Category Archives: Daily Dose Of Emuna

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The fortress surrounding emuna

March 31, 2014
Orit Esther Riter

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BS’D

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.

Today’s Daily Dose of Emuna is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of Neshama Tehilla bat Chana. Link to log of all previous updates: http://www.iraheller.com/NeshamaTehila.htmlLink to YouTube clip of ‘My Little One’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6mx3J1PwPI. May Hashem send Neshama Tehilla bat Chana a complete healing refuat hanefesh v’refuat haguf amongst all of Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering b’karov, b’rachamim, Amen!

Chinese Auction

March 30, 2014
Daily Dose Of Emuna
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TO PURCHASE TICKETS ON-LINE, PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:

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Have you been inspired by the Daily Dose of Emuna? Show your support by attending OR purchasing raffle tickets at our

First Annual Chinese Auction….

Emuna seedlings

March 27, 2014
Orit Esther Riter

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Emuna is an innate gift given to every Jew.  The emuna seeds were ‘planted’ during the entire experience of Yetziat Mitzrayim; with every plague another seedling was lovingly planted in our hearts by Hashem, a testimony of His love for us.  We read in the Pesach Hagaddah, “Ani v’lo saraf (It was I {Hashem} and not an angel)” who redeemed you from Mitzrayim; so that we remember that we were and still are personally taken care of by Hashem Himself.

Genuine emuna is a settled intellectual conviction that what Hashem has promised will indeed come to pass.  Borei Olam’s promises of our future are as certain and reliable as though they were being told to us personally right now.  We should be keenly aware of Hashem’s love for us at every given moment.  The word bitachon (trust) is derived from the word betach (secure).  In other words it describes a state of safety, security and certainty, not just intellectually but emotionally.

“Ki karov eilecha hadavar me’od b’ficha u’vilvavecha la’asotoh (For the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it)” (Devraim 30:11).  Although this particularly refers to our ability to do teshuva, it is a well known teaching that after doing a spiritual accounting we are gifted with incredible closeness to Borei Olam.  The ability to bond to Hashem is very near to us, we need not travel far to access it, as it is warmly planted in our hearts.

 

A tefillah before Pesach cleaning and preparations

March 26, 2014
Orit Esther Riter
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BS’D

I am prepared to perform the mitzvah of cleaning for Pesach; internally and externally, to clean away my fears, anger, sadness, worry, transgressions and faults.  May it be Your will that all of my work should find favor in Your eyes and give nachat ruach to Hashem Yitborach.

Please Hashem help me serve You in happiness, to burn away any distractions coming from the yetzer hara such as tension, anger, frustration and sadness that disconnect me from You. I pray and hope that through my cleaning here below of my home and possessions I shall prepare myself emotionally and spiritually for the upcoming Chag Pesach.

I therefore ask that I go about my Pesach preparations with emuna shleimah and trust that whatever I am able to do is exactly what You want me to complete  – no more and no less.  May I accept it all with love and inner calmness.   I wish to clean my outer surroundings as well as my inner core of all chometz; from arrogance, anger and false sense of control.  May I rectify all of the negativity that surfaces throughout my preparations and arrive to a place of wholeness.

May I live by the passuk, “Shiviti Hashem l’negdi tamid (Seeing Hashem in front of me always)” and know that everything that I see is from YOU and none other.  I want to fulfill only Your will Hashem and react out of emuna shleimah and simcha only.  I pray to identify with my inner core of greatness, my G-dly spark, that is where my infinite power lies, my point of connection to You.  I can overcome all negative inclinations by remembering that Your love for me is eternal and You desire only my ultimate best.

Help me identify with my infinite value no matter how much I am able to do and complete.  Help me recognize that true value comes from attaching myself to You through every circumstance and challenge.  I want to always attach myself to happiness, patience, unconditional love, a positive mindset and thinking, and emuna shleimah

The purpose of these days of preparation and the entire Chag Pesach is to free myself from the bondage of the yetzer hara so that I may be free to serve You on a soul level.  An Eved Hashem is free from bodily restraints, impulses and negative middot. That is who I truly am and who I wish to uncover through my Pesach cleaning and preparations.

 

Its never too late to teach your kids Emuna

This is a perfect gift for afikoman

leah_book1

 

What the soul needs – part III

March 24, 2014
Orit Esther Riter
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BS’D

The process that the soul must go through in this world to attach itself to Hashem is laden with struggles.  As the soul ascends from level to level in its attempt to complete its mission, it will experience downfalls.  This should be expected and planned for.  There is no need to despair since this is part and parcel of its refinement process.

