Monthly Archives: May 2018

BS’D

Most people don’t believe that Hashem loves or even likes them. How is it that we don’t see the beauty, love and care gifted to us by Hashem? Unfortunately human nature is such that recognition of Hashem’s compassion and attentive care comes when difficulty arises. Suddenly that place of goodness shifts to a place of pain. The fact that we distinguish between the two states demonstrates that hardships are out of the ‘ordinary’ agenda of life.

We must strive to cherish ourselves as much as Hashem treasures us. For some reason we do not feel worthy of Hashem’s love and blessings. When we daven we do not actually expect Hashem to fulfill our wishes. Our tefillot are intermingled with doubts of whether we merit the yeshua (salvation).

Therefore the next time we daven it should be with a firm stance that the Borei Olam loves and listens to every tefilla even if it seems otherwise. Hashem fulfills our wishes as He determines best in line with His infinite wisdom and His plan for creation. However, He directs and guides every facet, down to the microscopic detail with tender compassion and infinite love. He sees the bigger picture; past, present and future and knows what yields the most favorite results for us.

If we do not love ourselves, how can we feel love of our Creator or anyone else for that matter? If we do not cherish and value our lives we as though insult Hashem by proclaiming that He as if made a mistake when He created us. Think about it and let the change begin within.

BS’D

“I had a dream that I came to Gan Eden and was given a personal tour by an angel. At first we entered a big room filled with angels. My tour angel brought me to an area in the room and said, “This is the reception area. Here is where all of Am Yisrael’s tefillot arrive before they are presented to Hashem.” I looked around and noticed that many angels were sifting through piles of papers with written requests on them.

We then continued down the corridor and arrived at another room. The tour angel turned to me and said, “This is the delivery room from which all of the pleas are tended to and ‘sent’ down to those who made the requests.” Once again, I took a look around and noticed many angels busy at work.

Walking further down the hallway, we came to yet another room; a tiny quiet room. To my great surprise, there was only one angel who did not appear to be busy at all. My tour angel then turned to me and said, “This is the confirmation room – intended for those requests that were sent down. Here is where we collect the notes proving they were received.”

“How does one go about sending a return receipt for a request that was fulfilled by Hashem?” I asked. “Very easily,” responded the tour angel, “A person simply says thank you to Hashem. Those are the ‘return receipts’ we send back when our requests are answered.”

How sad that this is the least ‘busiest’ room in Shamayim… Something to think about.

BS’D

Our entire purpose in life is to arrive to the One and Only truth- Ein Od Milvado the absolute knowledge of Hashem. There is no other power that brings about events without the ratzon of Hashem; ‘His will’ comes through His emissaries – a.k.a. ‘natural means’.

The Ramban ztk’l teaches in his commentary at the end of Parshat Bo- the intention of all the mitzvot is for us to live with emuna in Hashem and recognize His constant presence and intervention in our lives. The result of which is a profound sense of appreciation for Him having created us and giving us the opportunity to live. This is our sole purpose in life.

To bring this one step further our task is to differentiate between event and it’s seemingly ‘natural cause’ and link it directly to its true source – ratzon Hashem. There is no other cause but His will; Hashem is the Seebat HaSeebot (Reason of Reasons).

The Gra’, the Vilna Gaon ztk’l, further elucidates on this teaching in his Mishlei commentary (22:39)- the founding principle behind the giving of the Torah to B’nai Yisrael is that they should place their complete trust in HaKadosh Baruch Hu; that is the entire purpose behind keeping mitzvot.

There is one and only one way to implant this recognition firmly and deeply within us; repetition and review. Reminding oneself of this fundamental message evening, morning and afternoon is the only way to keep it viable in every step we take. The world presents us with ‘nature’, coincidence and logical reason. Learning emuna equips us with the necessary armor to pierce these outer shells and see Hashem in it all.

BS’D

How difficult is it to do teshuva? To some it may appear to be an unattainable goal. However, the Torah teaches in Parshat Nitzavim regarding teshuva, “Ki hamitzvah hazot, asher Anochi Mitzavcha hayom … v’lo reh’choka hee. Lo ba’Shamayim hee … ki karov elecha hadavar meod…” Teshuva is not beyond anyone’s reach. In fact it is near; ever so near to Klal Yisrael.

If it is so accessible then why do our Sages teach that we need 40 days to prepare for Yom Kippur? Rebbe Natan ztk’l explains that teshuva is easily accessible so long as we yearn for it. Every Jew is capable of stirring their heart with an intense yearning to return to Hashem. As a result teshuva is easily achieved. What begins as a fiery desire to seek truth and closeness to Hashem, ends in a cleansing of the heart and bonding to Hashem, the source of taharah (purity). In summary, it all begins and ends with the amount of desire we demonstrate to Hashem.

