Emuna Daily

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

There are some commandments that teach us to break our desires and keep away from gratifying them. But on Shabbos, the mitzvah is to enjoy ourselves with pleasurable things, for the goal of Shabbos is not to break nature, but to sanctify it.

The goal is to elevate our physical lives and add a dimension of sanctity to our being.  Since the lesson of Shabbos is that Hashem created all that exists, we therefore are required to sanctify nature and connect it with His service. 

~ The Beis HaLevi 

“A person shouldn’t feel that it is enough that he davens Shemoneh Esrei three times a day. Rather, several times a day, one should pour out his tefillos and requests when he is alone in the house, from the depths of his heart.

This is because we are accustomed to saying the three tefillos, and we don’t pay attention to what we are saying. However, if a person will pour out his heart like water before Hashem, and say the prayer with a broken heart and a humble spirit, this tefillah will certainly be answered…”

~ The Chofetz Chaim in Likutei Amarim 10  

The Baal Bitachon’s attitude is:

“I’m here today, I have what I need today, and I hope there will be a tomorrow, but my focus is on today.” 

~ R’ David Sutton

The Chofetz Chaim was once overheard in private, talking to Hashem, saying:

“You’ve done so much for me; You allowed me to write the Mishnah Berurah, the Sefer Chofetz Chaim….But what have I done for You?!”

We have to realize that the opportunity to do a mitzvah is a gift from Hashem!

People asked R’ Shimon Yaroslover zt’l,

“How did you merit to live such a long life?”

He replied, “It’s because I never asked questions.  When a person asks questions about how Hashem leads the world, Heaven replies, ‘Come up to Heaven. From up here you will see that everything is for the good.’ I never ask questions, so I wasn’t called to Shomayim to receive answers.” 

~ Ohel Shimon p.17

We lead such busy lives, we’re so distracted, but to have successful relationships, you have to learn to be in the moment, to be present.

The spouse you chose, the children you were given, the job you hold – those are yours.

HaKadosh Baruch Hu told Yaakov Avinu, “Hamakom asher atah omed alav – the place upon which you stand, admas kodesh, it’s sacred.”

That’s a mantra for life.  Wherever you are, whatever you’re facing, even if it’s a difficult situation, it’s holy because it’s where you are standing. it’s your place right now.

If you look at life that way, if you’re present for each moment, then you have every reason to dance in the rain…because that rain is planting the seeds for something great.

~ R’ Yoel Gold