{"id":5214395,"date":"2026-03-08T12:09:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T09:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breslev.co.il\/?p=5214395"},"modified":"2026-03-18T13:53:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:53:53","slug":"practical-mercy-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/5214395\/","title":{"rendered":"Practical\u00a0Mercy, Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Translated from Rabbi Arush\u2019s feature article in the weekly Chut\u00a0shel\u00a0Chessed newsletter. The articles focus on his main message: “Loving others as yourself” and emuna.<\/i>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0Ruach\u00a0Hakodesh<\/i>\u00a0(Divine\u00a0spirit)\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

My question, which\u00a0seemed to be\u00a0coming\u00a0out of the blue, surprised them very much. They looked at each other in astonishment and admitted that this is, indeed, what they had\u00a0been doing. \u201cThat is the source of\u00a0all your problems,\u201d I said\u00a0decisively.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This was after the couple had been sitting in my room for a long time, telling me\u00a0of\u00a0the series of blows and problems that were landing on them one after\u00a0another. I sat and listened, feeling their pain. It really was a revelation of\u00a0middat\u00a0hadin<\/i>\u00a0(strict justice) in full force.\u00a0Very difficult\u00a0and inexplicable things. They\u00a0had been\u00a0praying\u00a0a lot and\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0see even the beginning of a\u00a0yeshuah<\/i>\u00a0(salvation). Why is Hashem doing this to them?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I then asked them a simple question: Are you practicing birth control without consulting with a\u00a0qualified rabbi? They admitted to it,\u00a0took upon\u00a0themselves to correct their ways, and after\u00a0a short time\u00a0they saw great Divine Providence and life went back to normal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you are asking yourself: \u201cWas that\u00a0Ruach Hakodesh<\/i>?\u201d,\u00a0I will tell you: \u201cNo, absolutely not.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I heard from my teachers that when one sees\u00a0particularly\u00a0difficult\u00a0dinim<\/i>, most of the time it comes from closing the womb \u2013\u00a0segirat\u00a0harechem<\/i>. I can bear witness to dozens and even hundreds of cases that came to me, and\u00a0in all of them\u00a0that was precisely the problem.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s the connection?\u201d, it is very simple. Rachamim<\/i> (mercy) comes from the word rechem<\/i>\u00a0(womb), and when a woman\u00a0closes down\u00a0her\u00a0rechem<\/i>\u00a0without first consulting with a\u00a0qualified halachic authority, she is\u00a0actually\u00a0closing\u00a0off the flow of\u00a0rachamim<\/i>\u00a0to herself and to her entire family!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

If Hashem\u2019s mercy is removed from a person, may this not happen, there is no need to\u00a0describe\u00a0what the consequences\u00a0will be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

More Than\u00a0a\u00a0Play\u00a0on\u00a0Words\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

And if you ask,\u00a0well,\u00a0this is indeed a nice play on words \u2013\u00a0rechem<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0rachamim<\/i>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0but\u00a0what is really the connection between the two?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is an excellent question that will provide us with a deep understanding of the concept of Hashem’s rachamim. One can say that this is precisely the biggest chiddush<\/em> (novel idea) in parshat Ki Tisa<\/em>: the revelation of Hashem\u2019s thirteen middot\u00a0<\/i>of\u00a0rachamim<\/i>1<\/b><\/sup><\/span>. This is not a theoretical discussion, but a very important question relating to the foundation of our emuna<\/i> (faith), with immediate and practical consequences, as we will see.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is no\u00a0love\u00a0like parents\u2019 love for their children, and the connection starts already in the womb. The parents are connected and attached to the child without even seeing him, without knowing who he is and what he is, unconnected with his deeds, or to any external factor. It is due just to the very fact that the mother is carrying the fetus in her womb; that is enough for her to feel attached and connected to him very, very deeply.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The connection is\u00a0potential<\/b>\u00a0<\/i><\/b>love, as Rabbi Nachman says:\u00a0ahava\u00a0shebeda\u2019at<\/i><\/b>2<\/b><\/sup><\/span>, a hidden love which has not yet\u00a0been expressed in this world. And even\u00a0when the child is born and the parents love him with a simple and\u00a0open-hearted\u00a0love, because they see how cute and sweet he is, and because of all that they invest him and give him \u2013 then too the deepest love is the\u00a0ahava\u00a0shebeda\u2019at<\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

They\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0love their child because he or she is cute, rather, they love him or her because\u00a0the connection between them is a deep, unbreakable tie, one that begins in the\u00a0rechem<\/i>, and nothing in the world can\u00a0disconnect and separate the child from them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mercy in\u00a0Every Situation\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

