בס״ד
Weekly Parshaha
Adar 1, 5785 - Saturday, March 1, 2025
Parashat Terumah - More Doesn’t Always Mean Better: Finding Joy in What You Have1
The Parable of the Farmer and His Field
Imagine a man who inherits a piece of land. Excited for his future, he plants wheat seeds and waters them just as needed. With God’s help, he is blessed with success—the field produces a beautiful, bountiful harvest.
The following year, as planting season approaches, he reflects on his past experience and makes a calculation: If I received such an abundant harvest by watering the field this much, surely if I double the amount of water, I’ll yield twice as much wheat!
So he spares no effort, flooding the field with water, far beyond what he had done the year before. But instead of doubling his harvest, disaster strikes. The excess water causes the seeds to rot. Not only does his field fail to produce twice the wheat, it produces nothing at all.
Only then does he realize his mistake. A field needs the right amount of water. no more, no less. More water doesn’t mean more wheat. Sometimes, too much of a good thing is not a blessing, but a curse.
And so it is in life. Many people believe that if only they had more, more money, more success, more possessions then they would be happier. But, just like the farmer who drowned his own field, they fail to see that abundance without balance does not always lead to prosperity. In fact, it can lead to ruin.
Adar – Learning About Happiness
Our sages teach us that when the month of Adar begins, we increase in simcha, we increase in joy. But what does that mean? Does it mean we just wake up and force ourselves to be happy? What if we don’t feel happy? What if we look
around and say, "I don’t have good fortune! How can I possibly increase my joy?"
To understand this, we first have to recognize where sadness comes from. A person who feels lacking is naturally sad. When someone believes they deserve more, more wealth, more comfort, more status, and they don’t have it, it eats away at them. They feel cheated. Their entire outlook darkens.
But the Torah gives us a different definition of wealth: "Who is rich? One who is happy with his lot."2
True happiness isn’t about having more. It’s about appreciating what you already have. The work of Adar, the secret to increasing joy, is not about chasing more. It's about learning to be content, to realize that whatever portion you have in life is exactly what is meant for you. It is perfect as it is.
And modern psychology proves this to be true.
The Lottery Winners vs. Paraplegics Study
In 1978, psychologists Philip Brickman, Dan Coates, and Ronnie Janoff-Bulman conducted a fascinating study that illustrates this concept.
They compared two very different groups of people:
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Lottery winners—who had suddenly gained enormous wealth.
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Paraplegics—who had recently suffered devastating accidents leading to paralysis.
The researchers wanted to understand how these major life events impacted long-term happiness.
At first, the lottery winners experienced a huge spike in happiness—after all, they had just become rich! But over time, their happiness returned to its baseline level. Some even reported feeling less joy in everyday life than before.
Meanwhile, the paraplegics suffered an initial drop in happiness, but something surprising happened: as time passed, their happiness also returned to baseline.
Many of them adapted to their new reality and even found meaning in life despite their circumstances.
What does this tell us? That happiness isn’t about what happens to us—it’s about what happens inside us. External circumstances, whether wealth or hardship, do not determine long-term happiness. Perspective does.
This is precisely what the Torah has been teaching for thousands of years: "Who is rich? The one who is happy with his lot!"
The Morning Life Lesson from Coffee
And to reinforce this lesson, we have a simple, everyday reminder—the first thing we do in the morning.
It is customary to begin the day by reciting the blessing “Shehakol Nihiyah Bidvaro", “that everything came into being by His word", over a cup of coffee.
Think about coffee for a moment. It is made from boiling hot water and cold milk, from sweet sugar and naturally bitter coffee. It is a perfect blend of contrasts.
And that is life. Sometimes life is warm, sometimes it is cold. Sometimes it is sweet, sometimes it is bitter. But every morning, as we sip our coffee and recite that blessing, we are reminded: It is all by the word of God.
Everything in life, the good and the bad, the easy and the hard, the things we understand and the things we don’t, is perfectly designed for us.
So as we enter Adar, let us take this lesson to heart. Let’s stop searching for happiness out there and start cultivating it inside. Because true joy comes not from having more, but from appreciating what we already have.
And that is the greatest wealth of all.
Shabbat Shalom!
1 Adapted from Be’er Haparasha - Terumah 5785
2 Avot 4,1
Shevat 24, 5785 - Saturday, February 22, 2025
Parasha Mishpatim- Counting What Matters: Lessons from a Baron and a Dog1
Baron Abraham Edmond Rothschild once sought an accountant for his business. He advertised the position, and a flood of candidates arrived.
