Category Archives: Daily Dose Of Emuna

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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.

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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).

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At one point in the Torah Moshe Rabbeinu bitterly complains to HaKadosh Baruch Hu and states, “… Did I give birth to them (Ahm Yisrael), that You say to me, ‘Carry them (Ahm Yisrael) in your bosom as the nurse (oman) carries the suckling. From where have I meat to give to this entire nation?” (Bamidbar 11:12). The root word of oman is the same as for emuna.

Just as the mother’s milk is vital in the growth of her infant, so too does emuna play an exceptionally important role in the life of a Jew. The newborn needs to be nurtured and tended to constantly in order to develop into a healthy individual. Similarly, the Jewish soul must be supported through thoughts, words and acts of emuna to vitalize the body with strength to live and assist the soul to fulfill its mission.

However in the above described incident Moshe feels that he can no longer care for the Jewish people and nurture their emuna. Why did he meet ‘ends rope’ when he was asked to provide meat for Ahm Yisrael? After all this wasn’t the first time he was pressed with complaints from them.

This instance though was different since it depicted a nation who simply wished for meat to satisfy their physical cravings and not for existential purposes. This imparts a serious problem since here Ahm Yisrael pursued their material lusts severed from spiritual intent. A person can never completely gratify his bodily desires as taught in Kohelet, “A man does not die having fulfilled half of his lusts.” One lust leads to another one and so forth to no end.

We learn an essential lesson from this – emuna cannot be cultivated if we overexert ourselves in material pursuits. The drive for constant material gain is persistently met with dissatisfaction and complaints; a fortress barrier that prevents emuna from growing. A person who walks around frustrated at not being able to fulfill all they want will not be able to live with emuna.

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The workweek feeds us conflicting ta’ivot (desires), emotions and thoughts. We must search for the the Shabbat within; a time to reflect on the goal and destination of life. This can only occur when we cease our mundane activities.

As we begin to nullify our pursuits to Hashem, to go on ‘strike’, a transformation will evolve. We are filled with false notions, inflated egos, and intellectual philosophies. It is time to release it all and go beyond time, change and space and direct all of our energy into a time beyond time – Shabbat Kodesh. It is time to sit and allow our thoughts to settle – yishuv ha’da’at, a settling of the mind.

Surrendering our will to Hashem and embracing His constant presence is a gift we all deserve. The Divine vitality that we so desperately seek is overflowing and need only be taken on Shabbat. Let us prepare ourselves by making room within for Hashem to enter. Cleaning out our ‘storage of thoughts’ and experiencing internal silence is the pathway to yishuv ha’da’at mindfulness, serenity of mind.

At least once a week we should settle our emotional accounts and take responsibility for our actions. Stop the motions and contemplate the meaning. Settle ‘old accounts,’ clear the air within and with others as this invites the Shechinah to reside within us.

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To understand the connection between emuna and well-being we must first internalize the idea that creation did not originate from eternal matter but is being constantly renewed, as it says in the brachot of Shema: “Uvtuvo mekadesh bechol yom tamid maaseh breishis (and in His goodness renews daily, perpetually the work of creation.”) Hashem is creating life each and every moment from now to the next and from the next to the next; out of nothingness!

Although we often relate to time as one long link and are not sensitized at this time to feel every moment anew, we can still feel this freshness by focusing on the idea that creation originated from emptiness. When we recognize purpose and order in all of life’s events, we inject truth (a.k.a. emuna, health, wholesomeness, relief) into a seemingly disorderly world. By virtue of doing so, Hashem’s presence becomes more evident and consequently our lives feel more purposeful and pleasurable.

The Jewish soul remains eternally bound to its Divine source and sees the world through pure ‘emuna eyes’. The neshama knows only the truth and understands that the nature of fragmentation in this world is to provide us with an opportunity to create and restore order from chaos.

As we strive to reach into the core being of our soul, we effectively expose the building blocks of creation and begin piecing them together each in their correct place and order. Emuna instills our lives with vigor and thus enables us to join together with Hashem and bring His Oneness into the chaos reigning within and around us.

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‘Let Go and Let G-d’ has become a famed axiom; however we are creatures of control. Therefore it is a great saying but often hard to implement. We get scared and anxious over what ‘nature’ doesn’t readily show as a logical means of solving our troubles. We automatically assume that if Hashem hasn’t placed reasonable means to solve our issues than it simply won’t happen… and then we panic. What to do?

Relax. Hashem has planned our lives to the ‘T’. Strive to reach the unreachable and talk to Hashem. Cry, plead and beseech His endless rachamim. Wherever Hashem creates a void we are meant to fill with His presence. It’s time to humble ourselves and say, “Hashem I really really need You. I can’t go on without You. If You don’t step into my life I will fall apart!”

When we say, “I can’t take it anymore” it is because we truly can’t. Why? Because we aren’t connecting to Hashem’s presence and therefore it is like trying to breathe when there’s not enough oxygen. We need Hashem’s intimate tangible involvement in our lives – we really really need it!

When we go beyond our natural tendencies and reach beyond our logic by relying only on Hashem, He will ‘so to speak’ do the same. Therefore ‘Let Go and Let G-d’ can only occur when aim high, connect above and invite Hashem in.

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As we remove the negative traits we make room for Hashem’s love to enter and our desire to bond to Him increases. The reason being self-discipline is the tool which breaks the yetzer hara and breaks down the barriers that block Hashem’s presence.

