A dvar Torah on Parshat Ki Savo about resilience and showing up with what you have.
Read the notes on this shiur: outline, sources, and more from Yaakov Lemmer →
Know someone who would love this shiur?
Ask this shiur
Ask in your own words — the answer is the exact moment this shiur speaks to it.
What’s said in this shiur
The opening of this shiur, in Yaakov Lemmer’s own words — taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.
Have you ever surprised yourself by surviving something that you really thought would break you? You didn't have a map. You didn't know how it would end, but somehow you kept on going. Maybe you didn't get exactly where you wanted to, but you got there and you're still here. And that's what matters. And that is one of the most powerful messages of this week's para kiso. The para starts with elit. It will be when you come into the land after years of slavery, trauma, wondering, war. The Ben Israel finally reached their destination. And the first mitzvah destination. And the first mitzvah they're given isn't about conquest, isn't about control. It's about bringing pikurim, the first fruits of the land. Giving those as a gift to Hashem. Not the whole harvest, just the first. Why? Because healing doesn't happen all at once. You don't have to be fully recovered to be grateful, to be connected, to be worthy. You have to show up with what you can bring. Even if it's small, even if it's proved, even if it's not perfected yet. Bikurim is more
Jump to a moment
- 0:00Have you ever surprised yourself by surviving something that you really thought would break you? You…
- 0:30destination. And the first mitzvah they're given isn't about conquest, isn't about control. It's about bringing…
- 1:02it's not perfected yet. Bikurim is more than fruit. It's a symbol of arrival. Not to…
- 1:33without getting stuck." Dr. Ager, a Holocaust survivor and worldrenowned trauma therapist, is teaching us that…
- 2:04beautiful in the eyes of Hashem. If you're still carrying pain, if joy still feels distant,…
- 2:34enough. Thank you very much and have a wonderful Shabas.…
Every second of this shiur plays inside Lehallel — a filtered YouTube library where each video was reviewed against one written standard before it could appear. No ads, no comments, no autoplay into anything unapproved.
Why is this here?
Before this shiur could appear, it was reviewed against one written standard — the same standard for every video in the library, no exceptions and no algorithm deciding on its own. It was reviewed on August 10, 2026. It is listed under Torah. If you believe something here does not belong, tell us — every challenge is read by a person.
Get the week’s best, by email
One email a week — a handful of approved shiurim and music. No account needed.
Know a family who would use this? Give a Lehallel membership.