The first interviewee stepped in, and the Baron asked, “Do you feel worthy of this job?”
“Of course!” the man replied confidently.
“Let’s put that to the test,” said the Baron, beginning his questioning. “How much is 10 + 10?”
“20,” the man answered swiftly.
“How much is 20 + 20?”
“40,” he responded without hesitation.
The Baron continued, each question doubling the previous number. The man kept answering correctly, but after several rounds, the Baron shook his head. “I don’t think you’re the right fit.” The puzzled candidate left.
One by one, others entered and left just as confused. Until a wise Jew stepped in.
The Baron asked, “How much is 10 + 10?”
The man stood up, calmly closed the slightly open door, shut the windows, drew the blinds, and then sat down. Looking the Baron in the eye, he asked, “How much would you like 10 + 10 to be?”
He got the job on the spot.
In this week’s parasha, we learn a remarkable mitzvah2: If an animal from your flock is killed by a predator, you may not eat it. It must be given to the dog.
Our sages explain that this is a reward. The dog guards the flock, and though it may have failed this time, it has faithfully protected them until now and will continue to do so. Instead of dwelling on the failure, we recognize all the good it has done3.
And this is exactly what the wise Jew in the Baron’s story understood. Life is not just about cold calculations; it’s about how we choose to see our outcomes. Some look at failure and see defeat. Others, like that wise Jew, choose to shape their own perspective.
The Torah teaches us to do the same. We will all face challenges. We will all make mistakes. But instead of fixating on where we’ve fallen short, we must learn to see all the good we’ve done and will continue to do.
Imagine a world where we measured ourselves not by our failures but by our efforts and successes. Imagine how much joy and confidence we would have!
Let’s be like that wise Jew choosing to see our challenges with perspective and resilience. Let’s work on embracing this Torah mindset for ourselves, our families, and our communities.
Shabbat Shalom!
1 Adapted from Be’er Haparasha - Mishpatim תשעו
2 Perek 22 Passuk 30
3 From the Sefer “Yismach Yehudah”
Shevat 17, 5785 - Saturday, February 15, 2025
Parasha Yitro -
When Hearing Becomes Action: The Connection between Yitro & Nicholas Winton
In December 1938, as the world was on the brink of war, a young British stockbroker named Nicholas Winton had planned a ski trip to Switzerland. But fate had other plans. A desperate phone call from a friend changed everything. "Cancel your vacation, Nick. Come to Prague. You need to see what’s happening here."
Intrigued and unsettled, Winton boarded a train to Czechoslovakia. What he saw upon arrival shook him to his core. Thousands of Jewish families were trapped, their futures uncertain as Nazi forces loomed closer. Parents begged, pleaded, and clung to the hope that someone—anyone—would help save their children.
The world knew what was happening. Reports of Hitler’s growing aggression were in newspapers. Politicians debated policies. People shook their heads, and said their sympathies, and moved on. But Winton was different. He didn’t just hear. He understood the urgency and accepted the responsibility as his own.
Without any formal authority, he sprang into action. He set up an office in his hotel room, drafting lists of children in need of rescue. When governments refused visas, he forged documents. When obstacles arose, he outmaneuvered them. He bribed officials, worked day and night, and persuaded British families to take in children they had never met.
Train by train, he smuggled them out 669 children, each one plucked from the jaws of death. And then, when war erupted, the final train—carrying 250 more children—was stopped. The Nazis had sealed the borders. Those children were never seen again.
For decades, Winton never spoke of his heroism. The documents of his operation sat in an old briefcase, forgotten, until his wife discovered them in 1988. When the world finally learned of what he had done, he was invited to a television show, where he unknowingly sat among the very children he had saved—now adults with families of their own. When the host asked "Is there anyone in this room who owes their life to Nicholas Winton?", dozens stood. Winton, a man who had always worked in silence, broke down in tears.
What did Yitro hear that was so special? The sages tell us that he heard about the miraculous crossing of the Yam Suf and the war with Amalek. But these were not hidden events—the entire world heard about them. So what made Yitro different?
Unlike others who acknowledged the news and moved on, Yitro truly listened. He didn’t just hear—he understood and accepted the deeper meaning behind these events. He recognized Hashem’s presence in the world and acted upon that realization.
This is the essence of Shema Yisrael—to 1) hear, 2) understand, and 3) accept that Hashem is the one true God. Many of Yitro’s peers had access to the same knowledge, but only he internalized it and transformed his life because of it.
The greatest lesson from Yitro is that hearing alone is not enough. We must have the wisdom to understand and the courage to act. True hearing leads to transformation.
Shabbat Shalom!