Emuna Daily

If there is something you wish to do tomorrow, see to it that it was done by yesterday.

~ R’ Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor zt”l

It states in Pirkei Avos, “don’t consider yourself a rasha.” Because as the Rambam explains, if you think you are a rasha, you will become one.

The spectacular event of Kriat Yam Suf was not only experienced by the Jewish people, but defines us. We are a nation whose natural existence extends to the supernatural. We are a people who live above and beyond the confines of nature. Never have we been and never will we be locked into statistics and prognosis. We defy all odds and indomitably surge forward as an inextinguishable nation guided by the omnipotent hand of G-d.

~ Rebbetzin Tehila Jaeger citing R’ Moshe Shapiro zt”l

There are days when Hakadosh Baruch Hu bestows His goodness to His nation, Yisrael, and reveals His love to them. The most mesugal day for this is Pesach. ~ The Kedushas Levi

The Ahavas Shalom zt’l teaches that people lack parnassah because they pray to Hashem for parnassah on Rosh Hashanah, but they don’t realize that they need to pray to Hashem on Pesach and Shavuos as well.

The passuk in Vayikra 6:0 states “Eat matzah in a holy place.”

What is that holy place?

The Tiferes Shlomo answers that it is the mouth. 

One should make his mouth a holy place, fitting to eat the matzah. We do so by undertaking to refrain from speaking lashon hara and other forms of forbidden speech, and by not consuming non-kosher foods.

When we burn the chametz, it’s a very special time. Chametz represents the yetzer hara and sins, so when the chametz is burning, the world is being cleansed from these impurities, and the tefillos we say at this time are answered. ~ R’ Elimelech Biderman Shlita

“Whoever says the…Haggadah with happiness, without any anger, without laziness, and without feeling that it’s a chore, chas veshalom…the Shechinah spreads out its wings on him to save him in all places and in all travels, and he merits miracles…” ~ The Yesod Yosef (85)

The Rema (Darkei Moshe) writes that when we tell the story of yetzias Mitzrayim at the Seder, it is like a tefillah, because we are praising Hashem. He says that this is the reason we wash our hands for Urchatz, because “just like we wash our hands before we daven” we also wash our hands before we say Hashem’s praises, which is a form of tefillah.

I once heard a beautiful line, which so accurately depicts the night of the Seder. “The world tells their children stories to put them to sleep; Jews tell their children stories to wake them up.”

~ R’ Daniel Staum