Land of Israel

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.

Eliahu Hanavi says, "When the People of Israel settle in the Land of Israel, Hashem's Name is sanctified around the world." The Land of Israel is not a place to come to for physical amenities and comfort, despite the fact that we lack nothing here. But if a person seeks emuna and closeness to Hashem, there is no better place on earth than the Land of Israel.

Elija the Prophet went up to Heaven with horses of fire. Fire in Hebrew is "Aish", Aleph-Shin. This are also the first letters of "Emuna" and "Shalom" - emuna and peace carry us high also.

Aliya, like everything else, only makes sense in the context of emuna. People worry about Israel's economic and military challenges as well as other difficulties when opting to remain in the Diaspora, but they rarely ask themselves the true question: what does Hashem want from me? Don't be afraid and see this:

Derech Avot, "The Way of the Forefathers," is the ancient road between Hevron and Jerusalem used to make pilgrimage to our Holy Temple from the south. On the way, there are a series of ritual baths - mikvas - that pilgrims would use to purify themselves. Rabbi Lazer Brody shows the remarkable lesson we learn here, for we're not just talking about a "way" to travel along, but a way to live our lives.

Successful Aliya depends on emuna, but to attain complete emuna, a person must make Aliya. Here's why:

Rabbi Lazer Brody tells the story of the village of Etri in the Judean Hills from the time of the Second Temple and its heroic fall to the Romans in 135 CE; featuring special guest Menachem Herman. "Belief in Hashem, no matter what the adversity, is the greatest freedom there is."