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The following story is related by Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser shlit’a and illustrates how a Jew can merit unique Divine intervention if he or she stands up for what is right. The story took place in Eretz Yisroel and is about a poor bride named Rena who could not afford her own wedding gown and needed to resort to procuring one from a free-loan gemach organization. She did her research and found such an organization that had just what she was looking for. The problem was that it was in a distant city, and she would have to travel there if she wanted the gown.

Our Sages tell us that the name of an individual reflects his inner character and essence. It is what connects him to his spiritual nature, serving as the conduit that provides sustenance and nourishment to his soul. Therefore, the naming of a baby is a serious undertaking that involves great responsibility.

Reb Shmuel Strauss, a great-grandson of the Baal Shem of Michelstadt, lived in Karlsruhe, Germany, and managed a small bank that his father-in-law had founded. From the start, it was evident that Reb Shmuel possessed unrivaled business acumen. As a man of integrity, many entrusted their entire savings to him, enabling him to support his family in comfort.

 It’s easy to accuse someone else of being defensive.

It is no coincidence that Parshas D’varim is always read on the Shabbos before Tish’ah B’Av, as Moshe Rabbeinu recaps the tragedy of the M’raglim (Spies). Chazal say that this incident not only transpired on the Ninth of Av, but it was the root of all future destruction that would take place on this cursed day (Taanis 29a).

It was Friday afternoon, and the Jewish residents of Pressburg, Czechoslovakia, were winding down their Shabbos preparations. The food was cooked, the children bathed, and it was now time for the men to begin heading out to the great synagogue for the special Friday night prayers. As the great Rav of Pressburg, R’ Moshe Sofer ZT”L (Chasam Sofer), put on his rabbinic coat and stepped through the doorway of his home, he instinctively placed his right hand on the mezuzah to kiss it, as he was careful to do whenever he walked through a door.

After the failure of the Articles of Confederation to adequately govern the new nation in 1781, a new constitution was needed.