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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No True Existence Besides God

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“Chasidic teachings explain that not only is there no deity or power other than God, but in fact, there is no true existence at all besides God.  The fact that we see a physical world is only due to our inability to see the Godly energy which enlivens it.  In truth however, we are totally absorbed within the absolute oneness of God.”  ~ The Lubavitcher Rebbe

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Amein Yehei Shemei Rabba

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Emuna Daily
 Our Sages, of blessed memory, have taught us the awesome power of answering “Amein Yehei Shemei Rabba …” (“Amen, May His Great Name be blessed”). By answering with proper concentration and intent, one can cause severe Heavenly decrees to be broken. Several times each day, when Kaddish is recited, Hashem gives us the priceless opportunity to earn tremendous merit with just a few seconds of effort.

Imagine if someone offered you a check for one million dollars, with the only requirement being that you exert the miniscule effort of lifting the check off the table and putting it in your pocket. The reward for answering “Amein Yehei Shemei Rabba …” is much more than that, yet many people who talk during shul are oblivious to this, essentially leaving millions of dollars sitting on the table, untouched. ~ The Chofetz Chaim

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The Process of Prayer

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“When a person prays to God, it is not merely that God ‘listens’ to his prayers from above and responds accordingly.  Rather, the process of prayer itself refines the person spiritually, rendering him a suitable receptacle for additional Divine blessings.  The receipt of a blessing is thus the direct outcome of sincere, focused prayer.” ~ The Lubavitcher Rebbe

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The Dancing on Simchas Torah

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“The dancing on Simchas Torah is so exalted and so elevated that even the Angel Michael comes down to this earth and collects all the fallen and torn straps of the shoes of the Jews as they dance.  He then uses these to create a crown to exhibit the splendor of Klal Yisrael.” ~ The Baal Shem Tov (Torah Tavlin)

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And you shall be only joyous

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Emuna Daily

On the first day of Sukkos, the Torah commands us to fulfill many mitzvos: sukkah, lulav, esrog, simcha, etc.  On the rest of the days of Yom Tov, there are just two mitzvos:  sukkah and simcha.  But on Shemini Atzeres the Torah is very clear.  There is only one mitzvah that we must perform with every fiber of our being –‘And you shall be only joyous.‘” ~ The Chasam Sofer (Torah Tavlin)

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Achdus

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“It is proper for all of Israel to sit in one Succah.”  (Succah 27B)

This doesn’t mean that we  should actually sit in one Succah, but we should all be willing to sit together with each other.   ~ The Nikolsburg Rebbe

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Be Happy

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Emuna Daily

“If I had already died and the Almighty told me I could come back to life again, image how happy I would be.  Now that I am still alive, shouldn’t I still feel that same joy?” ~ R” Nochum of Horondna zt”l

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