Principally speaking, these spiritual falls are intended to increase our drive to come closer to Hashem and build our relationship.  As part of the effort to regain attachment, we begin doing teshuva and take inventory of our spiritual standing.   Thus, Rebbe Nachman ztk’l teaches this is a descent for the purpose of an ascent.

From here we conclude a remarkable lesson: this lowly world provides our soul with the precise environment it needs to battle, overcome and B’H elevate itself to those levels that it would not be able to attain if stayed on high.  This world is ‘boot camp’ for the soul where we experience countless ups and downs so that we may increase our ratzon (intense desire) and determination to attach ourselves to higher and higher spiritual levels.

Living life with the knowledge that we will periodically receive a ‘wake-up’ call through those challenges so that we do not miss ‘our mark’ is heartening to say the least.  The goal is to keep reminding ourselves that this is what life is all about and not to get sidetracked with other thoughts and goals in mind.

What the soul needs – part II

March 23, 2014
Orit Esther Riter
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BS’D

Last week, we left off and addressed the question on how the soul is satisfied by worldly delights being that it is completely spiritual.  We concluded that it is nourished by the G-dly essence in each materialistic object which temporarily consoles it until it completes its mission in this world and returns ‘home’.

Yet, in order to ensure that we have free will, Hashem also placed holy sparks in those things that are forbidden and go against His will.  In those instances where we c’v indulge in forbidden acts and behaviors, we supply our soul with the husks of these holy sparks.  They are fundamentally impure being that they come from the other side (Sitra Achra), which causes the soul to forget about Hashem and increases the distance between them.

However, when we involve ourselves in the material world and use it to fulfill Hashem’s will, we provide our soul with holy nourishment enabling it to attach itself to Him.  Therefore, we should not look to detach ourselves from the world around us but partake in physicality in order to benefit the soul.

With that being said, there is a subtle line that when crossed we run the risk of excessive involvement with materialism which may lead us to get caught up with the physical pleasure associated with it. This comes as a result of the sin of Adam HaRishon which caused forces of impurity to enter into every physical item as well.  We may become distracted by the physical delight and thus damage Hashem’s light.

The way to ensure that this does not occur is to do everything with as much sanctity as possible.  Moderate our activities and infuse them with as much spiritual intent as possible.

Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of Menachem ben Pesya amongst all of Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering b’karov, b’rachamim, Amen!

What the soul needs

March 20, 2014
Orit Esther Riter
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BS’D

When the soul departs from the world above and descends into a person’s body it immediately senses the great distance from the warmth and love of Hashem.  However with this emptiness comes a strong yearning to reunite to Him; the greater the longing the stronger its determination to rejoin.

The greatest emptiness the soul experiences is how much it needs Hashem.  It is left with no meaning since it has essentially been cut off from the Divine light. With every mitzvah though the soul is cared for and ‘fed the food’ it so desperately seeks, bonding with Hashem and being enveloped by His light.  A mitzvah brings comfort to the soul and eases its burning desire to ‘feel’ Borei Olam.

If that is the case then the big question that needs to be addressed is how can the soul be satisfied by worldly material pleasures if it seeks only Hashem?  The profound answer to this common question is that embedded in all materialistic objects are holy G-dly sparks (nitzotzot kedusha) that enables them to exist. The Ba’al Shem Tov HaKadosh teaches that Hashem is found in everything and everything has Hashem in it.  Therefore, within the materialistic existence there is a glimmer of G-dliness.

It is to this ray of Divine light that the soul is drawn and derives pleasure from even in the material world.  In effect, it is pacified with any bit of Hashem’s essence that it can get a hold of as it patiently awaits to complete its mission in this world and return back to the Heavens above. Gevaldig vort!

Today’s Daily Dose of Emuna is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of the four soldiers that were injured on the Syrian border yesterday.  Their names are: Ohad ben Chana, Michael ben Svetlana, Tamir Moshe ben Chava, and the most seriously injured Alon ben Orli. May Hashem send a complete healing for all of Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering b’karov, b’rachamim, Amen! 

