Emuna Daily

The flames of the menorah, a perfect row of lights, are magnificent.  But then there is the shamash, just a little higher, in a row by itself.

If a person devotes his life to self-enhancement, to self-perfection, to growth, that’s wonderful, that’s admirable – but it’s not what will ultimately allow him to reach his greatest heights.

When a person becomes a shamash, dedicates his life to helping others give light, to become a conduit for light and love and hope, then he empowers and inspires others, then he’s living higher.

To dream alone is awesome, but to help others realize their dreams is greater – because you don’t only bring out the best in them. You bring out the best in yourself.

~ R’ YY Jacobson

The menorah goes in the window not just for the outside world to see, but to tell us, the people in the house: Look out at the big world. Now, see that menorah, and the little flame.

It’s a message to you. Remember that there was a time when people didn’t settle. Remember, Hashem is saying, how My people didn’t sell out. They could have used impure oil, but they refused. They wanted to do it right, and they would settle for nothing less.

Those tiny flickering flames call out, “Don’t think it has to be something big, it can be very small, but it has to be pure. Very pure!”

If you give Me a little bit of purity, Hashem says, I will perform miracles for you.

~ R’ Zecharia Wallerstein zt”l

You may be running to pursue a livelihood, but in reality, it is chasing you. 

Do not allow your day to be consumed by work while disregarding family and spirituality. 

When it comes to earning a living, do what is necessary to create a vessel, and then stand back so that G-d can fill it with blessings.

~ Kaleidoscope (from the teachings of the Lubavticher Rebbe zt”l)

The first time I saw Chanukah candles as a child, I was confused. I had never experienced a Chanukah that I could remember, because in the concentration camp, there was no menorah. I didn’t understand that these lights weren’t the yahrtzeit candles I was accustomed to. I didn’t yet perceive that these lights weren’t mourning departed souls and spilled blood, but celebrating our rich history, our triumph and victory as a nation.

Every night, they added another light…it was perplexing to me, until someone finally explained it to me, the small orphan.

Not all candles are for yahrtzeits, and Yiddishkeit isn’t only about marking death, he told me. Yiddishkeit is mainly about celebration, about light and life and marking our blessings.

~ R’ Yisroel Meir Lau

Good rule of thumb: It’s wise not to mess with a people who have multiple holidays that celebrate the outsmarting and defeating of their enemies against all odds.

 ~ Heimish Humor

Jews don’t act based on what’s realistic, but based on what’s right.

Jewish dreams are based on what should be, not upon what could be. 

Right and wrong are how we make our choices. Sometimes we have to ask what’s right, but once we know the answer, that defines our course of action.

When we remember the miracle of Chanukah, we contemplate and realize that what the Chashmonaim really did was make a decision. We are not Greeks, they proclaimed. We won’t see life the way that the Greeks do. We’re going to be different, we’re going to be us.

That was their decision.

And that was the miracle!

~ Charlie Harary

If you want to lean against a wall, you need to be near it, otherwise, you will fall.

Similarly, if you want to lean on Hashem and benefit from His Support, you first need to draw close to Him.

~ R’ Yisroel Meir Druk

No matter what we’ve done, no matter where we’ve been, and no matter what’s been done to us…a Yid is never broken.

People walk around thinking, “No one really knows what’s going on inside of me; if they did, they would throw me out.” If they understood how dark my soul is, they would reject me.”

It’s false.  It’s simply not true.

A Jew is always whole; there is no damage…because the “yechidah shebenefesh,” that pure inner core, won’t allow it.

Nothing can touch the essential holiness of who you are.

That spark doesn’t ever dull.

~ R’ Chayim Friedman

Our only real possession is the present.

If we use it properly, we will acquire something that we will never lose.

We can attach ourselves to eternal life.

Then, the few short years that we have, the passing minutes that seem so unimportant, are transformed into something eternal.

~ R’ Yaakov Meir Shechter