Author Archives: Orit Esther Riter

BS’D

There is a big cloud called sadness that envelops our hearts and disables us from enjoying the experience called life.  Hashem created the medicine to dissolve this heartbreak and console the anguished heart – pursue a life of meaning; of Torah and you will be happy.

“Pekudei Hashem Yisharim m’samchei lev (The edicts of Hashem are just, and gladden the heart )” (Tehillim 19:9).  The messages of Torah study are healing and restore one’s health with it’s Divine light.  Hashem’s ‘ways’ are straight and when we make the effort to learn them we remove from our midst all confusion and doubt, thus leaving us with a sense of tranquility and security.  Knowing what is expected of us and following the clear cut path presented in the Torah brings us joy.

By trusting that Hashem’s pathways are the best route to travel on and following His map we are freed from worry, stress and cloudiness of thought.  When our hearts are emptied of these negative weathering emotions it gets flooded with happiness, love of oneself and others.  A happy heart sees life differently, processes challenges in another light and views life as worth living and investing in.

Sefer HaMiddot teaches that sadness r”l brings upon a person suffering since it displays ‘complaining’ over one’s lot in life.  Discontentment over life’s events invites the Beit Din shel Ma’alah (the Heavenly court) to ‘open up’ a grievance case on our behalf to investigate if in fact we were short-changed in life.  Hashem is all merciful and is always in the ‘green’, therefore unfortunately the court will discover that we were in fact treated fairly and in fact should have been judged more sternly if not for Hashem’s endless compassion.

On the other hand, happiness sends the message that we are grateful and appreciative thus ‘encouraging’ Hashem to happily send more our way, B’H!

Today’s Daily Dose of Emuna is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of Natali bat Chaya Leah, a nine year old girl who is awaiting oncology test results. Please Hashem may they see only revealed good and may there be no more suffering in Klal Yisrael, amen.

BS’D

The Ba’al Shem Tov HaKadosh teaches that prayer celebrates our special relationship with Borei Olam.  We should strive to use this time to express to Hashem how grateful we are for the little and big things in life.

Words are garments for thoughts.  As we utter words of praise and thankfulness for the gifts in life we should envision ‘clothing’ Hashem with royal garb, so to speak, and others for that matter.  We choose the type of material, thread and design in accordance to the level of simcha and joy that we put into the words.  Imagine what amazing Heavenly clothes we can design by simply speaking and expressing ourselves joyfully.

The letters of the words in lashon Hakodesh, the holy tongue form an spiritual aura that light up our world and the Heavens above.  Joy infuses the words with such delight that we are able to bond to the Oneness of Borei Olam and create spiritual mountains.  The kavannah, intention should be to see our soul in the words we speak, thus attaching to the Shechinah Hakedosha.  As a result the Shechina, feminine manifestation of Hashem, will talk back to us through our words, forming a soul-union.

Why is simcha so vital in tefillah, thought and action?  Joy breaks the confines of this world and allows us to attach ourselves to the ‘intention’ of Hashem’s doing, as it were.  It breaks through the veils of concealment and allows us to connect everything back to it original source in Shamayim.  Thus the beauty of all happenings sprouts forth and we are enveloped with Hashem’s love, light and emuna.

Today’s Daily Dose of Emuna is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of Masha Miriam bat Devorah.  May Hashem send her a complete healing refuat hanefesh v’refuat haguf amongst all of Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering b’karov, b’rachamim, Amen!

BS’D

In continuation from yesterday’s emuna lesson on happiness, we learned that in order to sweeten judgments at their source we must in effect reveal Hashem’s light to the greatest extent possible.  At those moments when we rejoice here in this world, being that this world is a direct reflection of Shamayim, we infuse happiness in the worlds above.

One of the focal points in life is to internalize that we are in no small manner affecting supernal happenings through our actions.  Being happy is inherently in line with living life with purpose.  By contrast, when we go through life aimlessly with no direction and goal in mind, this leads to insecurity, confusion and a decrease in the value of life.

Therefore, we must remind ourselves that every thought, word and action has endless value and serves great importance in the ‘greater master plan’ of Hashem.  Expressing sincere joy within and without redeems the hidden holy sparks and hastens the geula, without any exaggeration.  Through joy, we celebrate our tafkid (mission) for which we have been chosen to fulfill in creation.  Each and every one of us makes a real difference!

Happiness is a very exalted level to strive for and therefore the yetzer hara will do anything it can to sabotage its pathway.  It is the sadness that comes as a result of the sin that the yetzer hara wishes us to wallow in.  When a person is miserable with themselves, they tend to give up serving Hashem, c’v. If we get to know our yetzer hara and become aware of its tactics, we will B’H guard ourselves from sadness.

Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of Zahava bat Juliet who is fighting a tough battle with cancer.  May Hashem give her the strength to overcome this Machala and gift her with a complete healing amongst all of Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering b’karov, b’rachamim, Amen!

BS’D

Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated to the quick and complete recovery and healing of Faiga Zissel bat Zlota Tzipporah, a four year old who drowned in a bathtub on Thursday evening in Yerushalayim.  Her condition is extremely serious.  In the zechut of Chodesh Adar, in the zechut of all of the outpouring of tehillim and shmirat halashon that people from all around the world have taken upon themselves, may Faiga Zissel bat Zlota Tzipporah merit a refuah shleimah, refuat hanefesh v’refuat haguf amongst all of Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering b’karov, b’rachamim, amen.

The Ba’al Shem Tov HaKadosh illuminates on the importance of living b’simcha and teaches that happiness is at the central core of every Jew’s life.  This teaching was not bounded only to those times where we engage in mitzvot and charitable deeds. It extends to every thought, deed and word that flows from any Jewish person at any time.  Being that Hashem is everywhere, k’vodo ma’aleh olam, we must find happiness everywhere and at all times.

Through simple contemplation of the enormous irreplaceable task given to the Jewish nation which is to co-create and rectify the world, we are lead to the main reason why we should live joyfully.    According to the AriZal life awards us with an immeasurable gift of returning the lost holy sparks back to their source on high, thus bringing harmony and realigning creation, as it were.

Difficulties, hardships and challenges in life simply speaking are times when Hashem’s light in constricted.  This light, an analogy of revealed good, is trapped within husks, klipot which awaits to be redeemed and returned back to its source (a deep complex Kabbalistic teaching on how creation began and unfolds by redeeming the holy sparks embedded in husks in creation).  Essentially it is just like redeeming a prisoner from its captives and returning him back home.  How is this done? Simply put: by seeing beauty in the ugliness of the world, by focusing on Hashem’s ‘good intentions’ behind all circumstances.

Reconnected to its source, more of Hashem’s light is revealed and Divine mercy shines more brightly bringing with it a sweetening of judgments. So much more to be learned… in tomorrow’s lesson.