Eikev

( והיה עקב… (ז:יב

Chazal call the time-period preceding yemos ha’Mashiach, Ikvesah d’Meshicha, the footheels of Mashiach.  The heel of the foot has very little sensation relative to the rest of the body.  The implication, then, of the term Ikvesah d’Meshicha, is that the people living in this time-period suffer with an acute lack of ability to feel.

(From Reb Ari Deifik)

(“ובו תדבק” (י:כ

In understanding what dveikus is, it is important to identify what it is not.  Imagine someone saying Az Yashir, for example, with a lot of excitement.  In the middle of his impassioned teffilah, someone steps on his toe.  He reacts to the pain and annoyance with anger.  Such a person was not in a state of dveikus ba’Hashem.  What exactly he was doing, I don’t know; but it certainly was not dveikus.

(From Reb Avrohom Rudner)

(“ולעבדו בכל לבבכם” (יא:יג) – “עבודה שהיא בלב וזו היא תפלה” (רש”י שם

“Rebbi impressed upon us the importance of davening with a minyan kavuah, and not to just daven wherever your feet take you on any given day.  He said, ‘Would anyone just wake up on Yom Kippur and daven wherever his feet take him?!  If one understands the importance of teffilah, it would be like that the whole year’.”

(From Reb Avrohom Rudner)

I would like to add that when I was in shiur, I remember Rebbi emphasizing this point particularly right before bein ha’zmanim, elaborating that having a set time for davening with a particular minyan, and davening early, is key to having a successful bein ha’zmanim.

(From the compiler)

“Baruch”, who knows what it means?  There are so many different approaches in the mefarshim.  But “atah”, everyone knows what that means!  Realize that you’re standing in front of the Aibishter.

(From Reb Meir Strobel)

Rebbi made it clear on numerous occasions that when it comes to derech avodah there is no definitive psak or one right way.  A talmid once posed to him the following question: Slobodka espoused an approach of recognizing the greatness inherent in man, and through that striving to actualize one’s latent abilities.  However, Novhardok vociferously insisted that it is the lowliness of man that must be emphasized for one to reach character perfection.  So, practically speaking, how do we hold?  Rebbi responded, “Whatever works for you!”

(From Reb Ari Deifik)

Provided courtesy of VayigdalMoshe.com