Emuna Daily

People are given gifts.  They are born with skills and talents, and they’ve been blessed for a reason.

It’s because Hashem wants them to use those blessings. Each one of us has a mission: our skills tell us how to serve Him.

My great-grandfather would say that the ultimate blessing, Bircas Kohanim, opens with the words, “Yevarechecha Hashem v’yishmerecha – Hashem should bless you and watch over you.”

He explained the connection between blessings and protecting.  A person who’s blessed, who’s given wealth or health or intellect, has a mandate: he or she has to be careful to use it correctly, not to waste it, so the berachah includes “v’yishmerecha,” that the gift be safeguarded so that it’s used in the right way. ~ Elan Teichman 

The Zohar (vol.3, 216:) states, “Whoever toils in Torah his mazal changes.” If he had a mazal to be poor, childless, or any other kind of yesurim, his mazal improves in the merit of toil in Torah. ~ R’ Elimelech Biderman

Tomorrow, we are starting a brand new mesechta, Succah, in the daf yomi cycle.  We are entering the”sweet spot” of daf yomi, where we will b’ezrat Hashem, learn seven amazing tractates of gemara over the next eight months.  It is a perfect time to give it a try. As the Zohar says, it will changed your life!  

And if you are already doing the daf, I highly recommend you sign up for http://www.zichru.com and give it a try. It is free and a total game changer.

Believe me, my brothers, if it weren’t that I believed that Hashem stands behind everything that happens, and if I didn’t believe that Hashem’s hashgachah is over every detail, I would be lost from the world (i.e., depressed and broken) long ago due to all the hardships, distress, poverty, exile, and shame that I endured…

But Hashem helped me, and I don’t get distressed over these troubles. Because when a person truly believes that there is nothing in the world other than Hashem, all the hardships are sweetened in the wake of his emunah. Even without shouting out to Hashem in prayer, with just emunah and bitachon, everything will appear to be a chesed, immediately. ~ Rebbe Eizik of Kamarna zt’l

“If one loses a silver coin, he should praise Hashem as though he found a silver coin. And if he loses two silver coins, he should be happy as though he found two silver coins. The same is for every bad thing that happens to him; he should think that the bad is good, because the extent of the good is in accordance to the extent of the bad.” ~ The Vilna Gaon

In other words, we know that everything Hashem does is for the best.  Sometimes we lose one coin and that is sufficient, but when we lose 2 coins, Hashem is saving us from something even more terrible.  So we need to be even more thankful!

The Bas Ayin writes “It is known that all dinim (troubles) that are in the world are because people aren’t conscious that Hashem is watching over everything…”

Therefore, let us take a moment to think: “Hashem sees me right now. He sees what I’m doing.” This thought took just a second, but it means a lot. It removes the dinim from the world. One should think this before he davens. “Hashem sees me. He is listening to me.” And this is the thought one should have as often as possible… as it removes dinim, from you and the world. ~ R’ Elimelech Biderman

When a person corrects you, besides the actual focus of his correction, he is also giving you an opportunity to learn more about yourself based on your response. 

If your response to correction is not yet as it should be, work on developing a desire for self-improvement. ~ R’ Zelig Pliskin   

When you give something to a person in need, you are not only helping him; you yourself gain immensely from your act of kindness.

In this way, you are integrating the attribute of kindness into your personality and walking in the footsteps of our forefather Avraham. ~ R’ Simcha Zissel Ziv zt”l

Feeling for someone else is sympathy, but empathy means to be able to see things from the other person’s perspective. ~ R’ Dr. Avraham J. Twerski zt”l

If you think you can do wrong, then tell yourself that you can repair it.  If you think you can hurt, then tell yourself that you can heal. ~ R’ Nachman of Breslov zt”l

A good general would never send his soldiers out to battle without proper equipment.  If he gives you a mission, you can be sure he’s taking everything into account: your capabilities, your strengths, your skills.

The Borei Olam, Creator of all of us, didn’t make us all the same; we have different levels of intelligence, we look different, we have different skills. 

No one knows that better than He.

Clearly, the battle He’s given each of us is designed with the equipment He gave us: emunah, faith, means that you believe that whatever situation you’re in, whatever challenge you’re facing, it’s because Hashem believes in you and believes you can triumph.  ~ R’ Meir Yedid