Our Cares and Worries

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“Since everyone must have cares and worries in life, it makes more sense to carry the burden of spiritual struggles, which ultimately lead to blessings and happiness, rather than waste our efforts on mundane cases, which drain a person emotionally and offer little in return.” ~ The Chofetz Chaim

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Rebbe Yochanan

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“The Talmud (tractate Berachot 5b) tells of the renowned sage Rebbe Yochanan, who having lost all his ten sons, would walk around with the tooth of his tenth son in his pocket and declare, ‘This is the bone of my tenth son that died.  See how I lost ten sons, but am still happy and smiling!  I realize that this world is not our principle concern, and those holy souls that were my sons simply finished their tikkun and respective missions in this world, so why should I be sad?  They are now in a world of eternal bliss, but we are still suffering on this lowly earth.'” ~ The Garden of Emuna

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Holy Beggar

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“If a Jew comes to your door collecting for tzedakah, it’s not by chance that he ended up at your door.  It was because he was sent directly to you by Hashem.  He is there for a purpose.  You think you’re doing a favor for him – he’s doing a favor for you!” ~ The Chasam Sofer

(Torah Tavlin)

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Eyes

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“If a person wants to see something he must open his eyes.  If he wants to see an object off in the distance, he must close his eyes half way and squint.  But if he wants to see really far and understand things that are greater than the normal comprehension, he must close his eyes entirely and use his mental capacities to a greater level.”  ~ R’ Nachman of Breslov zt”l

Here is a great video that shows how Rebbe Nachman’s message is spreading even to NFL players 🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlbFX2QGAIc&feature=player_embedded

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The little things

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Emuna Daily

The big things that a person accomplishes in his lifetime prove his ability.  Physical strength is measured by how big something is, how huge one’s muscles are.  But the quality things in life are measured by how small they are.  The little things that a person does for his friend, a husband for his wife or vice versa, those are the things that are important.  The small things that a person takes care of show his quality.” ~ R’ Chaim Leib Levine zt”l (Torah Tavlin)

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Who is a Masmid?

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“The definition of a masmid is not someone who learns until he collapses, but someone who learns when he is supposed to, davens when he is supposed to, eats when he is supposed to, and rests when he is supposed to!” ~ The Netziv from Torah Tavlin

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Incredible Story and Lesson

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“Sometimes a soul makes a brief visit on earth.  One story tells about the Arizal who was the sandek, or godfather, at a brit mila; immediately after the circumcision, the baby died. When the baby’s friends and relatives wailed like wounded animals, the Arizal said, ‘Why do you cry?  You merited in hosting the soul of our master, Rebbe Joseph Karo (a contemporary of the Arizal and author of the Shulchan Oruch, Code of Jewish Law)!’

With his holy spirit, the Arizal saw that Rabbi Joseph Karo died and arrived at the gates of Heaven.  Rabbi Joseph had fulfilled every one of Hashem’s commandments with didactic precision, except for one – circumcision.  When he was born, he was jaundiced and therefore circumcised later than the prescribed age of eight days.  His entire tikkun was to return to earth and be circumcised on the eighth day of his life; he had no further reason to remain on earth.

The Arizal knew every soul, its background, and its mission on earth.  His testimony shows how our lack of even one small but critical detail makes Hashem’s lovingkindness seem like cruelty, Heaven forbid.  Like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle, if one piece is missing, the entire picture seems flawed.  Emuna – our unshakable belief and trust in Hashem – fills in the missing pieces that our limited vision sometimes creates.” ~ The Garden of Emuna

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The Yetzer Hara Knows Our Tikun

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“The Arizal…teaches that we encounter most resistance in the area of our mission on earth, since the Yetzer Hara – the evil inclination – doesn’t want us to complete our mission successfully.” ~ The Garden of Emuna

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A short and long lesson from Parshat Noach

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“Noach’s son, Cham told others about his father’s drunkenness and was cursed, whereas Noach himself was not.  Thus, speaking ill of one who has sinned is worse than he who committed the sin.” ~ R’ Moshe Amiel zt”l (Torah Tavlin)

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Additionally, for those of you who have time to read a beautiful D’var Torah, I saw the following from a friend of mine, Rabbi Noach Peled:

In the very end of parshas Bereishis, the possuk tells us that Noach’s sons were born after he had turned 500 years old.

Quoting Chazal, Rashi points out that all others before and during Noach’s time had children when they were a bit less than or a bit more than one hundred years of age. Why then, did Noach have to wait the extra four hundred or so years to have kids?

Continues Rashi, Hashem reasoned that if Noach will have sons in his “youth” like everyone else, if they will be resha’im, they will need to perish in the mabul, and it will be a calamity for the tzadik Noach. And if they will be righteous, he will be inconvenienced by having to build numerous arks to house his children and their many households (4 hundred years worth of descendants).

Therefore, to save Noach from tragedy or hardship, Hashem delayed him, and disabled him from having any children for an extra 400 years, so that when Hashem decreed the mabul, Noach’s oldest son was not yet of punishable age and could not be included in the decree.

Those are the words of Chazal brought by Rashi.

This enlightens us to an amazing concept and teaches us a tremendous lesson.

Just imagine Noach and his wife during that 400 year period, how sad they might have been, how depressed, how hopeless. Everyone else is having kids. Everyone else had kids a hundred years ago. Everyone else had kids two hundred years ago. Everyone else had kids three hundred years ago and are now celebrating with grandkids and some with great-grandkids. And Noach and his wife have nothing but an empty home. How horrible it seems.

Yet Chazal teach us here that Hashem orchestrated it all this way purely for Noach’s good, to protect him from tragedy and pain.

What to us seems horrible may very well be Hashem at work for our own good sake and protection.

We do not always have the ability to see the entire picture, to know what divine thoughts lurk behind what may seem a harsh reality. But we do have the ability to believe and to know that all Hashem does is for the best, even when it seems otherwise.

We do not always have the ability to see the picture in its entirety in order to know the divine thoughts which lurk behind what may seem a harsh reality. What we do have is the ability to believe and to know that anything and everything Hashem does is for the best, even when it seems otherwise.

Incidentally, this is actually a Halacha in the Shulchan Aruch “A person should forever accustom himself to say “all that Hashem does is good”.

This halacha is based on two famous stories in the Gemorah, one with Rebbi Akiva, and one with Rebbi Nachum Ish Gamzu.

With a bit of hard work to rewire our thinking, we can and we must train ourselves to think this way, for as limited human beings, never may we assume we really understand what and why things happen as they do. We may hope to understand things fully one day in the future, but till then, we may live in peace knowing that “everything Hashem does is for the best”.

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Long Life

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“Each of us comes to this earth for the express purpose of fulfilling a mission.  Longevity depends on the task we have to complete.”  ~ The Garden of Emuna

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