A Torah shiur on the importance of self-sacrifice for the sake of Torah and mitzvot.
Read the notes on this shiur: outline, sources, and more from Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer →
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 Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer’s own words — taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.
The Medrash tells us, when the Beis HaMikdash was burning, there were Kohanim that were so distraught that they jumped into the fire. Evidently they couldn't bear living without the Beis HaMikdash. R’ Chatzkl Levenstein commented, That's not a Chiddush. The Chiddush is, How did the other Kohanim go on living without a Beis HaMikdash? But perhaps we could suggest that those Kohanim understood that there’s an Avodah that’s greater than in times of the Beis HaMikdash. And that is the Avodah in the darkness of Galus. The Ramban was forced to debate with the non-believers, and the Ramban was asked a very painful, very spiteful question. Who do you think you're fooling? We know the truth. There was a temple. There were sacrifices. But today there's none of the above. Of what value is your service? And the Rambam responded, When I do my service amidst the ridicule and the persecution of the nations, אני עושה עולה לאלוקים מגופי.
Jump to a moment
- 0:05The Medrash tells us, when the Beis HaMikdash was burning, there were Kohanim that were so…
- 0:38The Ramban was forced to debate with the non-believers, and the Ramban was asked a very…
- 1:08By our self-sacrifice to do the Ratzon Hashem in such utter darkness, that's a more meaningful…
- 1:39and someone mentioned the word Bris Milah, and this 17-year-old boy says: What is that? He…
- 2:09I’ve waited 17 years, I'm not waiting another day. He had five of his friends hold…
- 2:40I'm convinced our lives in the Galus are the greatest Korban. When so much of our…
- 3:10אוי ס׳גוט צי זיין א איד Oy, it’s good to be a Jew.…
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 July 19, 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.