Happiness

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“Sadness locks the gates of heaven. Prayer opens locked gates. And happiness has the strength to break through ALL barricades.”  -~ The Baal Shem Tov

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Heart

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“If a person tells me that he has a severe headache and he cannot concentrate properly on his prayers, I tell him, ‘Who told you to pray with your head?  You should be praying with your heart!'” ~ R’ Menachem Mendel of Kotzk zt”l (Torah Tavlin)

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Anger

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“God Himself prays ‘May my mercy overcome my anger.’ ~ Abba Aricha (Rav)

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The Stick

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“The old adage tells of a master that uses a stick to clout a slave; the unfortunate slave certainly doesn’t blame the stick for his troubles, nor is he angry at the stick, nor does he try to appease the stick.

…any situation, person, object…that saddens us is none other than a ‘stick’ in Hashem’s hands.  Would we try to reason or negotiate with a stick?  Certainly not!  Just as the slave turns to his master, we must turn to Hashem whenever we seek to understand what’s happening in our lives.”  ~ The Garden of Emuna

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Instructions

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“They translate it as ‘The Bible’, or ‘The Law’, but that’s not what the word means. Torah means ‘instructions’. Whatever piece of Torah you learn, you must find the instructions it is giving you.” – Bringing Heaven Down to Earth by Tzvi Freeman

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Reb Zusha

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Emuna Daily

Reb Zusha used to say:  “When I die and come before the heavenly court, if they ask me, ‘Zusha, why were you not Abraham?’  I’ll say that I didn’t have Abraham’s intellectual abilities.  If they say, ‘Why were you not Moses?’  I’ll say I didn’t have Moses’ leadership abilities.  For every such question, I’ll have an answer.  But if they say, ‘Zusha, why were you not Zusha?’ for that, I’ll have no answer.”

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Judging Ourselves

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“Chazal tell us that we must always judge others favorably.  We must also judge ourselves favorably.”  ~ R’ Nachman of Breslov  (Torah Tavlin)

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Ancestors

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Emuna Daily

In response to an antisemitic political taunt made by Daniel O’Connell in the British parliament, Benjamin Disraeli replied with this statement:

“Yes, I am a Jew, and when the ancestors of the Right Honourable Gentleman were brutal savages in an unknown island, mine were priests in the Temple of Solomon.”

 

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A Jewish Proverb

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“What you don’t see with your eyes, don’t invent with your mouth.”

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The Next Level

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Emuna Daily

“Once emuna precedes intellect, then we’re ready to utilize our brainpower in order to understand what Hashem wants from us.” ~ The Garden of Emuna

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