Q:
Why do you oppose the study of secular subjects? Didn’t the Vilna Gaon study secular subjects?
A:
I didn’t mention secular subjects at all tonight. I did not mention it at all, so I’m innocent. However, on the question of secular subjects, there’s no question at all that knowledge of secular subjects comes in handy. No question at all; very handy. The problem however is where to get it from; that’s something else.
Rabbi Avigdor Miller, TAPE # 60
The Machpeilah Cave is the burial site of Adam and Eve, the first human beings; as such, it originally belonged to all humanity. In purchasing it, Abraham articulated G‑d’s intention that the mission originally given to humanity as a whole now be passed on to the Jewish people. By accepting this task, the Jewish people were fundamentally separating themselves from the rest of humanity and assuming the role of its mentors. It is our challenge to recognize this destiny today, as well. (Lubavitcher Rebbe, Daily Wisdom, Chayei Sara, First Reading)
Rav Avigdor Miller on The Kindness of Teshuva
Q:
Considering what you spoke about tonight, that our acts in this world are eternal, so what role does repentance play in our life? Does it reverse the act we did?
A:
The question is, in view of the fact that a person’s act is eternal how can teshuva reverse the deeds of wickedness?
Now, that you have to know is a very big problem. And that’s why teshuva is considered one of the great kindlinesses of Hashem. It’s a great chesed and a great neis. Teshuva means that Hashem is going to step into the process of history and He’s going to cause things to disappear from history.
Now that’s something that is beyond our ability to explain. That’s why when we say ברוך אתה השם הרוצה בתשובה – We thank You Hashem, the One who wants repentance, we have to understand the full impact of that blessing. That You Hashem are willing to accept teshuva! You are the One who makes teshuva because You erase the stain that we created on our souls. And it’s something that nobody can explain. Only that it’s one of the great miracles that Hakodosh Boruch Hu accomplishes and therefore we should appreciate how great is the kindness of teshuva.
TAPE # 378
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By studying the Torah regularly, we construct a “Tabernacle,” i.e., a dwelling for G‑d, in our personal lives. By commanding the Jewish people to encamp around the Tabernacle, G‑d teaches us that we should center our lives around this inner sanctuary. The innermost point of the Tabernacle was the Ark, which housed the Tablets of the Covenant, i.e., the Torah. When the Torah is the focal point around which our lives revolve, it can positively affect all facets of our lives, as it is meant to. Furthermore, once the Torah is illuminating and influencing our lives as it is meant to, its influence can spread still further outward, enlightening and refining all humanity and the entire world. (Lubavitcher Rebbe, Daily Wisdom, p. 429).
(Lubavitcher Rebbe, Daily Wisdom, p. 429).
Man must worship his Creator not only out of a feeling of absolute decree and coercion but also out of spontaneous variegated desire and aspiration which gladdens the heart. The Torah commands us to serve God with joy, with longing and yearning, enjoyment and happiness, unfettered pleasure, and the soul's delight. When man does not see God and sense His presence at every turn; when he thinks of God only out of fear of punishment, with a cool intellect, without ecstasy, joy or enthusiasm; when his actions lack soul, inwardness and vitality, then his religious life is flawed. At the same time, if man is not always aware of God, if he does not walk with God in all his ways and paths, if he does not sense God's touch on his stooped shoulders in times of distress and loneliness imparting a certain comfort and encouragement, the his service is likewise incomplete. (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, And From There You Shall Seek in Mesorat HaRav Siddur, p. 77)
