וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא יַעֲקֹב יֵאָמֵר עוֹד שִׁמְךָ כִּי אִם יִשְׂרָאֵל - The angel said 'You won't be called Yaakov anymore, from now on you're called Yisrael.’ (Bereishis 32:29) Asks the holy Rizhiner: If the name Yisrael is such a holy name, why don't we say אֱלֹקי אַבְרָהָם אֱלֹקי יִצְחָק וְאֱלֹקי ישראל - Especially since יעקב means עקב - when you're low. So every day by שמונה עשרה we should say אלוקי ישראל. So he answers that if you count the letters of אֱלֹקי אַבְרָהָם אֱלֹקי יִצְחָק וְאֱלֹקי יַעֲקֹב it comes out to 26 letters, and twenty-six is the gematria of the שם הוי׳ - the name of Hashem. So we don't want to add the name ישראל, because it would be one extra letter and it won't be Gematria the name of Hashem. Now, what does he mean by this? And that's what you always have to understand when you learn a Chassidish Sefer. You have to say "So what's the message?" And the answer is that every person has in himself an Eikev - a low part of himself. Eikev means a heel, so the name Yaakov means the lower part of your heel, and every single person has in himself that עקב part where he struggles. And when you stand before G-d, we're not interested in your ישראל - in your high parts, because it's not Gematria the name of Hashem - that doesn't touch G-d. You know how we connect to G-d? Through Yaakov, and that's the only way, that's the combination of how a person gets close to G-d, because when a person struggles and he says "Wow, I'm struggling" Then you know who you discover? You discover Hashem. Because you say "Look G-d, I'm struggling, help me out." King David said לוּלֵי ה' שֶׁהָיָה לָנוּ יֹאמַר נָא יִשְׂרָאֵל – If we wouldn't have to connect to G-d then we would say ישראל in the שמונה עשרה, but because we have to connect with Hashem, He taught us how to connect through our Eikev - through our Yaakov… 🔥 Rabbi Shimon Semp, Rosh Yeshiva Talpios inspires through bringing Jewish spiritual concepts, with Chassidic Torah teachings down to earth. Collecting anecdotes, sayings and Divrei Torah from Chabad, Breslav and other Hasidic masters and Rebbes. Listen and get inspired. Subscribe, Like, Share, write us a comment, and stay tuned for more! YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/Gaxm1v Twitter: https://twitter.com/torahspark Google+ https://goo.gl/dfZ1c0 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/torah.spark

Rabbi Shimon Semp, Rosh Yeshiva Talpios inspires through bringing Jewish spiritual concepts, with Chassidic Torah teachings down to earth. Collecting anecdotes, sayings, and Divrei Torah from Chabad, Breslav, and other Hasidic masters and Rebbes. Lis...
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0:21:39
12/03/2020

Rabbi Shimon Semp, Rosh Yeshiva Talpios inspires through bringing Jewish spiritual concepts, with Chassidic Torah teachings down to earth. Collecting anecdotes, sayings, and Divrei Torah from Chabad, Breslav, and other Hasidic masters and Rebbes. Lis...
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0:00:45
12/01/2017

Rabbi Shimon Semp, Rosh Yeshiva Talpios inspires through bringing Jewish spiritual concepts, with Chassidic Torah teachings down to earth. Collecting anecdotes, sayings, and Divrei Torah from Chabad, Breslav, and other Hasidic masters and Rebbes. Lis...
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11/28/2017

Sometimes your confronted by Eisav and life gets tough, and you can feel lost. Says R’ Nosson of Breslev: Yaakov Avinu made a space between all those flocks that he sent, וְרֶוַח תָּשִׂימוּ בֵּין עֵדֶר וּבֵין עֵדֶר - ‘Keep a space between one he...
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11/27/2017

Rabbi Shimon Semp, Rosh Yeshiva Talpios inspires through bringing Jewish spiritual concepts, with Chassidic Torah teachings down to earth. Collecting anecdotes, sayings, and Divrei Torah from Chabad, Breslav, and other Hasidic masters and Rebbes. Lis...
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11/26/2017

