It No Longer Exists

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Emuna Daily

Once something is past, it no longer exists.  Realizing that suffering is only temporary makes it much easier for one to tolerate insults and slights to his honor.  ~ R’ Avraham Yellin zt”l

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Man and Woman’s Task

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Emuna Daily

Changing the world is a twofold task.  Bringing spirituality into the world is principally the man’s task. Elevating the world to become spiritual is principally the woman’s task.  Men in general are meant to deal with the present. The future — and those who will live within it — is in the hands of the women. ~R’ Tzvi Freeman

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Giving People the Benefit of the Doubt

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Emuna Daily

If at all feasible you should give people the benefit of the doubt.  If you relate an incident not giving the benefit of the doubt in circumstances which obligate you to do so, you would be guilty of speaking loshon hora, and of failing to perform the commandment of b’tzedek tishpot amisecho – “Judge your neighbor with righteousness.” ~ Guard Your Tongue

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The Alarm Clock

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Emuna Daily

Once R’ Yaakov Kamenetsky zt”l was to meet someone at Manhattan’s Penn Station at 7:00 A.M. for a trip out of town.  R’ Yaakov arrived at the station looking exhausted, having spent a sleepless night.  He explained to his companion that when he had gone to set his alarm clock before retiring for the night, he remembered that his gentile neighbor worked the night shift and would have just gone to sleep at the time that the alarm clock was set to go off.  It was hot summer night when everyone slept with their windows open and the neighbor would quite possibly be awakened by the alarm.  Therefore, R’ Yaakov did not set the clock; instead, he stayed up all night learning to make sure that he would be on time for his early departure. ~ 5 Great Lives

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The Benefit of Forgetting

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Emuna Daily

Most people think of forgetting as a defect.  But I consider it a great benefit.

If you did not forget, it would be utterly impossible to serve G-d.  You would remember your entire past, and these memories would drag you down and not allow you to raise yourself to G-d.  Whatever you did would be constantly disturbed by your memories of the past.  But G-d has given you the power to forget and disregard the past.  The past is gone forever and never need to be brought to mind.  Because you can forget, you are no longer disturbed by the past.

This is very important to consider when serving G-d.  most people are distressed by past events during prayer. When a person recites his prayers, his thoughts are constantly disturbed by memories of the past….

The best advice for this is simply to forget.  As soon as an event is over with, forget it completely and never think about it again.  Understand this well, for it is a very important concept. ~ R’ Nachman of Breslov zt”l (Rabbi Nachman’s Wisdom)

Posted in Prayer, Spirituality | 2 Comments

Lesson from a Bicycle

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Emuna Daily

One can only maintain balance by moving forward.

~ R’ Dovid Hazdan as quoted in Chicken Soup to Warm the Neshama

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Genuine Humility

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Emuna Daily

Humility is associated with spiritual perfection.  When humility effects depression it is defective.  When it is genuine, it inspires joy, courage and inner dignity. ~ R’ Abraham Isaac Kook zt”l

Posted in Humility | 4 Comments

Insult

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Emuna Daily

Someone once insulted a very pious person.  The community wanted to put a ban on the man, but the pious person would not hear of it.

“We must punish that man, not merely for your sake,” the pious person was told, “but to prevent the insulting of others.”

“On the contrary!” exclaimed the pious person.  “Let people learn from me not to let insults bother them.” ~ Sefer Chasidim as quoted by R’ Zelig Pliskin

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Pecking like a Pigeon + 2 more items

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Emuna Daily

Questions are good. They show you’re alive and thinking. But you’re not going to get the full picture of Torah by pecking like a pigeon at crumbs on the sidewalk.

The only way to comprehend what Torah is saying is with a consistent schedule of study and a good teacher. ~ The Lubavitcher Rebbe zt”l

2 more items:

I want to let you all know that when I posted that link about the Kosher Switch 2 weeks ago, it was the day they launched and before the controversy over it began.  Since then, many respected rabbis have spoken out against it.  Therefore, please consult your Rav as to whether it is permitted for use on shabbos or not before you purchase or use it.  In the meantime, here is an excellent shiur, recorded almost 4 years ago, by Rabbi Aryeh Leibowitz in which he discusses all the halachic issues with the Kosher Switch.  http://www.kosherswitch.com/live/go/2366

Second, last month many of you started learning Mishna Berurah Yomi either on your own or with Rabbi Aaron Glatt’s 15 minute shiur on the OU website.  Now, there is a new daily email following the same cycle which is really well done.  It contains a brief overview of that day’s page of the Mishna Berurah, as well as a brief review of the previous day’s learning and a preview of the next day’s.  It is embedded right in the email and even contains pictures.  I highly recommend you try it out as anyone who signs up right now will receive the subscription absolutely free.  Signing up takes about 5 seconds.  Click here.

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Even When There is No Damage

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Emuna Daily

If you say something derogatory about another person, you are guilty of speaking loshon hora even if that person does not suffer any consequent loss or damage.  An example of this is a case where the listener refused to believe a derogatory statement that you told him. ~ Guard Your Tongue

Posted in Shmiras Haloshon | 1 Comment