Great Lesson on Anger and Free Will

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“At the time of a person’s anger, faith in God has left him.  For were he to believe that what happened to him was God’s doing, he would not be angry at all.  And while it is true that the person who is cursing him, or striking him, or causing damage to his property, possesses free choice, and is therefore guilty…nevertheless, as regards to the person harmed, this incident was already decreed in Heaven and God has many agents through whom He can act.” ~ Tanya, Igeres Hakodesh Ch. 25

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The Greatest Wisdom

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“The greatest wisdom is not to be too wise, but to obey the command of Hashem without much speculation.” ~ R’ Yosef Patznovsky zt”l (Pardes Yosef) as quoted in Torah Tavlin

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Who is Blessed?

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“Blessed is the man who trusts in God, who makes God his refuge” ~ Yirmeyahu 17:7 which is quoted in Shacharit and Birkat Hamazon

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Either Way, Someone is Hurting

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“We have a tradition from the Baal Shem Tov that when someone tells you ‘not good things’ about another person, you should feel great pain and distress. Because, either way you look at it, someone is hurting: If the story about this person is true, then things are not good for him. And if the report is false, then the one who has fabricated it is hurting.” ~ Bringing Heaven Down to Earth by Tzvi Freeman

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Accepting our Failures

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“As Hashem knows what’s best for us, we should accept our failures lovingly and with emuna, just as we accept our successes.” ~ The Garden of Emuna

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It’s Not How Much You Have…

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“It’s not how much or how little you have that makes you great or small, but how much or how little you are with what you have.” – R’ Samson Raphael Hirsch zt”l

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Levi

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“Just like a blind or lame man should not be called up to read a section of the Torah dealing with blind or lame people, like the halacha states, similarly, only a Levi can be called to read the story of the Golden Calf, for only the Levi’im were completely innocent of that sin.” ~ Sefer Siach Sarfei Kodesh as quoted in Torah Tavlin

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The Seudah

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“A person who truly knows what he is doing, can accomplish more through his Purim seudah than during Neilah on Yom Kipper!” ~ R’ Yisrael Salanter zt”l as quoted in Torah Tavlin

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Mini Yom Kippur

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“Purim is also a special day of teshuva, a miniature Yom Kippur. Yom Kippurim, the name of Yom Kippur in Hebrew, means ‘A day like Purim.’ Just as teshuva, prayer, and charity invoke Divine compassion and atonement on Yom Kippur, they act the same way here on Purim. Yet, Purim is more difficult than Yom Kippur. It’s easy to do teshuva when you’re fasting. It’s a lot more challenging to do teshuva when your table is laden with delicacies and when you’re drinking wine. In that respect, we should take advantage of the Fast of Esther to do complete teshuva, just like on Yom Kippur, so we can enter Purim day with pure and unblemished souls. – Rav Shalom Arush

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Drinking Wine on Purim

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“Our joy on Purim is not the joy of going crazy. King David said (Psalm 2:11) that we should ‘Be joyful with trembling,’ in other words, we should rejoice while maintaining the awe of Hashem on our foreheads. Especially on Purim, we don’t budge from yirat shamayim, the awe of Hashem. Rebbe Natan of Breslev cites the Zohar and tells us that the forbidden fruit of which Adam partook was the fruit of the vine. By drinking wine in holiness, we literally rectify Adam’s sin and bring a spirit of holiness and salvation to the world. ~ Rav Shalom Arush

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