In the toichacha, it says “v’tam lorik kochachem.” Chazal teach that this hints to a case where a father marries off his daughter and gives her a lot of money. In a very sad situation, if the daughter passes away right after sheva brachos, the halacha initially was that the son-in-law keeps all the money. Rabeinu Tam made a new rule that in such a case, the money goes back to the father, because he never meant to give so much if this would happen. That is why he was called Rabeinu Tam, because he “fixed” the curse of “v’tam lorik.”
The famous Greek ruler Alexander Mokdon gave the Yidden a break from taxes during shmittah, since they were not earning money.
The sefer Mareh Hagadol says something amazing. If someone forgives people who owe him money during the shemittah year, Hashem will forgive all his aveiros on the next Yom Kippur, even things between people that usually need asking mechilah!
Are you heavier before you eat or after? In this week’s parsha, we learn about pledges given to hekdesh. The Gemara says that if someone promises to give his weight, he should weigh himself right away, even before eating. The Shita Mekubetzes explains that a person is actually heavier before eating, so he should not wait!
Tzachi looked out his window at all the fields around him. They were full of wheat, fruits, and vegetables. Only his field was empty. it was not being the only Shomer Torah in his area. People laughed at him during the shemittah year. They told him, “You will have nothing to eat!”
After shemittah, Tzachi went to buy seeds. The store owner told him, “Everything is sold out. The only thing left is celery, but it’s not a good idea to plant that. It’s not going to earn you much.”
Tzachi asked his rabbi, who asked Rav Elyashiv. The answer came back: if Tzachi has bitachon, there will be a special bracha even in celery.
Tzachi planted a whole field of celery. It grew tall and green, but people kept laughing at him.
Then one day, he got a phone call. There had been a very cold winter in Europe, and all their celery was ruined. There was now a huge demand for fresh celery. They told him, “We want to buy everything you have, for a lot of money!”
Tzachi clearly saw v’tzivisi es birchosi!
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 80.