Emuna Beams

Today's 8-minute podcast is a 4-in-1:
1. It's a preparation for Succoth, telling about the significance of the Four Species;
2. It tells a traditional story, well known to Iraqi Jewry;
3. It's an ethics lesson, and -
4. It has a special message about rescinding the harsh decree of the Corona-virus pandemic.
Enjoy it, and feel free to share and download it at no charge, thanks to our wonderful supporters.

Today's podcast is entitled, "The Last Minute", and it's an emergency message designed to rescue all of us in the last moments before Rosh Hashanah. Many people don't even know where to begin in rectifying themselves. Oftentimes, they fall into despair and just do nothing. There's good news, though. Here's an effective, last-minute way to grab the train of penitence, to be absolved of wrongdoing and to be inscribed in the Book of Life for  a fantastic New Year.

There are forms of Divine abundance that no money in the world can pay for. Divine abundance has a price tag, but it's spiritual. If a person prays profusely and does good deeds, he or she generates spiritual revenue that pays for a portion of the Divine abundance. Even though we must think that everything is a free gift from the Almighty, it's like a line of credit. What we use and don't pay for, we pay in the next world. What we use and do pay for, the credit remains for the next world.
Prayer generates Divine abundance. But sometimes it's not enough. Suffering, tribulation and disparagement – when accepted with emuna – are the tears that bring phenomenal treasures that we would not have attained under any other circumstance.

Modern society is so preoccupied with body that most people don't even know that they have a soul. When people think that life is only body and the physical, they become candidates for depression. Why? For them, each day is a day closer to the cemetery. Is that all one has to look forward to in life? Thank goodness, no!
Champion athletes are highly aware of their bodies. A marathon runner feels what's going on in each muscle of his legs and feet. Yet, an overweight person who never engages in physical activity and barely gets out of the sofa is utterly out of touch with his body. By the same token, one who never engages in spiritual activity loses touch with his soul. Spiritual awareness - awareness of the soul and its Creator - is a prerequisite for happiness and inner peace.
Here's the good news: the soul is a tiny spark of the Creator. Just as the Creator is eternal, so is the soul. A person who prioritizes soul over body lives forever.

Gisel, in her early 30's, suffered from obesity, terrible eczema and feet so swollen that she couldn't get out of bed. She lost her job. The doctors told her she'd need to go on a kidney machine. Then, a friend told her to contact Rabbi Lazer Brody. Here's her testimony, which she shares with the participants of Rabbi Lazer's weekly Zoom class.

Why do we have so many difficulties in life? Is this how a loving Father in Heaven should treat His children? Why COVID 19, financial difficulties and all the grief? In answering these questions, we learn two important principles of spirituality: first, the distancing principle; the second, the end-of-year cleanup. Both are the tribulations we all suffer from, but with a closer look, they're a manifestation of the Creator's absolute love for each of us, as we learn in today's lesson.

Do we have a right to expect our children to sit through lengthy synagogue services like little tin soldiers, without moving a muscle? Do we have a right to expect anything from our children? What's the basis of effective child education rather than force-feeding our kids? In a two-minute message from the holy Western Wall in Jerusalem, Rabbi Lazer explains...

Don't be afraid to ask yourself some serious questions in life. Many people avoid self-assessment, and that's one of the big reasons why they're not happy!
To find our right goal in life, let's ask ourselves five basic questions:
What gives me the feeling of inner gratification?
Do I have a goal or am I going nowhere?
Am I living according to my desires or according to the desires and expectations of others?
What are my good points?
Am I performing my task on earth?
By answering the above five questions, we will not only determine where we are in life, but we will be able to choose the goal - that particular path up the mountain - which will bring us to our personal peak.

Today, we begin to learn the three levels of making peace: peace with the Creator, peace with one's fellow human and peace with oneself. One cannot hope of attaining any semblance of inner peace without making peace on all these three levels.
People are surprised: "Peace with the Creator? That sounds weird!" Not at all; if folks would be honest with themselves, they'd see that they harbor all kinds of complaints against the Almighty. "Why did He make me sick?" "Why doesn't He give me enough money?" "Why did He give me such an abusive spouse/boss/neighbor/etc.?" The list is long.
We learn today that in this world, the sweetness and the sting go together, why this is so, and how it's all for the very best.

King Solomon (who loved Egyptian Arabian horses like Kasaba, the 2-year old filly in the vid with Rav Lazer) teaches that the key to good relationships is realizing that the other person is unique. Recognize their uniqueness and don't make them try to fit into your mold. This is the key to successful parenting, happy marriage and healthy friendships. It's also the secret to raising animals and happy pets. Once we know that, we can make ourselves happy in an amazingly simple way, by learning the 3 keys to happiness, which we'll do in today's podcast.

Certain things are useful, even vital, to carry wherever you go. For health of the body, a rubber resistance band in your travel bag will enable you to do a myriad of exercises on the road with no need for a gym or equipment. For emotional health and for instant stress relief, there's something you should carry around in your mind and heart - the spiritual resistance band.

Today's lesson is a practical lesson in Kabbala, how the seven Divine spheres of G-dliness manifest themselves in the spiritually aware soul on a daily basis, thereby directing affecting health, wellness and overall quality of life.