18 Aug A FOREVER MEMORY

Back to school. Are we up to that
already? Where did the summer go?
Do I spy school supplies on the store
shelves?
From backpacks to school shoes, we
are so busy with the fall shopping
frenzy. We want to send our children
off with everything just right. But there
is something meaningful that is often
forgotten. Something that gives our
children a boost and remains a forever
memory. A loving bracha.
Every year, before the first day of
school, our parents would take us to
our grandparents, Mama and Zeide, for
a bracha to have a good school year.
I remember Zeide lovingly placing
his hands over my head, wishing me
hatzlacha, success. Words of bracha,
that the Torah we learn should penetrate
both heart and mind. It goes back many
years, but the memory is indelible.

What could be more meaningful. What
could be more important.
I grew up in a “brachos giving” family.
Every occasion was an opportunity
for a bracha. From Bar Mitzvas to
chasunos, even simply walking out the
door, was a reason for my mother to
say “be matzliach”, be successful. Even
on chaotic mornings (like “I can’t find
my shoe”), I heard “be matzliach”. I
have long forgotten what my briefcase
(yes…. It was pre “backpack” days) or
my school shoes looked like, but the
words of bracha remain.
It was only years later that I came to
appreciate the depth of my mother’s
words. In Hebrew, hatzlacha, success,
is spelled hei-tzadi-lamed-ches-hei.
If we rearrange the middle three

letters, tzadi-lamed-ches to lamed-
ches-tzadi, it forms the word lachatz,

meaning stress or pressure. In Hebrew,
Lashon haKodesh, the Holy Tongue,
each word, every letter, comes with a
meaning, a subtle life lesson. Hatzlacha
and lachatz, success and stress. The

belief that following challenge comes
success. That stress is not made to
break you, but to make you. The
word hatzlacha begins with a hei and
concludes with a hei. A message that
HaShem is constantly with us, from
beginning to end. A message not just
for back-to-schoolers, but for all of us.
We all have our share of lachatz. Be it
work, finances, relationships, children –
so many life pressures. But always keep
in mind that after lachatz we can find
hatzlacha.
When I was studying the story of Yosef
HaTzaddik, my mother’s words came
back to me. The Chumash describes
Yosef as an “ish matzliach”, a man of
success. How do we define success? At
first glance, Yosef’s life was not your
typical success story. He was ridiculed
by his brothers, sold to a group of
merchants, who in turn sold him as
a slave. He was falsely accused and
imprisoned by his master. Yet, he is
called “a man of success”.
Rabbi Samson Rephael Hirsch describes
Yosef’s success as “progress towards
a goal by means of overcoming every
obstacle”. Despite enduring so much
difficulty, Yosef never lost his faith,
but remained strong and steadfast in
his emuna.
Reflecting upon Rav Hirsch’s words,
the bracha of “be matzliach” takes on
even greater meaning. To overcome
challenges no matter where life takes
you.
A parent’s bracha. There is a story
about a young widow living in
Yerushalayim. She had a troubled son,
who began acting up in school. At
first, it was small acts of mischief. But
with time, his pranks escalated and
he began to have a negative influence
upon his classmates.
The boy was warned time and time
again. First by his rebbi and then by
the Rosh Yeshiva. But it was all to no
avail. It got to the point where they felt
the need to expel him from the school.
The Rosh Yeshiva spoke to the boy’s
mother, telling her that the school
wasn’t a good fit for her son, and that
she should find another option.

The young widow broke down in tears.
She didn’t make excuses for her son
or defend his behavior. Instead, she
begged the Rosh Yeshiva to give her
time. Time to daven on behalf of her
child. With a pained voice, she said that
she had not been given prior warning.
She needed time to turn to HaShem and
daven, for there is nothing as powerful
as a mother’s tefillos.
But the Rosh Yeshiva wasn’t swayed.
He had made his decision and was not
about to back down. The mother asked
that they go together to a third party, a
leading rov in Eretz Yisroel and ask for
his guidance.
They did. After hearing them out, the
rov agreed that the mother should first
be given the opportunity to daven for
her son. Time to beseech HaShem to
help her son turn over a new leaf. A
mother’s prayers can work miracles.
It is now Chodesh Elul. A time of new
beginnings and clean slates. Of turning

to HaShem with tefillos. It is “back-
to-school” time for each of us. New

beginnings for us all. Let’s use our
time wisely. To daven for our children.
To give them our brachos. To wish them
hatzlacha. They may not show their
appreciation at first. You might even get
some eye-rolling. But the words will
enter their hearts, and the memories
will stay.
Give a bracha. Create a memory. Make
a difference.
As the New Year approaches, I wish
all my readers – be matzliach. Have
hatzlacha. And, as the word hatzlacha
teaches, HaShem is with us at all times
– from beginning to end.