The Man who Paced To and Fro

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“A person who lives his life without direction is similar to a man who paces to and fro. We can understand why he went from here to there – because perhaps things are better there than here. We can also understand why he returned – because on arriving there, he realized that things really were better over here. What we don’t understand is why he decided to go back there again!” ~ R’ Simcha Bunim of P’shischah zt”l as quoted in Torah Tavlin

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Don’t Take Anything for Granted

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Emuna Daily

If you are saying to yourself that life is not so bad, and that you haven’t had any serious problems, then you are very fortunate, but have a lot of work to do. You must make sure that you don’t take this largesse for granted. As the Chovos Halevovos cautions, “Things that you want to continue, don’t take them for granted.” If you are healthy, don’t forget the advice of the Gemora in Shabbos (32a) “A person should always pray not to become sick.” Don’t wait until you feel a heart skip to pray for a healthy heart. Don’t wait until the joints hurt to pray for healthy bones and muscles. Don’t wait for sleepless nights to petition Hashem for restful slumber. And, of course, the list goes on and on. ~ R’ Moshe Meir Weiss

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Nothing is Automatic

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Emuna Daily

Nothing is automatic. Everything is kindness from Hashem. The more that we marvel at everything – the more we cause Hashem to want to provide for us. ~ R’ Menachem Azolai as translated by Dov Elias

Posted in Emuna, Happiness, Prayer, Spirituality | 1 Comment

Turn on the Light

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Emuna Daily

You can blunder around in the dark, carefully avoiding every pit. You can grope through the murky haze for the exit, stumbling and falling in the mud, then struggling back to your feet to try again.

Or you can turn on the light.

Without a doubt, inside your heart, the light switch awaits you. Even if the light it brings is ever so faint, even that will be enough. For the smallest flame can push away the darkness of an enormous cavern. And then you will make yet more light. ~ R’ Tzvi Freeman

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Time is Valuable!

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Emuna Daily

Behold, seven years are coming during which there will be great abundance in the entire land of Egypt. Seven years of famine will rise after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten…Gather in all the food during these good years that are coming…The food will be reserved for the seven years of famine…

Young people look down the long road of life ahead of them and think it is endless. What value does a day, a week, a month or even a year have? There is so much time available. What difference does it make if some of it is wasted? There is no sense of urgency to utilize every opportunity because whatever is not done today can be done tomorrow!

They overlook the fact that the ‘seven years of plenty’, the allotted time given to a person on this world, passes by very quickly. Then the endless ‘years of hunger’ begin. In the world to come, all a person has is the Torah and mitzvahs that he ‘reserved’ on this world.

How bitter will a person feel when he realizes how he let spiritual diamonds slip through his fingers. What value did an hour spent learning, answering Amen or the chance to do an act of kindness have to him?

The opportunities were so ‘plentiful’ that he thought nothing of letting them go to waste. He will be filled with regret, but it will be too late. ~ R’ Yehoshua Saidi

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How Fast the Tables Turn

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Emuna Daily

See, I have placed you in charge of all the land of Egypt (Bereishis 41:41)

Imagine a person God forbid becomes bankrupt, and they are down in the dumps, living in darkness. How long does it take for them to become the richest man in the world? It doesn’t happen over night, it takes a long time. But you know what is Yosef Hatzadik all about? Yosef Hatzadik shows us how it can happen in one second.

For twelve years Yosef Hatzaddik is sitting in the lowest prison, and in one day he becomes the ruler of Egypt, which in those days was like becoming the King of the world.

So in Psalms it says Mekimi Me’afar Dal(Psalms 113:7) You Raise the poor from the dust. Master of the World, take me out from the dust, but don’t just take me out of the dust for the moment. Lehoshivi Im Nedivim (Ibid), seat me amongst the princes. I want to wake up the next morning and have breakfast with the top people of the world.

Do you know what the holiness of us Jewish people is? We can be in the lowest of the lows, and yet in one second reach the highest of the highs… in one second. ~ R’ Shlomo Carlebach

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Reflection

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“’As in water, face mirrors face, so is the heart of a man to man.’ Just as our own image reflects back at us when we gaze at water, so does the heart of one person towards another’s. When we regard a friend with love and encourage him, praise him -evil abandons him and he suddenly smiles back.” ~ R’ Menachem Azolai as translated by Dov Elias

כמים הפנים לפנים כן לב האדם לאדם ) משלי כז,יט)

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The Keys to Success

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“A person should be happy with whatever he is currently doing, since this is the product of Divine Providence. Each person should apply themselves fully and do the very best job he or she can. Perseverance, patience, and happiness with one’s current lot in life are the keys to success.” ~ The Garden of Peace

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Rely on Hashem; Not on Your Wealth

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Emuna Daily

If he relies on his great wealth, it will be taken from him and left to someone else, as it says in Scriptures “He lies down rich, and it is not taken away; he opens his eyes, and it is gone” (Iyov 27:19) ~ Chovos Halevovos