Yearly Archives: 2017

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The laws of the red heifer are incomprehensible to the human mind. We cannot understand everything in life. We are probed with questions, confusion, uncertainties – the Parah Adumah is a reminder of how limited our minds are.

What advice does the Torah offer in such cases where even Shlomo HaMelech ztk’l , the wisest of all men, could not grasp this Torah teaching? Emuna Temima (simple unadulterated loyalty and faithfulness to the Torah’s infinite wisdom, no matter how incomprehensible they may be!). There are endless events and ideas in this world that we will not be able to grasp. The only notion we need to remain faithful to is that Hashem is running the universe perfectly; without any glitches!

Oh, how much we plan; dotting our ‘I’s’ and crossing our ‘T’s’, going through the logical process. Nonetheless, the Ultimate Designer and Master Planner knows better. The list of questions; why’s and what’s just seems to get longer with no ‘Heavenly loudspeaker’ announcing any resolution for them.

To those who wish to live a life of emuna- they hear the answers. To name a few of the possible responses: ‘It is not the right time’, ‘Be patient’, ‘The delay is necessary’ and even ‘No, I can’t give that to you’ – to name a few.

In life there are delays and denials necessary to perfectly carve our eternal future life. Accepting reality at times for what it is is the top code of living a healthy balanced life. As the Kli Yakar ztk’l teaches in his commentary on Shmot (25:10), “The purpose of knowledge is to know that we don’t know.”

We do not know and do not understand. This is the greatest acceptance of them all!

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Tzaddik B’Emunato Yichyeh – A righteous man lives by his Emuna. Mankind wishes to strive upward and spiritually elevate him/herself always. The Navi Chavakuk ztk’l explains in three words how to attain it; righteousness comes through living with Emuna. Emuna should be interwoven into our thoughts, speech and deeds under every and all circumstances. Emuna needs to be sewn into the fabric of life. The following real life scenarios will help bring clarity on how to apply emuna into ‘rountine’ incidents that many of us have experienced.

It is a hot day. We make the effort and travel to a public office to straighten out some errands. The line is long, people are impatient, we giggle in our place awaiting our turn to come. It finally arrives. We approach the clerk and are told that we are missing an important document and without it we cannot complete the process. How much Emuna is needed right then and there to accept this circumstance with love?

You are in a rush and must leave Now! Oy, where are those keys? I know I put them here…. What agony… Who is to blame? Me, someone else?

In Mishlei (19:21) Shlomo HaMelech ztk’l teaches, “Many thoughts are in man’s heart, but the counsel of Hashem – only it will prevail.” What is the difference between a machshava (thought) and eitza (counsel)? Thoughts are simply that – thoughts of a final objective. Yet counsel is the outcome itself. The most carefully laid-out plans will not come to fruition if not in accordance to Hashem’s will. As my Safta a’h used to say: “You can stand on your eyelashes…” it simply won’t be if Hashem doesn’t will for it to be.

Remember that next time you are in line or misplace your keys…

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Today’s Daily Dose of Emuna is sponsored L’iluy nishmat Tzvia bat Mordechai a”h. May her soul bask in the Shechinah HaKedosha among all the righteous who have departed from this world, Amen.

The Chofetz Chaim ztk’l teaches a parable that clarifies the understanding of the importance of constant review and repetition of emuna learning.

It is likened to a man who draws water from a well on a freezing 20 degrees below zero winter day. He stores the bucket of water outside until he wishes to use it. However to his amazement after a few hours he finds the water frozen solid. The amount of work now required by him to enjoy some of the water is tremendous; he will have to chisel his way to enjoy but a few drops.

However if he was wise he would have made sure to check on the water every so often. As a thin layer of ice would begin to form on top he would have simply had to give it a quick stir in order for it to break apart and prevent the formation of a solid block of ice.

We take an insightful teaching from this analogy as this resembles our avodah when it comes to learning emuna. Emuna requires constant review, evaluation and integration in our lives or else it will freeze and become difficult to access. The world outside is cold and numbs our emuna senses.

Therefore we must constant dip ourselves into the warm and loving study of emuna to keep our souls well nourished with the ‘water’ it so desperately needs to drink!

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Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of Sagi ben Anat. May Hashem send him a complete healing refuat hanefesh v’refuat haguf amongst all of Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering b’karov b’rachamim, Amen.

Stories of the tsaddikim are stories describing Hashem’s personal intervention with this world; a meeting between Shamayim v’Aretz (Heaven and Earth). Tales of tsaddikim awaken our soul driving us to seek a closer relationship with Hashem. After hearing stories of the righteous men and women of Ahm Yisrael, our hearts yearn with a fiery flame to devote ourselves to be a more perfect Eved Hashem (loyal Jew). These stories are likened to a prayer.

