Emuna Beams

Chapter One of The Book of Ruth is a lesson in Hashem's precision Divine Direction of the world, all its creations and each of us in particular. Elimelech, the richest man in ancient Isreal, thought that he could outsmart the Almighty. He learned the hard way that his efforts were in vain. Yet, Hashem uses his free will to bring Moshiach…

Before the war, when I spoke at a girl's school in Brooklyn. We discussed the importance of a person having his or her own personal relationship with the Creator and speaking to Him daily. Then, a young lady shot up from her seat and said, "Hey Rabbi, what you're talking about might have applied to Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah and other holy women mentioned in the Torah, but not to me and my generation. How could God possibly care about me, especially when I'm far from Torah and holiness and all that stuff? What does He need me for anyway?" Great question; here's my answer...

In one of his most encouraging teachings, Rebbe Nachman shows how a person can attain eternal life. A person who hears this lesson is no longer afraid of death. Don't let this world confuse you.

We don't need Hollywood or Netflix. If you want to enjoy a poignant love story, open the Book of Ruth. You'll also encounter a deep moral and social message that you'll never find in Hollywood.

People think that they can have a life of fun and games with no responsibility or accountability and then expect to earn a first-class seat with all the amenities up in Heaven. It doesn't work that way...

Who doesn't get knocked down every so often - financially, physically, emotionally or spiritually? Life is full of setbacks but there's no law that we have to stay down. In this encouraging podcast, we learn how to fly back on our feet.

We have no idea what we're accomplishing on Seder night. Our sages tell us that it's Hashem's favorite night of the year. The entire Passover Seder is about gratitude. There's an individual message for everyone in the family as well as our guests. No one is left out.

Rebbe Nachman teaches that being happy always is a tremendous mitzvah. Therefore, each of us must make every effort to avoid sadness and depression at all costs. What's more, the core cause of all illness is a breakdown of one's joy. Passover is a fantastic opportunity to recover our joy, and therefore our health.

The most important of Rebbe Nachman's teachings is about hitbodedut, personal prayer, one's intimate private conversations with the Creator. Discourse 25 of Part II deals with this vital subject. We learn that each of us has the priceless birthright of our own personal relationship with Him. This is an asset greater than anything, which only a fortunate few take advantage of.

The Pascal sacrifice, the Tenth and final plague and the Exodus of Egypt are the subjects of this lesson, the third of our "Story of Passover" series. The events took place 3,337 years ago in the Hebrew year of 2448 (1312 BCE), and it's a story of emuna that continues on to this very day.