Prayer

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:

Here's how a small segment of the cogent "Nishmas" prayer helps us defeat worry and depression while overcoming that nagging acute problem that each of us has.

This is a moving story about a little boy's devotion to his older sister after their mother died, with a lesson about compassion and prayer.

We're spellbound when we saw a rainbow, because it's one of three sights that refect the Divine Presence. Therefore, whenever we see one, we should immediately make the blessing of "zocher Habris:"
Baruch ata A'donai, E'loheinu melech ha-olam, zocher habrit v’ne’eman biv’reetoh v’kayam b’ma’amarav.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who remembers the covenant, and is faithful to His covenant, and keeps His promise.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֶ'לוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם זוֹכֵר הַבְּרִית וְנֶאֱמָן בִּבְרִיתוֹ וְקַיָם בְּמַאֲמָרוֹ

Today's podcast is not only enjoyable and inspiring, but it gets quite a bit done in 6 minutes, as follows:
1. Takes the confusion out of our task in Elul;
2. Provides simple but effective preparation for Rosh Hashanah;
3. Guarantees good health and adequate income.
Who can refuse such a deal? Not only does it not cost you a cent, but you may download this mp3 and share it with as many people as you like, courtesy of Emuna Beams and our wonderful supporters who, with Hashem's loving help, make this happen.

With all the difficult news in the world, it's about time that we hear something encouraging. Here are seven minutes of hope and great news, information that will help you to see all your heart's wishes fulfilled for the very best.

Today's podcast is dedicated to the loving memory of Jherin Esther Gorcey, ob"m
Do you think Hashem loves you? How could that be compatible with the Coronavirus pandemic and what does that have to do with the 7th of Passover? Let's get some answers...

Coronavirus has thrown millions of people into solitude. All of a sudden, people are facing a new reality that they've never experienced, which as we learn today, is a gift from Above.

Today's video podcast not only gives advice on how to keep body and soul healthy in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic, but shows that King David dealt with a terrible plague in his time that his son King Solomon knew all about, which the holy Tanna Onkolos calls "Kurhana". See for yourself, and see how King David stopped the plague as well as a 950-year promise from Rashi about how to defeat this disease...

In this week's Torah portion, Moses begs Hashem to forgive the nation of Israel for the sin of the golden calf and says, "please pardon them of their sin, Hashem, for they are a stiff-necked people." (Exodus 34:9)
A stiff neck is the Torah's way of saying stubborn. Like any other character trait, stubbornness can go either way, for good or for evil. Throughout the ages, our righteous people have been so stubborn in their faith that they preferred to endure torture and death in sanctification of Hashem's Name rather than compromise their emuna. On the other hand, the riff-raff of our people have always stubbornly refused to recognize Hashem's monarchy and His Divine Providence, choosing the path of publicly and blatantly trampling the Torah's laws, from the time of Moses to the present.
Hashem is not some old lady in the sky that can do nothing against the Corona Virus, Heaven forbid. The first principle of our emuna is the "He alone did does and will do every deed." The Coronavirus, like all powers of evil, are emissaries of the Almighty and the executioners of stern judgment in the world. But like all powers, they can be harnessed to do good as well. Today's podcast shows the amazing way that the Coronavirus is paving the way to Moshiach...

A spiritual antiviral that's effective against coronavirus? Here's hope:
In a mad rush to prevent the global pandemic of coronavirus, researchers are looking for all types of defensive measures, such as boosting people's immune systems and looking for antibodies that prevent the penetration of coronavirus into healthy human cells. The difficulty of coronavirus is that its protein-like spikes serve as daggers that pierce and penetrate healthy cells. From a spiritual standpoint, though, I would take an offensive measure, and use a spiritual equivalent of what the pharmaceutical world calls antivirals, substances that fight off viral infections by attacking the viruses themselves. The power that knocked down the impregnable walls of Jericho can surely knock down the walls of the coronavirus. 
Related: Go back and hear our podcast from Feb. 9, 2020 entitled, Protection from Coronavirus

I was lecturing at an IAF base, and my host - the assistant base commander - showed me where the bathroom was. When I came out, I washed my hands three times consecutively with a cup and said slowly and with intent the Asher Yatzar blessing that one says after visiting the toilet. My host looked at me wide-eyed, as if I'd suddenly sprouted peacock feathers. "Rabbi," he gasped, "you guys even make a blessing after relieving yourselves?"
We sure do! It's the best and cheapest health insurance policy anywhere. Hear this:
For your reference, The Asher Yatzar blessing and the practical Halachas of visiting the bathroom are posted here.