The verse in Tehilim states, "Kol kevuda bat melech pnima." The honor of the king's daughter is within. One of the names of the soul is kavod. A woman's kavod, her true essence, is her home.

The Gemara says, "Nothing is missing in the king's house." When a woman has a deep need, the possibility of receiving what she is lacking is there, by turning towards her husband and touching his desire to give. This will bring down bounty from Hashem.

In Tehilim it says, "Shimi bat u'ri v'hati ozneich." Listen daughter and see, incline your ears. The Alshich explains that a woman's soul stands before Hashem in heaven and He shows her the light and happiness that could be hers when she finds her mate. Hashem then tells her two things. She must look at her husband and regard him as a king, and incline her ear and listen to what he says. Her goal should be to fulfill his will and desires. She must forget the expectations she developed from observing her parental home. She's living a new chapter in her life. What she must receive from her husband is different than what her mother had to receive from her father.

Secure children are nurtured in a home where both parents turn towards Hashem and towards each other. A woman feels inner tranquility when she knows her husband cares about her needs. A husband feels at peace when he sees that what he gives is desired and appreciated and is used to build.

This kind of relationship is impossible unless the woman has emunah (faith) in Hashem. The Shechina is ultimately who she turns to. A husband is who he is. If she realizes he is giving what he can, and that she has to ask Hashem to give him more to give her, then everything is different. She doesn't have to struggle. She should give her husband permission to do that. Her job is to be vulnerable and to ask and this will bring down blessing.

The key element that makes us Jews is our faithfulness to Hashem, our turning only towards Him and not to other forces. We are called bnei brit, the children of the covenant. There is no end to our trust in our ability to receive from Hashem and this power to be faithful comes through the woman.

Parshat Naso discusses the sotah (the woman suspected of being unfaithful to her husband). The Torah tells us that if she was found guilty she died a horrific death. If she emerged innocent, she was blessed. This seems perplexing. Why was she rewarded for not being guilty?

The sages teach us that in the times of the beit hamikdash if a man refused to give his wife a divorce, the religious court was authorized to beat him until he capitulated. If the husband just said, "I will give a divorce," or, "All right I'll sign," it wasn't enough. He had to say, "I want to give her a divorce." The Rambam and other commentators ask, what validity does this coerced contract carry? The Rambam explains that the husband really wants to do right but he is trapped by his evil inclination. After the beating his true will is revealed.

Similarly in the case of the sotah, she was seized by her yetzer hara. If she could step back and review the situatino, she would certainly not compromise herself again. When she was proven innocent, it was a revelation of her true will. That moment of clarity, when she saw her real essence, was enough to make her into a receptacle of blessing.

May we discover our true will and accept the Torah fully and with love.

The Chafetz Chaim writes that if you hire two workers and you only have enough money to pay one, you must pay the more impoverished worker first. This is hinted at in the Torah, which mentions the word ani (a poor person) in connection with the commandment of paying a worker on time.

If both workers are equally poor and one of them is a relative, the relative does not take precedence. If you don't have enough money to pay both of them, you must split the money you do have between them. Then when you have the rest of the money, you can make it up to them.

If you hired a worker the day before and could not pay him on time and then you hired a second worker the next day and you now have a chance to pay him on time, which worker takes precedence? Jewish law dictates that one should pay the second one first to in order to avoid violating bal talin again.

You shouldn't hire a worker if you know you won't be able to pay him, unless the worker agrees to wait. If the minhag hamakom (custom) is that a worker gets paid on the pay day determined by the employer, then you can hire a worker and not pay him right away because it's assumed that the worker has agreed to be paid later.

If you hire a worker and you know you will not be present on pay day, you should set aside money to pay him so the money's there when the work is completed.

One who holds back the wages of a worker is considered as if he has killed him. The Alshich says that one must be very careful in this matter. If a worker who hasn't been paid returns home to his hungry family and they cry out to Hashem, He will listen to them because He hears the prayers of those who suffer. Not only has the employer then violated bal talin and gezel (stealing) but also lifnei ivir (not placing a stumbling block), because he has caused Jews to pray to Hashem to hurt another Jew

The Arizal says that whoever fulfills the mitzvah of paying a worker on time receives great reward in this world too. This is in addition to the reward awaiting him in the world to come. This is hinted to in the verse, "B'yomo titen secharo." On that day you shall pay his wages. The first letters are bet, taf, shin, which spell Shabbat. When a Jew keeps Shabbat he receives a neshama yeteira (an extra soul). This also occurs when a person pays his workers on time.

One should set the price before the work begins to avoid questions of gezel. It's very common for a worker to argue over compensation. Even if he forgives you to avoid further argument, deep down he may not forgive you completely and there may be a question of dishonesty.

In the event a set price wasn't established, the wage is calculated according to the norm. It is very hard to calculate exactly what that is, and if you pay your worker less it could be gezeila. If you want to avoid this, you'll have to end up giving more. Therefore, one should always set the price first. A Torah scholarshould be extra careful to do this in order to avoid a chilul Hashem (profaning Hashem's name).

In order to reach the lofty heights of yirat shamayim (fear of Heaven), one must first acquire the attributes of zehirat (watchfulness), nekiut (cleanliness), tahara (purity), and perishut (asceticism).

There are two levels of yirat shamayim, yirat ha'onesh and yirat ha'romemut. Yirat ha'onesh is fear of retribution. This is easier to reach than yirat ha'romemut (fear of His exaltedness), because man loves himself so much that he doesn't want to hurt himself. This is only the first level.

Learning Torah or performing mitzvot in order to get reward or avoid punishment is called lo lishma. Doing so without thought of remuneration or punishment is termed lishma. Torah and mitzvot must begin shelo lishma. The beauty of Torah is then revealed through practicing it.

The second level is yirat ha'romemut. After a person has distanced himself from sin, he won't be able to bring himself to go against the will of Hashem. This is no longer simple yirah. It requires knowledge, intelligence and love to contemplate the majesty and greatness of Hashem.

The Shaarei Teshuva explains daaga (worry) on three levels. The first level is due to fear of punishment. The second level is worrying that even if one has already repented, the yetzer hara may come back again. The third level is fearing that maybe one didn't repent completely.

Rav Solomon explains that the purpose of daaga is for a person to find a way to avoid punishment. The mitzvot he will do will be instead of retribution. If a person adds to his Torah learning at the expense of enjoying the pleasures of this world, it's a form of atonement. Taking money he would have spent on luxuries and instead giving it to charity is also a form of suffering. Eat less, relax less, limit your desires, and devote more time to Torah and mitzvot. These are the best ways to achieve atonement.

Yirat ha'romemut relates to performing mitzvot. It's trembling before the honor of Hashem. Yirat ha'onesh is not just fearing sin when the yetzer hara tells you to transgress, but worrying all the time about going against Hashem's will. Then a person will always be careful as it says, "Ashrei hadam mefached tamid." Happy is the man who always fears.

May we be inspired to elevate ourselves to greater levels of yirat Hashem.