Emuna Beams

Here's a 90-second message to pick you up whenever you think that you're alone in the world.

The holy Baal Shem Tov attempted to explain to his brilliant students the depth of the concept of Divine Providence. Despite their magnificent minds and comprehensive Torah-learning backgrounds, they just couldn't comprehend. How can Almighty personally supervise and determines every single detail of creation? OK, He makes the sun shine, but what does He care about a tiny insect or an amoeba?
The same pious scholars who knew entire tractates of Talmud by heart were baffled. The Baal Shem Tov decided to take them to his favorite classroom – nature, out in the woods. There, he could teach them all about Divine Providence. This is the lesson we learn in Today's Emuna Hour.

Maybe you think that you're not musical but King David says otherwise. Here's how the events of your life come together to create a beautiful melody that's ever so gratifying to the Almighty. The song of your life is so exquisitely unique, and here's what makes it such a special niggun (melody)...

In one of the most dramatic episodes of the Torah, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. At this very moment, Joseph makes a monumental discovery. He suddenly sees the Divine hand of providence involved in every detail of his life. This is a lesson for each one of us, for posterity.
 

Divine Providence is the Almighty's precision constant supervision and intervention over all levels of creation. This is not only on a wide general scale, but down to the tiniest detail in each of our lives in particular. Both in macro and micro, the Almighty decides the fate of the super-galaxies as well which leaf a silkworm in Japan will eat for dinner. As we shall learn, the awareness of Divine Providence takes us to the highest level of emuna.

Yisroel Klein was a young man in one of the Nazi death camps where just as many Jews were dying of hunger and sickness as the ones who were sent to the gas chambers. Yisroel survived the Holocaust by virtue of the story I'm about to share with you, about how one compassionate word of love, care and compassion can literally save a life.

Dara had all the gifts that a girl could dream for. She was attractive, personable, athletic, intelligent and very popular. But, nothing in this world is perfect. Dara became so very involved in herself that she developed a lust for prestige. It wasn't enough to be nice to Dara. She expected everyone to drool over her...
This is a real-life lesson about how hate, jealousy and the lust for prestige are like a fire that destroys life's best blessings.

Nicknames are dangerous. Our name is by far one of our most important assets and determines so much in our life, as we'll learn today.

There were times in our history when the entire future of Torah and the entire future of the Jewish People rested on the shoulders of one woman...

During Chanukah, we recite daily the "Al Hanisim" prayer, which offers our thanks to the Almighty. We say, "And [we thank You] for the miracles, for the redemption, for the mighty deeds, for the saving acts, and for the wonders which You have wrought for our ancestors in those days, at this time." As we learn today, this prayer alludes to the fact that Chanukah was not a lone miracle that happened 2300 years ago. Chanukah is still with us, every generation and every year.

Noahides are truth-seeking people who have exchanged former beliefs for the purest form of faith. The Seven Noahide Commandments, the first of which is emuna, are their guiding lights.
Enjoying marvelous spiritual status in this world and the next, Noahides sometimes feel alone. Some seek to convert to Judaism. Others think they must have a house of worship to attend. They need neither. I do encourage them, though, to network and to develop support groups.
As we learn in this brief and encouraging message, the goal and beauty of a Noahide is cultivating his or her own intimate personal relationship with the Almighty. Nothing is more gratifying.

A hiker, climber or biker will prepare a backpack with all the tools he or she needs to complete their task and attain their goal. Metaphorically, the backpack is each one of us. The tools are the unique talents, skills and aptitudes that the Creator gives each one of us in order to successfully perform our individual mission on earth. Once we learn this important lesson, we're never again jealous of anyone.