The story is told of one of the pious whose neighbor, a skilled scribe, supported himself from what he earned in the practice of his art. One day the pious man asked his neighbor, “How are you faring?” “Fine,” he said, “so long as my arm is sound.” That very evening he shattered his arm, and he could not write with it for the rest of his life. It was Divine retribution for having placed his trust in his arm. ~ Chovos Halevovos
Leilui Nishmas Eliyahu ben Eliezer Moshe
If both a friend and an enemy give you advice, you can be sure that the enemy wishes to mislead you. When an idea comes into one’s mind, one should ask himself, “What is the source of this idea, the Yetzer Tov – good inclination, or the Yetzer Hora – evil inclination?” ~ The Lubavitcher Rebbe zt”l
They asked Rabbi Schneur Zalman:
“Which is greater: love of G‑d,
or love of your fellow man?”
“Love of your fellow man,” he replied.
“For then you are loving the one that your Beloved loves.”
If you were there and the Romans or the Babylonians were about to destroy Jerusalem and you had the power to do something about it, would you sit and mourn and cry?
Or would you turn the world upside down to change history?
So what is stopping you? Overturn the world today! ~ R’ Tzvi Freeman
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Here is a link for a great video by Rabbi Fohrman for Tisha B’Av. I highly recommend that you find some time today to watch it.
There was once a girl who was davening at the Kotel on Tisha B’Av and crying. Her friends asked her what she was crying about. They wondered what she really felt. She replied that she was crying because she didn’t know what she should be crying about. She didn’t know what to feel.
Dear Klal Yisrael, today we are so lost, we don’t even know what we are truly missing. “Please Hashem help me feel it”. ~ Divrei chizuk
Bizchus Moshe Dovid ben Mordechai
“A chasid once discovered a gap in his fence on Shabbos and planned to repair it. He then remembered that it was Shabbos and, regretting that he had entertained mundane thoughts on Shabbos, decided never to make the repair. A miracle was done for him and a large tree grew in that spot, whose abundant fruit provided him and his family with a livelihood” ~ Talmud Shabbos 150b
and now for a joke that I once heard from my father…
One Shabbos morning during services, Reuven taps Levi on the shoulder and whispers, ” Nisht Shabbos geret (“Not to speak of it on Shabbos, but ”), I’ve got a car to sell.” Levi says, “Nisht Shabbos geret, how much?” “Nisht Shabbos geret, $2,500,” replies Reuven. “Nisht Shabbos geret, will you take $2,000?” asks Levi. Reuven starts looking into his prayer book and murmurs, “Nisht Shabbos geret, let me think about it.” Later at the afternoon Mincha service, Levi goes to Reuven and says, “Nisht Shabbos geret, did you think about my offer?” Reuven answers, “Nisht Shabbos geret, I already sold the car.”
Let us never use this silly “loophole” but rather act as the chasid in the gemara above who Hashem rewarded for acting accordingly. Have a wonderful Shabbos!
Rabbi Yechiel Mordeichai Gordon used to say that a sour face is comparable to an open pit in the public domain. One’s negative demeanor can be contagious, causing others to be infected with this germ of depression. The Talmud states figuratively: One who shows his friend the white of his teeth [by smiling to him] does more for him than if he had offered him a drink of milk (Kesubos 111b). A smile is a signal to a person that he is cared for. Often, the emotional need to feel wanted is more powerful than physical hunger or thirst. ~ The Pirkei Avos Treasury
“Detrimental [to trust in Hashem] is ignorance of the Creator and His good attributes. For whoever fails to appreciate the Creator’s compassion for his creatures, His protection of them, His providence, dominion, and control over them ,will not be confident in Him and will not rely on Him.” ~ Chovos Halevovos
“We’re capable of patiently enduring any difficulty in life when we believe that everything comes from Hashem and that everything is for the best. Patient endurance, the result of emuna, paves the road to genuine tranquility. Genuine tranquility means a worry-free, peaceful, and happy existence. With emuna, we avoid untold emotional wear and tear.” ~ The Garden of Emuna
“Even if the chances of success and failure are equal, why worry about failure when you can just as easily hope for success?” ~ Rambam as quoted in Torah Tavlin
Emuna Daily 