How To Merit A Miracle (It's Not Easy)

0:04How can a person merit a miracle? I think we explained it in the videos that people had publicized themselves for our campaign, people that made a major sacrifice to support. The kiruv that we do is enough for Hashem to consider it significant, and therefore, we receive miracles. Usually, when it came to the support that people gave, they donated much more than they typically do, even when it was painful or difficult for them to contribute. For most of them, it was a substantial amount of money. And sometimes there really was a lot of money. But the point is that a miracle doesn't come for free. Most people think that Hashem works for them, so they think they want miracles for free. Oh Rabbi, give me a blessing. I can give you a blessing, but the blessing's strength will depend on your actions, not mine. The strength of the blessing depends on your actions. And many times people get blessings, but the blessings don't work, and it's not necessarily the Rabbi's fault.

1:20Many times it's the person's fault. They don't realize it. And I think that the problem that people have when it comes to getting blessings is that they are looking for an easy one. They're looking for a quick one, like one, two, three. Like, let me just get a quick blessing. I remember I went to a... I was in some synagogue, like nine years ago. And there was a speaker, who came to speak. And it was a good speaker. And after... And the speaker, part of his discussion, mentioned some type of segula, where... They're looking for an easy one. They're looking for a quick one, like one, two, three. Like, let me just get a quick blessing. I remember I went to a... I was in some synagogue, like nine years ago. And there was a speaker who came to speak. It was a good speaker. And after the speaker finished, as part of his talk, he mentioned some type of segula, where... if you there is a connection to an acronym that is specific, and that's also something that you'll see in other places, but the point is that this rabbi illustrated this.

2:35that how this could be used for you to get more money, more blessing, and obviously oversimplified it. And, uh, I remember after the lecture, the guy that was sitting next to me, nice guy, but, you know, it’s like, "See, see, that’s the type of stuff I like. I want more of that stuff. How do I get more of those things? Where can I get more?" It’s actually the rabbi’s fault more than it is the person’s fault. Like he oversimplified it, making people think that if you think about these three letters, then you're just gonna get a lot of money no matter what. But at the same token, the other guy is the guy that says, "I want more of that." He's actually much more common than you might think. Most people are like him. Most people treat the Torah like a book of, "What could I do to just get what I want? Which button do I press, which, you know, number do I call? What's the least amount of effort I could exert in order to get the maximum return? What's the minimum I can give in order to, uh..." And that's the problem. The Torah specifically tells us...

3:54In the maaseh of the building of the Mishkan, where Moshe Rabbeinu told the people to donate whatever was in their hearts, that's what Hashem instructed them to do. The leaders waited until everyone else donated because they intended to donate the rest of what was missing. So, let's say $100 million was needed. If everybody else donates $20 million, we'll donate the rest of the $80 million. Sounds like a nice thing to do, right? Hashem rebuked them for it and said it was wrong. Why no good? Don't look at what everyone else is doing and then say, oh, no, no, I'll fill in the gap. You give the most you can, and perhaps others can fill in the gap. So let's say $100 million was needed. If everybody else donates $20 million, we'll donate the rest of the $80 million. Sounds like a nice thing to do, right? Hashem rebuked him for it, saying, "It's wrong what you did. No good. Why no good? Don't look at what everybody else is doing and then say, 'Oh, no, no, I'll fill in the gap.' You give the most you can. And maybe other people can fill in the gap." but you go jump out there into the water. Don't wait to see what everybody else does. If Hashem asked you to do that, then you go do as much as your heart desires. If you have a desire to give 80 million, go give 80 million. If you desire to give 5 million, give 5 million. Don't wait for everybody else. That's the problem; a lot of people want to get out with a discount or a deal.

5:18The least amount of effort, the least amount of this, put it this way: I can tell you this. If you're not giving maaser to support kiruv, to support the Torah, you're already in a situation where you're financially, in a spiritual sense, unhealthy. That's number one. Two, when it comes to getting miracles... Miracles are expensive. Not necessarily expensive in money because sometimes people don't have any money, yet they receive big miracles. Well, I had plenty of miracles before there was any money in my pocket. It's not about the money, but they're expensive when it comes to mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice). Sacrifice has to be made. Sometimes the sacrifice for a person is not going to come from money. It's going to come from time or something else. Why? Because HaKadosh Baruch Hu (the Holy One, Blessed be He) says... Love Hashem your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your might, and with all of your money. So with all of your heart that means, okay, I love Hashem; He's my only God. Great.

6:40My dedication by fighting idolatry shows my dedication by fighting heresy. Okay, I love with my heart; that's mesirat nefesh. Are you engaged in mesirat nefesh? You go fight against idolatry and missionaries, even if that means you're going to get kicked out of the kehillah. Even if that means you're going to have to move to a different community, even if that means people call you a fanatic. Okay, with mesirat nefesh, miracles came after that. Then, you have sanctified your life. To put your life on the line. What does it mean to put your life on the line? Does it mean you have to go look for a Roman to fight them? No, it means you have to make your life about Hashem. Make your life about Hashem - your time, your effort, everything you possibly can - make your life about Hashem. a person does that to the maximum, they'll see, they'll see that Hashem is observing you. You pass the check mark, then money, why is money next? Why? Okay, life, I can understand, heart I understand, but why money? It says that that's because there are some people that value their money more than their life. Just today, just today, I got a message

8:07Somebody was having heart problems and did not want to call the hospital. Why? They didn't want to pay a thousand-dollar fee for the ambulance to come. Maybe you're saying that you're dying, or you're feeling like it's a heart attack, but it's expensive. say oh, there were two stories like that in the last week—two stories like that in the last week more or less the same. Why? Because there are people for whom money is much more valuable than their life. Now, this is not just about the hospital. I have people that would ask me a question about buying a second house or remodeling their own house. Oh, I have, uh, this—I'll need to spend 500,000, 50,000, 30,000—you know, large sums of money. Now you would think the people that tell you, "I have to spend 500,000 or 50,000 or 20,000," you know, for extras...