One day, a man who appeared obviously distraught and worn down, knocked at the door of the Chazon Ish. He told the Chazon Ish that he had felt ill for a few days, and eventually he had felt so ill that he was hospitalized. The doctors performed a battery of tests, and they found a virulent infection which had invaded his body. They sadly informed the man that he had only fours day to live; they did not have any medication that would be effective for this infection.

The man broke down sobbing as he finished his story, and the Chazon Ish soothed him and calmed him down. The Chazon Ish opened a Chumash Bereishis, and turned to the first pages of the parsha. He said to the man, “Look what Hashem created on the first day,” and the Chazon Ish began to recite all the things which Hashem created on the first day of creation. “Look what Hashem created on the second day,” and again the Chazon Ish read the pasukim, and listed one by one the things which were created on the second day. He continued with the third day, and the fourth day. “So, if the Creator of the World was able to create so many things in four days, don’t you believe that in four days He can create a medicine for you which will heal you completely?” The Chazon Ish encouraged the man not to give up hope, but rather he should daven for himself, and plead with Hashem that He heal him from his infection. He reminded him that the gates of Tefila are never locked, especially before the tefila of a sick person, which is tefila at a time of tzara.

The eyes of the man lit up at the Chazon Ish’s words. He began to daven fervently for himself, and since he was following the instructions of a holy man, a unbelievable miracle occurred. A new medicine was imported to Eretz Yisroel from America in the following days. This sick man was one of the first people that the medicine was tested on, and it became clear that the medicine was effective for the infection which was ravaging his body. Within a short time, the man was healed completely. (Barchi Nafshi)

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In Sefer Bereishis we learn about Yaakov Avinu’s wondrous dream as he leaves Beersheba for Haran. He sees a ladder standing firmly on the ground, reaching upward to the heavens. Angels are going up and down “v’hinei Hashem Nitzav alav (Behold, Hashem is standing above him)”.

The Izhbitzer Rebbe ztk”l explained that there are two words that can be used for standing. One is omed, which simply means standing there, and the other is nitzav, which implies being planted in place. A human being is an omed. He always has the choice to stay in one place or move away. A nitzav has no such choice; it is planted in its place like a stone.

By using the expression of nitzav, Hashem was telling Yaakov a beautiful message, “Dear child, I have no choice but to be with you.” Hashem wanted us to realize that no matter what, no matter where, He would always be planted and bonded with us. Hashem’s connection with us is forever, something that can never be moved nor shifted. We may ascend and descend the ladder to Heaven, sometimes rising and sometimes falling, but Hashem will always be planted above us and within us. No matter where we are, because we are Hashem’s children, He will be with us.

What a powerful message! It gives one a sense of tranquility despite the world’s thunderous storms.

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Filling our lives with mindfulness that Hashem is with us, intimately involved in every thought, deed and word, embraces us with complete joy. There is nothing as sweet and pleasant as meriting a warm hug by Hashem after we experience His personal involvement in our lives.

One of the main emotional states that stop us from sensing this closeness is sadness. When our hearts are twisted and embittered, even in the very hour that Hashem is helping us, we will not be able to feel His nearness. Our minds become constricted and hearts turn dull, deadening all emotions.

Depression numbs the heart and mind causing it to become disoriented through life’s travels. A downtrodden mindset cannot relate or internalize goodness of any sort. A practical solution to combat this state is to strengthen our mindfulness and awareness of life’s gifts at those intervals when we are inspired and on a spiritual high. This timeframe leaves in its tracks a state of expanded consciousness which stays aflame even after the moment passes. It injects us with lasting joy and strengthens our mind to actively fight sadness whenever it arises.

Once we accustom ourselves to being joyful, people will be drawn to us like magnets. Being that almost everyone is packed with sorrow and confusion, when they spot a person with a delightful glow, they yearn to ‘rub elbows’ and learn from their ways. This is proof of how much the world covets the image of a happy person and wishes to live so.

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A Chassidic vort describes a chassid who came to the Rebbe with the following complaint: “Rebbe, I have foreign thoughts.” “Foreign?” asked the Rebbe. “They aren’t foreign at all. They’re all yours.”

Chassidut teaches that when a particular issue is disturbing you try to “elevate” those foreign thoughts; to “elevate the sparks.” Translate the problem which occupies your thoughts into the language of prayer. Whether you are thinking about business or family or anything else, Hashem is certainly able to help you in solving the problem. Don’t banish the “foreign thought” from your mind; on the contrary – keep it with you, and turn that very thought into a prayer.

