachim. Only you know what your limits are. If we only knew the value of the good acts we performed, we would invest everything we had.

There is a famous parable about a man who was given a sack and told to put in as many gems as he wanted. Of course, he stuffed it with as many stones as he could carry. Life is short. Obviously we have needs such as sleeping, eating, and occasional breaks. But idealizing those breaks as the goal in life means idealizing death. The people who use every minute to its fullest are the ones who are the most happy and fulfilled.

If what's driving you isn't the desire to pick up gems, but to vie with some invisible or visible person, stop. Don't try to rival anyone. Compete with the time and abilities Hashem gave you and maximize that to the limit.