Yesod represents the foundation of connection — Yosef HaTzaddik, the one who remains faithful to what is right, even when it is difficult.
Netzach represents perseverance, that eternal strength hidden within our choices.
Together, Netzach shebeYesod asks us:
Can you remain firmly grounded in your truth and still persevere steadfastly when everything feels unfair?
We often say: “That’s not fair.”
But the Torah does not speak in terms of “fairness”; it speaks in terms of “Emes” (truth) and “Tzedek” (justice).
When we connect ourselves to Yesod, we come into contact with that which is eternally true.
And when Netzach flows through it, we hold firmly to that truth — even when the world offers us no validation.
It is like the triangle player in a symphony: rarely noticed, yet indispensable at the precise moment.
Today calls upon us to stop searching for what is “fair,” and instead seek what is “right.”
When we do that, we become part of something eternal.
A Thought to Learn and Teach – Insight of Day 39
The number 39 is deeply connected to the 39 melachot — the categories of creative labor prohibited on Shabbat.
These are not merely actions to avoid; they reflect the 39 Divine lights or energies (Tal Orot) through which Hashem created the world.
The Zohar explains that these 39 lights descend like dew from a heavenly realm.
Dew — unlike rain — falls constantly, quietly, and without fanfare.
So too, these lights continuously descend upon us and sustain creation, even when we pay no attention to them.
When we perform melacha on Shabbat, we disconnect ourselves from these creative lights.
But when we refrain from labor and honor Shabbat, we realign ourselves with the Divine flow.
This is why desecrating Shabbat is spiritually so destructive: it reverses the cosmic channels of blessing.
In Judaism, the number 39 symbolizes the Divine current of creation.
It teaches us that true growth and true creation emerge from self-restraint, reverence, and alignment with Hashem’s Divine plan.
The Avodah of the Day – Development and Growth
The Positive
Just as foundations, seeds, and secrets remain hidden until the proper moment arrives, so too Hashem’s foundation unfolds gradually.
The Geulah (redemption) is described as “Tzemach” — a sprouting growth.
Growth begins hidden beneath the earth.
Trust in that hidden growth.
Building Yourself
Overcome the frustration of delay.
Instead of thinking: “This isn’t fair,” lean into the belief: “Hashem is doing what is best for me — even when it unfolds more slowly than I had hoped.”
This is the avodah of Netzach shebeYesod — faith with endurance.
Kinyan Torah #38
אינו שמח בהוראה
— He does not take pleasure in issuing halachic rulings
True greatness in Torah does not mean having an answer to every question; it means feeling the weight of the questions.
The Mishnah teaches that one of the 48 ways to acquire Torah is not taking pleasure in “paskening” — in issuing halachic rulings.
Why?
Because judging according to Torah means that people’s lives, marriages, kedushah (holiness), and spiritual destinies are in your hands.
Someone who enjoys that power probably should not possess it.
The Gemara compares this to a heart surgeon who feels no tension before a major operation: if he is overly confident, he becomes dangerous.
The Torah is an Etz Chaim — a Tree of Life.
Misusing its principles can wound souls.
Many tzaddikim — including Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach — wept before rendering certain halachic decisions.
Not because they did not know the answer, but because they deeply felt the responsibility.
Their concern was not “being the one who knows,” but protecting the sanctity of life through Torah.
This also reflects humility.
A politician campaigns to be seen.
A Torah giant, by contrast, flees from honor (kavod) — and precisely because of that, people seek him out.
We do not chase leadership; we prepare ourselves to become worthy vessels in case such a responsibility is ever entrusted to us.
Practical Lesson for Daily Life
Before giving advice, pause for a moment.
Ask yourself: Am I doing this to be seen as wise?
Or am I doing it because someone genuinely needs guidance?
Today, try changing your role:
Be less the person who always provides answers, and more an attentive listener — a humble servant of truth.
The Torah does not need your ego.
It needs your reverence.