R’ Meilech Biderman shares a living strategy from the Sfas Emes: In the Torah, there are many spaces - a hefsek. That is usually a time to contemplate. But in the entire story of Yaakov Avinu’s trials and tribulations, there is no hefsek. You kno...
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12/15/2016

That inner voice that tells us "Nuu Ad Kan?! What did you do with your life until now??" That's bad thinking. The inner voice that says "let's go from now on forward!" That's good thinking "עד כאן" - דברי יצר הרע "מכאן ואילך" - דברי יצר טו...
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12/14/2016

There are many times where we lift our eyes to heaven and we say ‘Hashem, why is there so much evil in the world, what am I supposed to do when I see people doing something wrong?’ Yaakov Avinu said עִם לָבָן גַּרְתִּי - I lived in the house of th...
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12/13/2016

Rabbi Shimon Semp, Rosh Yeshiva Talpios inspires through bringing Jewish spiritual concepts, with Chassidic Torah teachings down to earth. Collecting anecdotes, sayings, and Divrei Torah from Chabad, Breslav, and other Hasidic masters and Rebbes. Lis...
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0:01:15
12/11/2016

"I will walk slowly... together with my tender children" No Jew will be left behind! 🔥...
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11/27/2015

Abraham gets sent away... לך לך מארצך וממולדתך Jacob gets sent back... שוב לארצך ולמולדתך...
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11/26/2015

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11/25/2015

It makes no sense, Yaakov has no choice but to divide his family into two camps... But then thanks Hashem saying: "for with my staff I crossed the Jordan ... And now I have become two camps" What's going on?...
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11/23/2015

It's very interesting, wouldn't you say that if somebody wins a fight he's called a winner? When Yakov Avinu wins a fight he's not called a winner which the Pasuk calls him a winner. The Pasuk says כי שרית עם אלקים ועם אנשים ותוכל, so he should h...
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12/07/2014

קָטֹנְתִּי מִכֹּל הַחֲסָדִים וּמִכָּל הָאֱמֶת אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ אֶת עַבְדֶּךָ כִּי בְמַקְלִי עָבַרְתִּי אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן הַזֶּה וְעַתָּה הָיִיתִי לִשְׁנֵי מַחֲנוֹת - ‘I am unworthy of all the kindness and faith that You have shown me. When I left home, ...
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12/02/2014

So Yakov Avinu sends Malochim, he sends messengers. He sends angels. Who does he send these angles to? To Eisav. You know, sometimes you have an Eisav in your life, and he's making your life miserable. He's just making you struggle, he wants to k...
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12/01/2014

וַיִּקְחוּ שְׁנֵי בְנֵי יַעֲקֹב שִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי אֲחֵי דִינָה אִישׁ חַרְבּוֹ וַיָּבֹאוּ עַל הָעִיר בֶּטַח וַיַּהַרְגוּ כָּל זָכָר - Two of Yaakov's sons, Shimon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took up their swords. They came to the city without arousing...
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11/15/2013

Anybody who's ever recovered from any serious problem will tell you that the first step was becoming humble, dethroning themselves from being G-d, and realize that they're helpless. קָטֹנְתִּי מִכֹּל הַחֲסָדִים וּמִכָּל הָאֱמֶת אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ אֶת...
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11/13/2013

Lavan had one thing really going for him, that whatever he did, whenever he lied, he did it with all the energy in the world; he lived his lie. I saw this gevaldig Chassidishe concept from the Chofetz chaim. He says, Yaakov Avinu told himself עִם ...
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11/12/2013

There's two times when the Torah says that somebody met an איש. One of them was Yaakov Avinu, וַיֵּאָבֵק אִישׁ עִמּוֹ - and Chazal say he was שרו של עשו. And then we have Yosef meeting an ‘Ish’, וַיִּמְצָאֵהוּ אִישׁ - and Chazal say he was מלאך גבריא...
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11/11/2013