The call of the teruah is not only the call of Hashem to us but also our call to Hashem. The tekiah is a long unbroken blast, the shevarim are three blows and the teruah is nine blasts. The tekiah represents a sigh of love, the shevarim symbolizes a sort of groan that comes before the tears and the teruah is similar to uncontrollable sobbing.

The teruah is seen as a fusion of love and awe which brings Klal Yisrael to sigh over the lack of revealed Kingship in this world.

The shevarim are felt in the form of Hashem great fiery love for us to which we let out groans and tears.

The teruah injects us with Hashem’s great love which causes us to love Hashem even more leading to a greater love between us.

The powerful sounds of the Shofar should fill us with awe mixed with great longing to return to Gan Eden where we felt Hashem’s closeness and love and never doubted His continuous presence.

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We learn of the virtue of simcha in many places in the Torah. For instance:

“Sos Asis B’Hashem tagel nafshi b’Elokai (I will rejoice in Hashem, my soul will be joyful in Hashem)” (Yishayah 61:10)

We learn from the Navi that genuine happiness is brought upon a person who intimately connects to Hashem and calls Him Elokai (my Hashem). Living with such an intense bond enables him to live as though he has already been redeemed.

“Lev samaech yaiteev ge’ha… (A merry heart is good healing medicine…)” (Proverbs 17:22)
The Metzudat Dovid ztk”l explains that happiness restores the body like medicine, yet a broken spirit dries one’s mind and bones. Most of a person’s weaknesses come from emotional turmoil. When he comes to happiness, his face beams and serves as a remedy for his frailty.

Many studies show the impact that emotional health has on the physical body. Improvements in areas such as immune response, blood pressure and ability to ward off illness can be readily noticed. Nothing has such a direct effect to ruin health and waste life more than grief, worry and a bad temper- in case we needed to reinforce more reason to put on a smile.

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“Our souls’ true desire isn’t to speak to Hashem, to constantly connect with His constant Presence. But the disparities of life, uncontrollable circumstances and our moods may cause us to interact with HaKadosh Baruch Hu differently each time we pray. Whereas we may sometimes reach angelic heights with our tefillah and cleave to our Abba she’baShamayim, at other moments, we feel uninspired or pray only out of obligation. This is certainly in line with human nature.

Dovid HaMelech suggests that the time of the day we pray influences the type of connection we have with Hashem. Whereas evening is a time of darkness, of great uncertainty and of the unknown, daytime is a time of hope and brightness. “One may lie down weeping arbit night, but with the morning dawn, there is great joy.” (Tehillim 30:6)

R. Samson Raphael Hirsch elaborates on this distinction. He teaches that after we recite the Shema in the morning, we say Emes V’yatziv (true and upright). However, in the evening we recite Emes V’emunah (true and faithful). Similarly, during the day we can look up and see the light of Shamayim. It is easier to feel positive because we can see far into the distance. In contrast, at night we cannot see into the distance as our light source is only the dimmer moon and stars. We must therefore more heavily rely on our faith to reassure us that HaKadosh Baruch Hu is still guiding us.

References to day and night are allusions to good and bitter times in life. We are human. We all face difficulties and dark times that may drag us down. We can use our “daytime moments” — when things are light and clear — to boost our emunah. We can rely on this storehouse of trust during the difficult, darker “nighttime moments” of life, to breathe new life into our emunah- hungry souls.”

– Orit Esther Riter, Turn Around, Day 81, pg. 198

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Purim is packed with tons of emuna, fun, happiness and spiritual transformation. The yetzer hara does not want us to reap the benefits from this once a year gift imparted from Hashem on Purim. “Mah lach Esther HaMalka u’mah bakashatech ad chatzi hamalchut v’yeetehn lach (What is your wish Esther HaMalka, your wish is My command)”. On Ta’anit Esther and Purim itself we are entitled to free gifts from Hashem in particular. Here is some of the ways to ensure we don’t miss out on them, B’H.

On Ta’anit Esther get up before dawn do negel vasser, put money in your tzedakah box and light two yahrtzeit candles one for Mordechai HaTzaddik and one for Esther HaMalka bat Avichayil. This is an amazing sha’at ratzon (auspicious time) for our tefillot to be answered. We awaken before dawn since this coincides with the ayelet hashachar (morning star) which is likened to Esther HaMalka.

Recite perek כב’/22 in tehillim 7 times. After reciting the entire perek each time stop and ask for one wish, for a total of seven requests. Women should try to fast as much as possible since this fast atones for forbidden foods that were eaten throughout the year such as food eaten without the proper bracha intention, not strictly kosher, not eaten in a holy manner, etc.

Daven for our Rabbi’s, Rebbetzin’s and holy leaders on the Ta’anit that Hashem bestow upon them strength, health and wisdom to guide us correctly. We pray to be drawn to truly genuine leaders who follow Hashem’s ways in emuna and truth and to remain faithful to their words and teachings. The leaders take upon themselves the sorrows and harsh decrees of our beloved nation. Therefore we pray that they have the strength to carry Ahm Yisrael’s trials and tribulations on their shoulders.

Make a commitment to Hashem on the Ta’anit that B’H if you merit a miracle/miracle in your life that you are in need of that you will publicize and broadcast Hashem’s greatness to as many people as possible and spread Kiddush Hashem just as Esther HaMalka did!!