And that is precisely\u00a0the\u00a0rachamim<\/i>\u00a0of Hashem!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moshe\u00a0Rabbeinu\u00a0<\/i>understood that\u00a0the love and mercy of Hashem\u00a0yitbarach<\/i>\u00a0for the Jewish People\u00a0are not dependent on anything; it\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0matter what happened and what the Jewish people\u00a0have done \u2013\u00a0just like the love of parents, which starts from the womb.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And even when the Holy One, Blessed Be He,\u00a0tells him:\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0it. I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0want this\u00a0nation\u00a0anymore<\/i>, Moshe\u00a0Rabbeinu<\/i>\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0give\u00a0up. You might think,\u00a0Why\u00a0not?\u00a0Please excuse me for\u00a0\u201cgrading\u201d\u00a0Hashem, so to speak,\u00a0but\u00a0the Holy One, Blessed\u00a0be He,\u00a0was right. The Jewish people\u00a0had\u00a0committed such a severe sin after all the miracles and revelations\u00a0of the\u00a0Shechinah<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai \u2013 what more can He do with them? What\u00a0favorable\u00a0judgment can he give them? Why is Moshe being so insistent?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moshe\u00a0Rabbeinu<\/i>, who merited to\u00a0acquire some concept of the Holy One, Blessed Be He, in other words, he reached the level of pure\u00a0emunah<\/i>\u00a0at its\u00a0highest level \u2013 he understood that in spite of the fact that there is no way to describe the Holy One, Blessed\u00a0be He and there is no way a human being can grasp\u00a0His essence, yet one thing can be said: Hashem is all good, all love, all\u00a0rachamim<\/i>, and just like He\u00a0yitbarach<\/i>\u00a0is\u00a0Ein-Sof<\/i>\u00a0(limitless), so too is\u00a0His mercy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And that is why he stands and prays for forty days and forty nights!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

How can one pray so much?\u00a0Prayer is a direct result of\u00a0<\/b>emunah<\/i><\/b>!\u00a0<\/b>If you\u00a0cease praying, it means that you think that there is a limit\u00a0to Hashem\u2019s\u00a0rachamim<\/i>.\u00a0If you believe that Hashem\u2019s\u00a0mercy\u00a0is limitless, you will\u00a0stand and pray and pray\u00a0and pray until you\u00a0see results!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Uninhibited\u00a0Prayer\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

And indeed, the Holy One, Blessed Be He,\u00a0reveals Himself to Moshe in an unprecedented revelation: \u201cShow me, please, Your glory.\u201d\u00a0And during this immense revelation Hashem\u00a0yitbarach<\/i>\u00a0reveals to him the thirteen\u00a0middot<\/i>\u00a0of\u00a0rachamim<\/i>! The\u00a0middot<\/i>\u00a0that are\u00a0always effective!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And indeed,\u00a0Moshe\u00a0Rabbeinu<\/i>\u00a0grabs this\u00a0opportunity\u00a0with both hands and\u00a0prays\u00a0repeatedly for forty days. He\u00a0not only annuls the decree but\u00a0puts things back the way they were,\u00a0bringing about\u00a0an even better and stronger connection\u00a0with the Holy One, Blessed\u00a0be He.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The thirteen\u00a0middot<\/i>\u00a0begin\u00a0with: \u201cHashem, Hashem<\/b>,\u00a0El\u00a0rachum\u00a0vechanun<\/i>\u201d etc.\u00a0why\u00a0is Hashem\u2019s name mentioned twice? The\u00a0Gemara\u00a0explains: \u201cI am I\u00a0before\u00a0the person sins<\/b>\u00a0and I am I\u00a0after the person sins<\/b>\u00a0and does\u00a0teshuva<\/i>.\u201d\u00a0In other words, just as you believe in my\u00a0rachamim<\/i>\u00a0before you sin, now, too, after\u00a0the sin,\u00a0do not give up; do everything until you manage to awaken my\u00a0rachamim<\/i>, because\u00a0My\u00a0rachamim<\/i>\u00a0is\u00a0there after\u00a0the sin\u00a0as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even more so \u2013 the\u00a0rachamim<\/i>\u00a0after the sin\u00a0is\u00a0greater and\u00a0on a higher level.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What does \u201cafter the sin\u201d mean? The answer is that even\u00a0after all sins committed in the entire world during all generations, from Adam\u00a0<\/b>haRishon<\/i><\/b>\u00a0until today<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 even after all this\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Hashem\u00a0is still merciful, because there is no end to\u00a0His\u00a0rachamim<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because\u00a0rachamim<\/i>\u00a0is like\u00a0rechem<\/i>. It is an existing reality and\u00a0is\u00a0independent.\u00a0Like a father who\u00a0remains\u00a0a father even if his child has slipped and fallen into sin.\u00a0Even then,\u00a0the father has mercy on\u00a0his\u00a0child.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hashem\u2019s\u00a0Mercy Is Great\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

