Emuna Daily

The gemara in Sanhedrin 37a states that “Each and every individual is obligated to say ‘the world was created for me.’”

Each person is a one-time phenomenon, an occurrence that has never been before and will never be again.  You have a unique blend of character traits and personality.  You are unique in your particular family constellation, born in a specific time of history and in a specific environment.  This uniqueness give you great importance.  Only you can accomplish your unique life tasks. ~ Alai Shur

God does not want us to understand why bad things happen to good people because if we understood, we would be forced to accept that bad things happen to good people.  And God does not want us to accept those bad things.  He wants us not to understand so that we will fight against the bad and the injustices in the world.  That is why there is no answer to that question because God has arranged that we shall never have an answer to it. ~ R’ Lord Jonathan Sacks zt”l

Click here to see the video of Rabbi Sacks giving this answer, which is very powerful.

From the day I reached a level of understanding, I haven’t worried a single time about what will be in another hour. ~ R’ Modechai of Lekhivitz in Maigdolai Hachasidus

Try to keep your prayers fresh.  If you repeat the same words again and again, they lose their meaning – a prayer grows stale. ~ The Kotzker Rebbe zt”l

Some Practical Suggestions:

1. Slow down and focus on one paragraph per day or per week.  Read the English and any commentaries on it to better understand it.  Really own that tefilah and then move on to the next one.
2. During the chanzan’s repetition of shemona esrei, try closing your eyes and focusing on the words as the chazan says them as if you are in the middle of your own private shemona esrei and answer amein to each beracha.  This can be a very holy experience when done correctly.
3. Try the previous suggestion, but instead of closing your eyes, follow along with your finger on the place.
4. Try using a different siddur.  There are people that purchase new siddurim each year to keep things fresh and it really does work.
5. Remember that there is much more to prayer than just that which is written in the siddur.  Don’t be afraid to just talk to Hashem in your own words.  There is nothing greater.  It will take you to a whole new level.

I hope this helps.  Have a wonderful Shabbos!

Rashi explains the words “the years of Sarah’s life” to mean that they were all equally good.  But weren’t the majority of Sarah’s years filled with hardships – longing for children, living in exile, imprisonment at the hands of Pharaoh and Avimelech?  How could all of her years have been equally good?

The answer, of course, is that during her entire life, concerning everything that was seemingly bad, Sarah would always say, “This, too, is for the best.”  She saw Hashem’s kindness in everything.  We must emulate her and do the same. ~ Rav Zusha of Anipoli zt”l

Today is my grandmother’s yartzheit, Sarah Dina bas Yehoshua Yosef, a Holocaust survivor who also had a difficult life and yet, like her namesake, was known for constantly saying and thinking “God is good to me!”  May her neshama have an aliyah.

All new beginnings require that you unlock a new door. R’ Nachman of Breslev zt”l

As a bachur, Rebbe Mechele of Netanya zt’l came to the Chazon Ish and said, “What’s going to be with me? I’m already twenty-eight and I don’t have a shidduch!”

The Chazon Ish asked him, “How many do you need?”

“One.”

“One there will be.”

One older bachur said to the Chazon Ish, “I have a big kasha (question), because Chazal say that a shidduch is as difficult as splitting the Yam Suf.”

The Chazon Ish replied, “The kasha of the Yam Suf was resolved in the end. Your present kasha will be resolved too.”

The test of faith is whether I can make space for difference. Can I recognize God’s image in someone who is not in my image, who language, faith, ideal, are different from mine? If I cannot, then I have made God in my image instead of allowing him to remake me in his. ~ R’ Lord Jonathan Sacks zt”l

Code of Jewish Law rules that one ascertains whether a duck is kosher if it swims against the tide. That’s the powerful challenge of living in our times – to fight ferocious tides… ~ Chana Burston

A mother led her young son to the bottom of a deep valley, and said, “Scream the words, ‘I hate you’ as loud as you can.”

He yelled at the top of his lungs, “I HATE YOU!” Suddenly, he heard the overwhelming sound of, “I HATE YOU, I Hate You, I hate you!” echoing around him.

She turned to her son and requested, “Now, scream the words, ‘I love you’ as loud as you can.”

He yelled at the top of his lungs, “I LOVE YOU!” Suddenly, he heard “I LOVE YOU, I Love You, I love you!” echoing around him.

~ Chicken Soup to Warm the Neshama