A True Chasid

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Emuna Daily

A chasid once forgot a sheaf in the field.  [It is a mitzvah to leave such sheaves in the field for the poor.]  The chasid was so happy that he told his son to offer two sacrifices in celebration.  When his son asked, “Why do you rejoice over this mitzvah more than any other?” the chasid replied: “God gave us all other mitzvoth to be done knowingly; this is the only one that must be done unknowingly” ~ Tosefta, Pe’ah 2

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Reason to Celebrate

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Emuna Daily

If you did things right, celebrate that you have a G‑d who appreciates your good work.

And if you fell on your face, celebrate that you have a G‑d who does not abandon you when you fall.

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Like Winning a Million Dollars – deep!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Emuna Daily

Imagine that someone were to offer you a million dollars to abstain from wearing tefillin; you would surely turn down the offer.  If so, you should perform the mitzvah with as much joy as if you had received the million dollars.  This is the type of creative spiritual accounting that our Sages recommended. ~ The Pirkei Avos Treasury

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Make it Last

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Emuna Daily

“Today will never happen again.  But one good deed can make it last forever.” ~ From Chicken Soup for the Neshama

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What is a Jew’s foremost belief?

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Emuna Daily

“And it was in the days of Achashverosh.” (Megilas Esther)

The “And” informs us that this was a result of events that preceded it. It just did not happen that suddenly there was a Haman; it was connected to past events. Without understanding that, we don’t begin to be a Jew. A Jew, first and foremost, believes that Hashem is in control of the world. ~ R’ Avigdor Miller zt”l
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Wine

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Emuna Daily

Beim glezel gefint men a sach guteh freint

Over a glass of wine, you find many good friends.

Freilicheh Purim!

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Something to Say at the Purim Seuda

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Emuna Daily
One Purim afternoon, Rav Chaim Volozhiner Zt’l was at his table enjoying his Seudah when the Rav heard a knock on the door from an Anni collecting. As was his minhag each year, the Rav carried a sack of coins to give out to the Aniyim who cam to him. No one was turned away as the halacha dictates “Kol Haposheit Yad Nosnin Lo.” The Anni accepted the coin but shockingly asked the Rav for a second coin.
“If the Rav offers me another coin, I will tell him over a chiddush that I’m pretty sure the Rav hasn’t heard”, said the Anni. Intrigued by the Anni’s offer, the Rav gave the Anni a second coin.
The Anni began to explain to Rav Chaim Volozhiner the famous Yalkut Shimoni which states an incident where Eliyahu Hanavi came to Mordechai Hatzadik and revealed to him that the deadly decree to eradicate the Jews was quite within his reach and had the ability to be repealed.. He explained to Mordechai that the decree had not been sealed in Shamayim with blood which would be final, rather it was sealed with cement which through piercing Tefillos and Teshuva could change the Gezeira against the Jews.
The old Anni asked Rav Chaim, where is this concept of sealing in cement and not blood meramez in the Megilla?
Rav Chaim closed his eyes and after a few minutes admitted defeat. “Please tell us the answer to this question,” asked Rav Chaim.  The Anni told Rav Chaim a source for this concept from Megillas Esther (3:9), where it says “Yikasev Li’Abdam” – it shall be written down to destroy them. The Hebrew word “L’Abdam”, may be broken into two words to read “Lo B’dam” – not with blood. Simply inserting a space in this word describing Haman’s decree reveals this key fact about the hidden Divine decree.
The next time R’ Chaim visited his Rebbe, the Vilna Gaon, he repeated this vort to him. The Vilna Gaon’s response was, “The very same Eliyahu Hanavi who brought this good news to Mordechai in Shushan many centuries ago, revealed this Remez to you on Purim.”
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Fear of Joy

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Emuna Daily

People are afraid of joy. They are afraid they’ll get out of hand and lose control.

These people haven’t experienced real joy—the joy that comes from doing something divinely beautiful with all your heart. The fact is, there is nothing that will lift you higher.

Where there is that joy, the Divine Presence can enter. Where there is that joy, there are no pits to fall into, and all obstacles evaporate into thin air. ~ R’ Tzvi Freeman

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The Greatest of all Miracles

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Emuna Daily

“If a Jew wishes to see a miracle today, he need only look at himself.  The greatest of all miracles is that even one Jew exists in our day and age.” ~ R’ Bachya ibn Paqua zt”l

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The Harm of Not Learning

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Emuna Daily

You’ll observe how many times people stumble in serious things, not because of having wrong character traits or wrong intentions, but because they never learned. However, the blame for not learning is a very serious blame. 

Even though what they did was nothing, it was ignorance—the fact that they’re ignorant is [cause for] the biggest blame. (Mesilas Yesharim 16) ~ R’ Avigdor Miller zt”l

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