Building up desire in the heart begins in the mouth; with tefillah. Pleading and begging as a pauper to a point where it pains us to continue living with such great distance from Him, is precisely what determines how close we eventually will feel towards Hashem. The more pain over the detachment; the tighter our bond will be.

The greater the obstacles that stand in our way when striving for a closer bond with Hashem, the more painful it is. The more painful it is, the stronger our desire to come closer to Hashem. Therefore let us use our pain and suffering as a catalyst to beg Hashem to end this exile and embrace us with a speedily redemption – b’karov, b’rachamim, Amen!

BS’D

The Shechinah sustains life ~ she is the soul of the world. As we immerse ourselves in a life of Torah and mitzvot we enhance the outpouring of love between the Shechinah and HaKadosh Baruch Hu. This in turn injects our lives with life force and revealed goodness. It is only through Torah learning and attachment to Torah principles that we ‘bring’ the Shechinah into our lives. HaKadosh Baruch Hu so to speak ‘”shares” the Shechinah with His beloved nation in order to comfort and guide us through this confusing world.

What can we do to make the Shechinah feel welcomed? It is written in the Talmud, “Rabbi Yossi teaches the Shechinah dwells only in a place of wholeness and not in a place of lacking, not in a place of sadness but only in a place of happiness and joy.”Although during Bein HaMeitzrim we are to diminish our happiness and use this time to reflect on our losses; we are not instructed to remove all joy from our midst.

Joy does not require that we laugh or necessarily smile. Genuine joy comes from living a life of purpose; connecting all instances and experiences to the ultimate reason for existence. At this time we should contemplate the unbearable pain and hardships born from this long anguish-filled exile and acknowledge that we have drifted from our true and holy essence. We need to ‘return’ to our purpose; we need to turn-on our emuna.

BS’D

Misery loves company. A person is not ‘bad’, only so despondent that he cannot control making others miserable as well. Nonetheless each time he enjoins others in his misery he sinks deeper into his own negativity. What such a person needs most is compassion, a caring ear and loads of attention. He should be treated no differently than a person who suffers from a physical condition, only here it is hidden in his emotions; a chronic emotional disorder. His soul correction is dependent on his ability to achieve self-love and nurturing.

It is agony when a person stores his feelings of anger and does not let them go. This mental state causes a person to become hostile not only to the one who affected the grievance but to anyone who awakens the memory of the painful experience. This is the ‘ideal’ environment in which hatred flourishes. Stored anger gives birth to resentment which then leads to hatred and finally causes him to blame everyone else for his problems.

By learning and applying Emuna teachings and principles to the above mentioned scenario, the entire experience is changed. Hashem is the Source of all individual and collective events that transpire. Despite all that a person goes through in life, monumental greatness can be achieved if he lets go of his anger and resentment in a controlled constructive manner, and he takes a major step towards Emuna living.

BS’D

THE DRAGONFLY (SOURCE UNKNOWN)

Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few disturbances and interruptions. Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. They knew when this happened; their friend was dead, gone forever.

Then, one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what he had found at the top. When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, he was so tired, and the sun felt so warm, that he decided he must take a nap. As he slept, his body changed and when he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body designed for flying.

So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never known existed.

Then he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking by now he was dead. He wanted to go back to tell them, and explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended.
But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could not get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he understood that their time would come, when they, too, would know what he now knew.

So, he raised his wings and flew off into his joyous new life!

The lesson: the beautiful neshamot are basking in the warm embrace of Hashem. This is our only consolation.

BS’D

Fear is a powerful emotion. Hashem created every feeling and emotion so that we may use it to our benefit. With that in mind, let’s explore the positive end of feeling fearful and use it to enhance our lives.

Fear serves as a protector since it causes us to proceed with caution. In the event that the danger is real, we can be better protected in hazardous situations.

Fear can awaken yirat Shamayim when internalized correctly. The reality of the fear is Heavenly sent as a means to reflect on the truthful reality of life that there is only One to fear; Hashem’s stern justice when needed to bring the world to its ultimate purpose. We are awakened to grow spiritually.

As a second step to number two, fear deepens our awareness of Hashem and causes us to reach out to Him out of intense tefillah and devotion as we better internalize that we have only Him to rely on. The Ba’al Shem Tov HaKadosh teaches that Hashem sends fear out of love for us, to stir us with Heavenly awe so that we continuously turn to Him with yearning to become G-dly.

‘B’Yado afkid ruchi, be’et ishan ve’aera, v’im ruchi geviyati, Hashem li ve’lo ira (Into Hashem’s hands I entrust my spirit when I sleep and when I wake; and with my spirit and my body also, Hashem is with me, I will not fear.)’ An amazing segula to recite to help alleviate fear (last lines of Adon Olam).