Land of Israel

A wagon master had a faithful donkey who worked hard and never complained. He decided to take his donkey on vacation, so he took it to the luxurious Hilton Hotel by the beach... A parable about life in the Land of Israel.

February, 2023 has been a tragic month for Israel. We cannot allow the blood of our cherished sons and martyrs to cry out in vain. It's easy to blame others but that won't stop the bloodshed. Here's what each of us must do, right now.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not a professional musician. For relaxation, I play flutes made out of natural materials that grow in the Land of Israel, such as bamboo, almond and olive wood.
The Land of Israel is holy. Divine melodies permeate everywhere you go. 
Once, I was under a lot of stress. I needed first aid, so I took a flute and walked to a secluded beach near Ashdod's ancient citadel. I put the flute to my mouth and this is what came out. Seven minutes later, I forgot all about the stress. This melody will calm you to. I use it to sing Psalm 23. That's where the name "Calming Waters" come from. Enjoy it and feel free to download it, courtesy of "Lazer Beams".

Rabbi Lazer takes us to the holy city of Tzfat where we visit the gravesite of the famed scholar, Kabbalist and poet Rabbi Elazar Azkari (1533-1600). He composed the beautiful melody Yedid Nefesh ("friend of the soul"), which we all sing on Shabbat. Included here are the original Hebrew lyrics in English transliteration and a lovely vocal rendition by Asaf Neve Shalom.

Dan was one of Jacob’s twelve sons, the patriarchs of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The great grandfather of the mighty Samson, Dan was a fierce and courageous warrior. But as fierce as he was, he taught his offspring to be kind and compassionate toward others. This message from his holy gravesite is especially important for the Omer period. This is an opportune time to rectify the sin of baseless hate.

Moshe, a sergeant in the Israeli Navy, had beads of sweat on his forehead; tears glistened in his eyes. "The newspapers don't write about the miracles and the Divine Direction that we all saw when that missile hit us. I ran to my bunk on the deck right below the landing pad. It was charcoal; my metal bunk was completely melted down and all my possessions were ashes. If I hadn't been detained in the chapel and in the dining room for Shabbat meal, I'd have been charcoaled too. I haven't stopped thanking Hashem since..."
Israel's turbulent history transcends all logic, military and otherwise. It's beyond nature to the extent that experts in military history and strategy understand everything but Jewish history. That's exactly the subject of our lesson today. Hashem's personal Divine Direction is constantly defying nature and logic.

In Psalm 27, King David expresses the desire to sit in the House of the Lord all the days of his life, but then he requests to be able to visit the Lord's palace. Doesn't that sound like a contradiction? If you're somewhere all the time, why must you ask to visit that same place? It's not a contradiction at all; here's why:

We are all accountable; not even a Prime Minister can circumvent the Heavenly Court. How will you answer these questions, Naftali?

From the holy Western Wall in Jerusalem, here is an emuna-look at the current political situation in Israel.

This 18-minute video podcast comes in all about the Meron Tragedy, one of Israel's worst civilian disasters ever,

Emuna Beams is delighted to host one of the world's foremost experts on the mitzvoth of the Land of Israel, Rabbi Moshe Bunim Mintz shlit'a, head of the Halichot Ha'aretz rabbinical seminary in Israel. In the course of the lesson, which we hope will be the first of a series, we also learn the importance of living in the Land of Israel. The lesson is in Hebrew, with English translation by Rabbi Lazer Brody. 38 minutes.

Today, an olive best categorizes the American Jew. We'll learn how and why in today's emuna-oriented analysis of current events in the USA.