Your Errand

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Emuna Daily

The Almighty has sent you into this world on an appointed errand. It is His will that you accomplish your errand in a state of joy. Sadness implies an unwillingness on your part to carry out the Almighty’s will. ~ The Baal Shem Tov

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Lashon Hora about Relatives

Posted on March 5, 2017 by Emuna Daily

The prohibition against speaking and hearing loshon hora also applies to relatives.  Therefore a father is permitted to inquire about his son’s studies only if he will try to help his son.  If the questioning is merely out of curiosity, it is forbidden.  The same applies to all relatives.

Seeking information about someone is permissible only when it is for a constructive purpose.  The questioner must remember to explain that he is asking for a beneficial purpose.  ~ Guard Your Tongue

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These are the things…

Posted on March 4, 2017 by Emuna Daily

One of the leading rabbis of the generation was seriously ill.  He came to the Steipler Gaon for a blessing.  The Steipler advised him to establish a fund for dowries for brides, telling him that the merit of this mitzvah would stand him in good stead.

He explained that in the braisa that we recite each morning, “These are thing things,” the mitzvah of visiting the sick is not adjacent to the mitzvah of escorting the dead.  In between, the Tanna places the mitzvah of providing for a bride.  According to commentators, said the Steipler, providing for brides, places a separation so that someone who is sick  will not succumb to his illness and be escorted by his grave.

The leading rabbi took the advice, established a very large dowry fund, recovered from his illness and afterwards lived for many years.  ~ Orchos Rabbeinu

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There is no spoon

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Emuna Daily

One erev shabbos, lacking oil for light, R’ Chanina ben Dosa took vinegar and said, “The One who commanded oil to burn, He can command vinegar to burn as well.”  The vinegar burned and provided light until the end of shabbos (Taanis 25a).  Due to R’ Chanina ben Dosa’s perfect emuna, a miracle occurred.

I once heard that this gemara may be the source of the famous scene from the Matrix where the boy bent the spoon with his mind, explaining, “Do not try and bend the spoon, that’s impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth…there is no spoon.”

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Preparation for a Mitzvah

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Emuna Daily

In Mesillas Yesharim, the Ramchal stresses the importance of proper preparation before performing mitzvos:

“One does not enter into the performance of a mitzvah suddenly without composure and without having thought about it beforehand. Rather, one collects oneself and prepares his heart in calm, so that he thinks in a deliberate and organized fashion about the mitzvah at hand. Thereby, before he starts, he has full knowledge of what he is about to do and for whom he will be doing it. This mental and emotional preparation makes it easy for him to rid himself of any ulterior motives for performing the mitzvah, and the proper and desired motive will become fixed in his heart.”

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Different Tools for Different Tasks

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Emuna Daily

From the beginning of time to this very day, there have never been two people with an identical mission in life. As such, Hashem oversees each person’s life with an amazingly precise Divine Providence, providing each person with the needed tools and circumstances to perform his task on Earth. Since no two people have the same task, no two people have the same needs. ~ R’ Shalom Arush as translated by R’ Lazer Brody

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Treasure

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Emuna Daily

If you seek it as silver and search for it as treasure, then you will understand the fear of God. ~ Proverbs 2:4

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Man’s Duty in this World

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Emuna Daily

The foundation of saintliness and the root of perfection in the service of God lies in a man’s coming to see clearly and to recognize as a truth the nature of his duty in the world and the end towards which he should direct his vision and his aspiration in all of his labors all the days of his life. ~ Opening words of Mesilas Yesharim

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Public Humiliation

Posted on February 26, 2017 by Emuna Daily

Just by opening one’s mouth, he can forfeit his portion in the World to Come, as our sages taught, “A person who humiliates his fellow in public has no portion in the World to Come.” ~ Bava Metzia 59

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The Smell of Shabbos

Posted on February 25, 2017 by Emuna Daily

It happened one Friday that the gaon Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Freund stepped into the kitchen where the Shabbos meal was being cooked.  The vapor of the dishes filled the kitchen.  Said Rabbi Moshe Aryeh: “If women knew the powerful remedies contained in the vapor of Shabbos dishes, they would not leave the kitchen all week, staying there from Sunday until Friday. ~ Zemiros Aters Yehoshua as quoted by R’ Dovid Meisels

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