To get practical if you are thinking about how to pay your bills, turn it into a tefillah and ask Hashem to help you pay your bills. Cast the thought to Hashem and appeal to Him, “I don’t want to worry about money. I know that it is You that provides for me now and always. Help me cast it to You and focus on my avodah and that which I do have control over.”

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Our moods dramatically fluctuate from moment to moment; joyful now, anxiety stricken the next. Sefer Tehillim offers us an outlet to deal with the ever changing emotions and teaches us the method for handling them. We can draw from the emotional upheaval that Dovid HaMelech ztk’l lived through and seek to learn from the sacred words in Tehillim how to unlock our feelings and use them to connect to HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

Tehillim presents words of wisdom encoded with Ruach HaKadosh, Divine inspiration, so we can be inspired to communicate with Hashem. Through the recitation of Tehillim we connect to Torah, to the infinite wisdom of Hashem, and also to our holy ancestors and their derech. We transcend time and space when we attach ourselves to the ancient words of our forefathers and bridge the past with the present – proclaiming our loyalty to the eternal message of Torah that bears no expiration date.

For example perek lamed in Tehillim is an admixture of emotions. Initially Dovid HaMelech is thankful, then turns to being sad, changing to joyful and ending with a sense of depression. How does Dovid HaMelech cope with his inner turbulence? He rededicates his life (his house) to Hashem.

Rededication is a process of concentrating our strengths into revamping our lives, realigning our thoughts and reorganizing our priorities. Through the process we emerge stronger with a more optimistic outlook on life. This empowerment leads us to broadcast words of praise to Hashem for guiding and leading the way.

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According to the Steipler HaKadosh, one of the main dangers we regularly face in ‘forgetting’ our emuna comes from our ego. The weakening of one’s trust in Hashem that comes in the form of doubts, worries and frustrations most often originate in the negative trait of arrogance.

Rav Hisda in Masechet Sotah 5 says in the famous verse, “Ein Ani v’hu yecholin ladur b’yachad… (Every Man in whom is haughtiness of spirit, Hashem declares, I and he cannot both dwell in the world).” Pride is a destructive force as in another text in the Gemara, Rav Elazar writes, “Over every man in who is haughtiness of spirit the Shechinah laments.” In fact, the bulk of Sotah discusses the sin of conceit in a very harsh manner.

Superiority in many of us may have been part of the molding of our character as children. However, as we mature, we must remove this negative trait as it only leads to our downfall. Once we are able to control and channel our arrogance, we will find ourselves flourishing with emuna and all of our doubts will simply disappear.

This comes as a product of the renewed feeling of not being entitled to anything. If we could only live our lives with the attitude that everything is a gift, to be more precise an undeserved gift that we are given by Hashem solely out of His eternal love for us, we would reach an unbreakable level of emuna.

A key tool in increasing the attribute of humility comes from learning divrei mussar (moral discipline). There is an abundance of CDs, shiurim and books available that help us acquire this noble trait of humbleness. As we develop this praiseworthy quality, our ability to attach ourselves to the Borei Olam with emuna shleimah will become, B’H, second nature.

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Rabbeinu Yonah ztk’l writes that we cannot reach a level of bitachon without first acquiring emuna in Hashem’s intimate hashgocha (Divine providence). This requires first recognizing and internalizing that everything is in Hashem’s hands and He is not limited in any which way. Borei Olam can and does alter natural law and changes ones mazal as He sees fit.

‘In a blink of an eye’ the yeshua can come and we must believe and hope that it will, yet accept that wherever we are today is the best place for us to be in. To sum it up in one sentence: ‘Accept today but pray for a better tomorrow.’

The passuk in Yeshayahu (26:4) reads, “Put your trust in Hashem always,” meaning Hashem created this world and the next and everything is in His hands, therefore He has the ability to help always. What is the test on where we stand regarding our trust in Hashem? We quickly find out when a nisayon appears as we either become drenched in anguish or lift our eyes high and grasp that it is all from Hashem.

The RamBan ztk’l teaches that when we worry we fail to keep the positive mitzvah of “Tamim t’eyeh im Hashem Elokecha (You shall be tamim with Hashem) as is written in Parshat Shoftim. We are instructed to be tamim, complete or whole in our avodat Hashem. Certainly we are human and tend to worry however we must try hard to weaken its control as much as possible!

Chovot Halevavot brings down that the more we know Hashem and trust is His compassion the less anxiety will invade us. This is something that we know intellectually nevertheless must work to practice in reality.