Emuna Daily

I heard from my teacher [the Baal Shem Tov zt”l] that when Heaven wants to punish someone who deserves punishment, they first take away his bitachon, because when one believes in Hashem and in His hashgacha with all his heart and soul, no power in the world can harm him. ~ Toldos Yaahov Yosef (Mishpatim)

It’s not one’s circumstances that determines one’s mood; it’s one’s mood that determines the circumstances. ~ The Baal HaTanya zt”l

Take this rule in your hand: whoever has the potential to fall very low has the potential to rise very high. ~ The Divrei Shmuel

A person who never regrets his wrongdoings is likely to repeat them.  But excessive guilt is harmful.  An important factor concerning regret is whether a person feels bad that he feels bad, or feels good about his regret….

Ask yourself, “Will my blaming myself help me improve or not?” To the degree self-blame motivates you to change for the better, it is positive.  Self-blame that prevents improvement is counterproductive and should be overcome.   When you stop feeling self-pity over your mistakes, your mind will be free to work on improvement.  ~ R’ Zelig Pliskin

If you can’t control yourself from feeling angry, at least you can keep silent.  Then the anger will be barren and bear no fruit (such as insults, disputes, etc.). This will also quiet the feelings of anger, since silence to anger is like water to fire. ~ R’ Eliezer Papo zt”l

We know that Hashem is constantly testing us.  Not merely testing if we’ll choose between good and bad; but to see whether we’ll choose to see and recognize the ways of Hashem, or if we will choose to be blind and to ignore the hand of Hashem and act as if He doesn’t exist.  It’s a test we call Emunah. ~ R’ Avigdor Miller zt”l

Reb Yisrael Salanter would say, “Business ethics is the highest level possible. There is nothing greater.”

A student asked Reb Yisrael Salanter, “Rebbe, in your world view, which person is greater: a Torah student who studies eighteen hours a day or a store owner who does honest business, and only studies one hour each day?”

Reb Yisrael answered cleverly, “Surely the store owner who deals honestly in business is on a higher level. However, since he is on such a high level, it is a shame that he only learns for an hour a day. It would be appropriate for such a person to study Torah eighteen hours a day…”

T.I.N.T = There Is No Tomorrow

I don’t live for tomorrow…I am not going to change and grow tomorrow.  There is no tomorrow.

Everyday…I wake up and I tell myself that I am going to live my life and there is no tomorrow, because tomorrow is a gift that we don’t deserve if we can’t even live today.

~ Charlie Harary

A major cause of many people’s sadness is their lack of attaining things they could live without. ~ Dubner Magid

When a woman lights the Shabbos candles with joy in her heart, she brings peace into the world, health and happiness to her family, and is blessed with children who brighten the world. ~ Zohar