And that is the greatness of the\u00a0tzaddik<\/i>.\u00a0Because the greatness of all\u00a0tzaddikim<\/i>\u00a0is according to the degree that\u00a0they\u00a0grasp Hashem\u2019s mercy. The more you believe and know that Hashem is\u00a0a\u00a0loving, merciful father,\u00a0the higher you rise,\u00a0reaching\u00a0the\u00a0highest\u00a0levels of holiness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And that is what the holy Zohar\u00a0<\/i>says\u00a0\u2014\u00a0if\u00a0Moshe\u00a0Rabbeinu<\/i>\u00a0would have\u00a0been living\u00a0in the generation of the\u00a0Mabul<\/i>\u00a0(Deluge), no\u00a0Mabul<\/i> would have happened. And if he would have lived in the time of Sedom and Amora \u2013 Sedom would not have been overturned. He grasped Hashem\u2019s\u00a0 rachamim<\/i>\u00a0completely, and therefore he would have stood and prayed until all these decrees would have been annulled.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We will now\u00a0sum up the main points and continue, with Hashem\u2019s help, next week and see\u00a0how<\/b>\u00a0the knowledge that Hashem\u2019s\u00a0rachamim<\/i>\u00a0is\u00a0limitless\u00a0expresses itself and\u00a0why<\/b>\u00a0it is critical for\u00a0each and every\u00a0one of us, in his personal life:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The belief in Hashem\u2019s\u00a0rachamim<\/i>\u00a0and love is inseparable\u00a0from the mitzvah of\u00a0emunah<\/i>. To believe in Hashem and not believe that He is merciful and that He loves me is a terrible weakness in one\u2019s\u00a0 emunah.<\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And since everything depends on\u00a0emunah<\/i>, as we explained in the book,\u00a0The Garden of Emunah<\/i><\/a><\/span>, then\u00a0everything depends on clear knowledge of Hashem\u2019s\u00a0rachamim<\/i>.\u00a0Every change for the better in your life, all salvations\u00a0\u2013\u00a0are dependent on one\u2019s prayers, because he who prays at\u00a0length, his prayers are\u00a0always effective.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our\u00a0parasha<\/i>\u00a0tells us that it is impossible to pray at length without faith in Hashem\u2019s\u00a0rachamim<\/i>. A person\u00a0who\u00a0truly believes\u00a0in Hashem\u2019s mercy cannot have the experience of praying and not\u00a0experiencing\u00a0a salvation; rather, he stands and prays\u00a0more and more\u00a0and\u00a0more\u00a0and\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0stop and\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0rest until\u00a0he sees his prayer is effective. Why? Because Hashem is merciful, Hashem loves me, Hashem wants to give to me, He wants more prayers, I will\u00a0pray more, but I have no doubt that in the end He will give me what I want!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And so, the belief in Hashem\u2019s mercy is the main part of complete\u00a0emunah<\/i>, and it is also the\u00a0most influential thing when it comes to the\u00a0life of the believer,\u00a0bringing\u00a0him to live an active life of\u00a0emunah<\/i>, in other words, to live\u00a0prayer and one\u2019s connection to Hashem and to bring about\u00a0salvations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Editor\u2019s Notes<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1<\/sup><\/strong><\/span> Shemot (Exodus) 34:6-7\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2<\/sup><\/strong><\/span> Likutei Moharan I, Torah 33:5\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Translated from Rabbi Arush\u2019s feature article in the weekly Chut\u00a0shel\u00a0Chessed newsletter. The articles focus on his main message: “Loving others as yourself” and emuna.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 It\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0Ruach\u00a0Hakodesh\u00a0(Divine\u00a0spirit)\u00a0 My question, which\u00a0seemed to be\u00a0coming\u00a0out of the blue, surprised them very much. They looked at each other in astonishment and admitted that this is, indeed, what they had\u00a0been doing. … Continue reading “Practical\u00a0Mercy, Part I”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62109,"featured_media":5214399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[15144,15186],"tags":[55404,53199,16369,36309],"author_post":[14273],"new_serie":[89608],"class_list":["post-5214395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jewish-outlook","category-spiritual-growth","tag-thirteen-attributes-of-mercy","tag-divine-mercy","tag-emuna","tag-mercy","author_post-rabbi-shalom-arush","new_serie-practical-mercy"],"acf":{"paragraph_first":"If you believe that Hashem\u2019s mercy is limitless, you will stand and pray and pray and pray until you see results!","paragraph_second":"Moshe Rabbeinu grabs this opportunity with both hands and prays repeatedly for forty days. He not only annuls the decree but puts things back the way they were!","meta_title":"Practical Mercy, Part I","meta_description":"There is no love\u00a0like parents\u2019 love for their children, and the connection starts already\u00a0before birth. The parents are connected and attached to the child without even seeing him, without knowing who he is and what he is, unconnected with his deeds, or to any external factor.","special_content_in_the_post":"none","youtube":"","intro_text":"

There is no love\u00a0like parents\u2019 love for their children, and the connection starts already\u00a0before birth. The parents are connected and attached to the child without even seeing him, without knowing who he is and what he is, unconnected with his deeds, or to any external factor.<\/p>\n"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5214395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5214395"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5214395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5215161,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5214395\/revisions\/5215161"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5214399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5214395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5214395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5214395"},{"taxonomy":"author_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author_post?post=5214395"},{"taxonomy":"new_serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/new_serie?post=5214395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}