Author Archives: Orit Esther Riter

BS’D

Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of Yisrael Meir ben Roza, the young man who was trampled at the funeral of Rabbi Wosner ztk’l.  May Hashem shower him with a complete healing refuat hanefesh v’refuat haguf among all of those who are sick in suffering in Klal Yisrael, b’karov, b’rachamim, Amen.

Some of the reasons why it is so difficult to cope with our nisyonot:

1) Pride; we feel that we are undeserving of such hardships, but the truth is we are undeserving of everything that we have because everything is a gift

2) Lack of patience; the yeshua will come in due time.

3) We focus on the past. Don’t look back just look forward to a new start. Remembering how long the difficulties have lasted wears us to the core.

4) “Ba’asher nafalti kamti.. (From within my fall I will rise).” There are times when we feel we have fallen into a pit of despair without any means of being able to get up. Even though it seems like the world around us has darkened and that Hashem, chas v’Shalom has hidden His face from me, be aware that this is a descent for the purpose of ascent. My distance will bring me closer to Hashem. From within my decline lays my incline. From within? Yes. My strength is there within the decline and it will be revealed to me from within the difficulty. Thus I will be given the koach to lift myself up again.

Knowledge is power. When we dig deep into the reason why we are struggling to accept our hardships, B”H we will be rewarded with the tools to battle them.

BS’D

Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated to Klal Yisrael – a special prayer that we all unite, wipe away the baseless hatred and pettiness which divides us.  May we heed the Heavenly message and love one another through joy and not only through sorrow, Amen.

This is a moment where our entire nation is being tested on how loyal we are to Hashem and how humbled we stand in the face of such harsh decrees. Will we assume the responsibility that every one of us has since we are a nation who is accountable for one another by fault and action? Will we tidy up our act and clean out our chometz? Or will we chas v’Shalom be brought down to our lowliness, retreat within ourselves and grow in anger over not being able to comprehend.

The pain is divinely planned, yet how we handle it is our moral free choice. The only way to make our way through the immense unbearable pain is to be enveloped by the knowledge that there is a bigger plan. As said in the beginning of this article no answer would make us a better people or serve to make us more moral and compassionate.

We must mourn and be wounded by our tears. There is not a pill in the world that will wipe this shocking ache away. Now we can understand Moshe Rabbeinu ztk’l when he asked Hashem, ‘Ad matai?’ We are entering the final stages of this journey of exile; so close yet so far. B’nai Yisrael felt the same just before they left Mitzrayim. Hashem’s response comforted Moshe then and B’H has the power to console us now, the attribute of justice, Elokim, is but another aspect of Hashem’s compassion, Hashem, as is written in Shemot (5:22), ‘And Elokim spoke to Moshe and said to him, ‘I am Hashem’.’

The pain is part of the redemption process; the confusion ultimately leads to clarity. If we remain silent and allow ourselves to cry over our loss, we will eventually hear the soul’s plea guiding us to where we need to go.

BS’D

Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of the mother and daughter Gila bat Francis and Tzipporah bat Gila who were critically injured in this past Shabbat’s fire in Brooklyn. May Hashem send them a complete healing b’riut hanefesh v’briut haguf among all of Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering b’karov, b’rachamim, Amen.

The Jewish soul understands and accepts, nonetheless still mourns. The mourner sits on a low chair and is encouraged to focus on the spiritual side of life; to take the bitterness and rebuild. We see destruction with the same eye that focuses on transformation. The Jew is commissioned to work towards rebuilding Jerusalem with all of its spiritual counterparts that symbolize the wholeness of the human spirit. That is our personal and national consolation and comfort. We are broken-hearted nevertheless still move forward and look to heal.

I can’t help but feel eerie over the thought that this tragedy comes on Shabbat Vayikra the parsha that elaborates on the korbanot in the Mishkan. This inexplicableness is quadrupled when you look at the date of Rosh Chodesh and learn that it is the yahrtzeit of Nadav and Avihu ztk’l – “And Aharon was silent… “(Vayikra 10:3). In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth. Our inner cry should not lead us to question but in due time to restore the damage and build a life filled with more compassion, unity and love of one another. This is what naturally pours out of us after experiencing such a tragedy and this is what we must hold on to even when life returns somewhat to normalcy. (the conclusion tomorrow)

BS’D

Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated in loving memory of our seven beautiful neshamot who passed from this world this Shabbat.  The pain is immense and words cannot describe. We must mourn for the loss and step up to the holy task we have been commissioned to do.  May the zechut of our teshuva serve to elevate the neshamot of these precious angels and envelop the family with strength, emuna and clarity.  May it serve as a refuah shleimah for the Mother Avigail bat Tzipporah and the daughter Tzipporah bat Avigail among all of Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering b’karov, b’rachamim, Amen.

Today we are a nation in mourning; there is no running away from this reality. We are called the ‘Tylenol’ generation – living at a time where we wish to remove all discomfort and pain, NOW. Yet an inescapable part of life is the unexplained tragedies that leave us broken and confused. We are driven to ask ‘why’… but would any answer suffice? So long as we dwell in this lowly world and live with a tremendous sense of distance from our Father in Heaven, our minds and hearts can never be consoled by any ‘logical’ explanation… ever. Asking ‘why’ is questioning the unquestionable and seeking to answer the unanswerable. To ask ‘why’ is destructive since it suggests we are innocent and feel the decree is unfair. Yet our measuring barometer is calibrated only to this world and doesn’t take into account other Heavenly spheres and events.

The fact that we even ask ‘why’ testifies that we believe that there is order, there is justice and there is meaning. Pain and tragedy trips our understanding. We are desperate to understand since greater comprehension enhances our sense of belonging – confusion makes us feel like a stranger in this world. Yet we must realize that living in this world cannot help but leave many questions unanswered – most suffering is a mystery to us mortal beings. All we can do is extract lessons; we cannot demand justification. ‘Why’ in Hebrew is Lama, yet with a slight change in accent we can read it as L’ma, for what. The Jewish approach to hardship is ‘Where do I go from here?’ and ‘How can I return to my original place from which I have strayed?’