9:29mutter not for I need to spend 50,000 for heart surgery, and um, you know, no talk about it for mutter, for extras making the kitchen nicer, getting a bigger house, getting a nicer house, that's called mutter. That's extra; it's more than you need. So you would think that somebody that asks questions about what to do with all these extras would also think that this... is complement with this person also giving extras, giving a lot. So if you're gonna buy a $500,000 house, I would expect that you should be able to donate $10,000, $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, or $50,000. If you're going to get a kitchen that's fifty thousand dollars, you should easily be able to give ten or fifteen thousand dollars. why is it that if your life has improved because you've learned Torah, because you watch the shiurim (Torah lectures) that help your life, and because of all of the things that you're watching and learning from, but you value your kitchen more than you value the teachings, not only does that mean that you're an ungrateful person?

10:49but that means that you truly don't understand the value of what you're getting, and therefore, you're never truly going to get the full value of what you're receiving. And that's the problem many times; people want miracles at a discount. You know how many people contacted me over the last month with the question, "I want more miracles. Can you bless me?" How do I get more miracles? Can you bless me? Emails like this: "Listen, Rabbi, I need to get married this week. Can you just give me a blessing? I'm tired of being alone. I saw all those videos. I don't want to get married this year." It doesn't work that way. Listen, I donate to you. This is the best one: "I donate to you each month. And also, I donate to a couple of other rabbis. You know, I take on and off." You're not understanding the stories. You're not understanding the stories. Each one of these people, who had completely different stories, had one common denominator: what they did to support our organization was above and beyond what they do anywhere else. They made a sacrifice.

12:06much more than normal, much more than anything else they do anywhere else. And if you're telling me, "Okay, yeah, I donate here, but I also donate over there," I'm not responsible for whatever you're donating somewhere else. So even if you're donating your ma'aser or your chomesh, but five percent goes to us, or twenty percent goes to us, and eighty percent goes somewhere else. don't expect to get from that five or ten percent what these people are getting from their hundred percent, and that's what people don't understand. It's not me; it's you; it's your actions. It has to do with you. I do my part. I work non-stop. I try to help people non-stop. We produce an endless amount of Torah. We give books for free. We help poor people. It's the greatest organization in the world. It's literally, one of the people asked for a blessing from Rabbi Ephraim the other day during a shiur. Please, Rabbi Amir, he's one of the people that comes back to, you know, watch the shiurim. Rabbi, give me a good blessing. So Rabbi Ephraim says to him, I wish you to have a very strong connection to the organization B'ezrat Hashem. And the reason why is because he says, that's the best blessing I could ever give you.

13:23It's an organization that's constantly making more sound efforts and sacrifices everything for the sake of Am Yisrael. You'll have other ones; I don't know them. Maybe they exist, and I hope they exist. The point that I'm telling you is that people think, "Oh, yeah, but I like the way you speak, and I like the way this other rabbi speaks. So, I give some to you, and I give some to him." Great, but I'm not taking responsibility for that. I I don't know what the other Rabbi does. I don't know what this other organization does with their money. I know what we do. The greatest investment that a person can possibly make is to invest as much as possible into Kiruv Rechokim. Hi, everyone. Be'ezrat Hashem, the Rosh Hashanah campaign will be starting soon, and I wanted to share my experiences with it. Hi, my name is Shmuel Levy. Shalom everyone, my name is Yonatan. My name is Moshe, and I've been a contributor to Rabbi Yaron Reuven and Rabbi Ephraim Kachlon's Rosh Hashanah campaign since the start of my teshuvah. Over the last couple of years, I was fortunate enough to partner with them during this campaign. I have seen protection from the Almighty and blessings for my family.

14:38about the organization Bezrat Hashem is they're very, very clear on where the money is going. I just wanted to give a short video and tell everyone who has personally seen and experienced the miracles and the blessings that Hashem has given me and my family since I've started supporting Bezrat Hashem. My mother's cancer went into remission, and my wife's pregnancy was easy, resulting in the delivery of healthy babies. I've witnessed many miracles and blessings. I found a wife, had two amazing kids, and experienced an increase in parnassah. I would like to encourage everyone to become a partner with this organization. if you contribute to this campaign, because there aren't many like this that give so much to Am Yisrael. And I truly believe one of the biggest reasons is because of supporting B'ezrat Hashem and receiving a personal blessing. What B'ezrat Hashem does is it makes you into a real, authentic Jew according to the Torah. Because once you understand Hashem, once you know Hashem, and you understand why things happen in the world, why things happen in your life, this is the biggest wealth that one can acquire.

15:46And this is the kind of wealth that no money in the world can buy. Only the performance of mitzvot and the study of Torah can buy you that. And I really invite everyone and ask that everyone participate for their sake, for the sake of Am Yisrael, and obviously for the sake of the world. I urge you to open up your heart, open up your wallet, and support this incredible cause by donating. You're not only helping others, but you're also opening the door to divine blessings in your own life by really setting Hashem's children on the right track. Let's make a difference together, one person at a time. Thank you, and may Hashem bless all the sponsors and help the B'ezrat Hashem organization grow.