Emuna Beams

To paraphrase the tire manufacturers, "where the rubber meets the road" is the nit and grit of life. This world is no picnic. The test of our "spiritual tires" is how well we hold up under the challenging conditions of real life. Today's lesson shows how to avoid negative emotions and to maintain a healthy emotional equilibrium.
 

The Chassidic Movement began in the Ukraine, founded by the holy Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760). Many of the Chassidic Masters came from the Ukraine, such as the Maggid of Mezeritch, Rebbe Nachman of Breslev, Rebbe Zusha of Annipoli and many more. Both my teacher and I are also Ukrainian Jews. We have a rich past of total dedication to the Almighty and His Torah, even in the face of the most dire persecution throughout the ages. But we have a very rich folklore, with poignant stories that teach us life's true values. This is one I cherish, which shows what true riches are.

Washing hands in prescribed ritual manner is called netillas yada'im. It seems like an insignificant mitzva, but the exact opposite is true. There is an amazing connection between netillas yada'im and Purim. What's more, this mitzva is very conducive for strengthening emuna and personal holiness. Our sages promise that those who observe this mitzva will never lack an adequate income.

Avraham Bell didn't let his second-class status in the segregated U.S. South of the sixties to extinguish his dreams. He grew up with a spiritual hunger. He excelled as an athlete and as a musician. He was an honor student in microbiology at Ohio State and went on to do an MBA at Arizona. Avraham is also an exquisite artist. He now pours his power and passion into Torah scholarship and Divine service. Having moved to Israel with his remarkable wife Yehudit, he now raises children and grandchildren in the way of emuna. As phenomenal a human being he is, that's how humble he is. Meet Avraham - you'll love him as much as we do.

The one consolation for all the madness in the world is that our sages foresaw everything. We are now in the birth pangs of Redemption, or Geula. Today's events are simply pieces of the Geula puzzle. Meanwhile, everything is unfolding just as the Torah, Midrash, Zohar and Gemara told us they would. This is the Megilla of today, the story of Hashem setting the stage for Moshiach.

Dynamo is an understatement when talking about the "Rockin' Rebbetzen", Naama Berger. She was Israel's #1 rock drummer in the mid 1990's. She broke the record for Israeli Women's powerlifting when she lifted three-times her bodyweight. She was the 48kg lifter on Israel's Olympic Weightlifting team. And today, as a Chassidic rebbetzen, she's still rockin', full speed. Meet this amazing woman...

Ponder these four important characteristics of a loving parent, as follows:
The loving parent favors his/her child more than anything else in this world.
The loving parent focuses on his/her child's good points.
The loving parent is forgiving.
The loving parent attends to all the necessary needs of his/her child.
How many parents do you know who can objectively and honestly say that they fulfill the above four criteria? We can't possibly know, but one fact we do know. No parent on earth fulfills the above four criteria so completely as our Father in Heaven does. Let's see how:

The "Brodie meets Brody" series is a one-of-a-kind, where world-class exercise physiologist, strength and cycling coach Menachem Brodie (NSCA-CSCS, USAC-PBT) teams up with Seniors-Fitness trainer, holistic health coach and nutritionist Rabbi Lazer Brody (CHC, CPT, CHN) to show how both women and men can maintain muscle mass at any age, whether they're in their thirties or in their eighties.

Logic and intellect see things through physical eyes. Just as physical gravity brings an object down, logic and intellect knock a person down. Their interpretation of events is negative and pessimistic. On the other hand, emuna sees through spiritual eyes. Spiritual gravity lifts one up. Emuna is beyond the brain and beyond the realm of negativity. With emuna, there is truly no despair.

Today's interview shares one of the greatest comeback stories ever. A headbanger deep into drugs, booze and heavy metal morphs into a pious Torah scholar and a master artisan, the world's only Chassidic luthier (string-instrument craftsman). Meet Z.Z. Ludwick:

Without emuna, life's tribulations look like a lion about to devour us. No wonder so many people succumb to fear and anxiety.
With emuna, life's tribulations still look like a lion. Yet, the lion is only a costume that our loving Father in Heaven is dressed up in. That changes our outlook completely, as we're about to learn.

She's incredible. One of less than ten women in the entire USA who is a 7th degree blackbelt and Taekwondo Grand Master. The only Jewish woman in the world with that distinction and a mother of six as well. She was a Pan Am Games gold medalist and a US Olympic hopeful who became poster girl for United Airlines, Coca Cola and McDonalds. Her agent wanted to strangle her when she gave up a million-dollar Hollywood contract to pursue an Orthodox Jewish lifestyle. Meet this amazing superwoman, Sunny Levi: