Bardichever Rebbe
When a musician places his fingers on his instrument, the audience leans in and whispers, “Look! He’s about to play music!” In the very same way, when a Yid runs his fingers through his Tzitzis as he prepares to put them on, the Malachim and Serafim gather in awe and proclaim, “Look! This Yid is about to make a brocha on the Mitzvah of Tzitzis!”
Tzanzer Rebbe
Never underestimate the power of even a small amount of Torah to nourish the soul. As the passuk says, “יקח נא מעט מים” – “Take, please, a little bit of water,” “ורחצו רגליהם” – “and wash yourselves with it.” Even a little bit of Torah can quench the thirst of the neshama for connection to Hashem!
Bardichever Rebbe
The Bardichever Rebbe once visited a shul where a man stood to deliver a drasha. He described the tragedies facing Klal Yisrael; this person had died, that person had died, and so on. Eventually, he had the whole room in tears as he screamed out that if the Yidden would have davened better, none of this would have happened. He then proceeded to speak about gehennim.
After he finished, the Bardichever Rebbe rose and addressed the crowd: “Do we think Hashem created the world to bring us pain? Hashem is entirely good and filled with compassion!” He then shared words of chizuk, love, and comfort, gradually lifting the spirits in the room until they were filled with simcha and emunah.
Rav Itcha Meyer Morgenstern
In the above story, the problem with the drasha was that it attempted to awaken a form of Yiras Hashem that had no foundation to stand on. It was a purely external form of Yirah. The Bardichever Rebbe was demonstrating that authentic Yiras Hashem must stand on the recognition that Hashem’s Presence fills the entire world and that He is purely good and compassionate. Hashem wants us to have Yiras Hashem that grows out of our Ahavas Hashem!
Sparks of Berditchov
The very first mitzvah in the Torah is the mitzvah of having children, which symbolizes the power of renewal and the birth of new life. The Torah is teaching us that the starting point to a life of Torah and mitzvos is having the ability to completely renew oneself and start again after experiencing a spiritual setback.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 38.