There is a link below to perek 130 to make it easier for us to daven for those in need.  Click here to say tehillim perek 130

 

The soul’s mission

March 19, 2014
Orit Esther Riter
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BS’D

Today’s Daily Dose of Emuna is dedicated l’iluy nishmat Leibel ben Ya’akov.  May his neshama bask in the Divine radiance amongst all of the tzaddikim who have departed from this world, Amen.

To sponsor a Daily Dose emuna lesson in someone’s zechut, please contact OritRiter@gmail.com.

The Rebbe of Kotzk said:  “If a person is truly aware that Hashem created the world, then all earthly things appear to be of negligible value.  If one were truly convinced of the uniqueness of his mission in life his behavior would be radically different and he would put great effort into discovering that mission and fulfilling it.  The extent of our efforts to accumulate earthly things indicates the value we ascribe to materialism.  The very first words of the Torah hint at the basis for a spiritual life, “And the earth (and everything associated with it i.e. material goals) was barren and desolate.” (Bereishis 1:2)  From the onset of the Torah we are already being taught what our goals in life should be – to attach our soul to Hashem; anything else is meaningless and empty.

In the coming days we shall delve into the idea of synchronizing our will with Hashem’s will so that we may eternally bound ourselves to Him.  Pursuit of this lofty goal essentially nourishes our soul and contributes to a healthy well-rounded life enveloped in meaning and happiness.  Fundamentally, this is the basis of performing all mitzvot.

When the soul descends to this world it is placed in a coarse materialistic package called the body.  This environment creates a thick barrier which obstructs the soul from being able to sense attachment to Hashem.  Basically you can call the body a spiritual sewer, yet it is in this most challenging space that the soul can fulfill the goal of attaching itself to doing Hashem’s will through free-will.

Hashem ‘craves’ for us (a.k.a. the soul) to become one with Him.  The success in doing so is solely dependent on our will.  Our will is developed through recognizing and strengthening our deep love for Him; the more we love Hashem the more we will desire to become one with Him.

Ego vs. soul

March 18, 2014
Orit Esther Riter

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BS’D

In what instances does our G-dly soul express itself in everyday life?  When we aspire to spread goodness onto others, act unselfishly and go beyond our natural tendencies – we shine our Divine light onto the world.  The greatest challenge that we incur is that our G-dly soul is often hidden underneath many layers of animalistic drives.  The process is similar to discovering the roses in between the weeds.

By default our thoughts, speech and actions stem from our animal soul, in other words we are naturally drawn to act selfishly.  Material indulgence is another pathway that is filled with booby-traps and tricks to lure us to follow our animalistic drive, a.k.a ego.  In short, all motivating factors that originate from self-absorption are not Divinely inspired and interfere with our G-dly mission.

Excessive focus on our egos leaves us short sighted of our grand task in life; to get to know who we really are, a spark of G-dliness.  We are here to work on perfecting ourselves and refine our character traits beyond those which we were born with.  Let us not loose track of this tremendous challenge and sense of accomplishment followed after a job well-done.

World masks

March 17, 2014
Orit Esther Riter

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BS’D

Every day it’s Purim outside the home; the world wears a mask particularly the yetzer hara.  The evil inclination does not expose itself in its entirety before mankind and simply request that we sin.  It ‘masks’ itself in mitzvot and then cunningly draws a person into sin.

Everything serves a purpose.  As we pass others on the street and ‘happen’ to hear a few words of their conversation, know that those few words ‘caught’ by our ears are specifically intended for our ears to receive.  The choice lies in how we respond to this experience – will we simply let it pass or attempt to extract meaning from it.

As we learned before, every Jew is in charge of redeeming their specific holy sparks thus participating in the rectification of creation.  For instance when we experience love it is a ‘mask’, a shell hiding within it its true essence; love of Hashem.  By ascending this and all emotions to their root source, essentially we redeem their holy essence and hasten the geula.

Purim is named after the concept of the lottery – happenchance.  The world ‘sells’ us ‘chance’ day-in and day-out – results that are brought about through cause-and-effect.  However the Jewish nation is taught to follow supernatural laws and look behind the façade the world is wearing.  Hashem is ‘behind, in-front and within’ every happening- beyond rationality.

Inside every Jew there is a spark of G-dliness which requires constant uncovering to become revealed.  B’H the groggers and noisemakers of Purim wake us up so that we discover our calling and seek to expose the hidden G-dliness in everything.

SHUSHAN PURIM SAMAECH!

Today’s Daily Dose Of Emuna  is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of Ora bat Dina just recently diagnosed 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!

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