Emuna Beams

During the Omer, Rebbe Akiva's 24,000 students died because they didn't properly respect one another. We still mourn them, almost 2,000 later, because we haven't yet corrected their sin. We're all still guilty of intramural hate. Do you know why? Let me explain, with an amazing story from over sixty years ago, about my father, of blessed memory...

The 210 years of exile and 116 years of slavery in Egypt ended with on the eve of the 15th of Nissan, 2448 in the Hebrew calendar. This was the year 1312 BCE. Hashem gave a most difficult command to the Israelites. Each family had to slaughter a lamb, which the Egyptians held sacred as their prime deity. This was an act of total dedication to the Almighty, where emuna had to prevail over logic and fear. Such dedication triggered the final exodus from Egypt, in a remarkable chain of events that we learn in todays lesson.

When Moses relayed Hashem's message of "Let My people go" to Pharaoh, the Egyptian monarch snarled back, "Who is Hashem that I should listen to Him? Besides, I've never heard of Hashem before" (Exodus 5:2). With such unprecedented insolence, Pharaoh was begging for punishment. The punishment came quickly. There were ten different plagues. Each one was a precise measure-for-measure response to the suffering that Pharaoh and the Egyptians meted out to the Israelites, as we see in today's lesson.

How did a fierce, proud and independent people like the Israelites fall into slavery in Egypt? Why did they have to suffer unspeakable atrocities? Here, in first of our 3-Part "Story of Passover," we gain a deeper appreciation of the Passover holiday and of true freedom. 

The Passover Seder night is not an evening of reminiscing about what happen to our nation 3,336 years ago. Like everything else that's Divinely inspired, it's timeless. The Haggadah is about us - today - and much more relevant than the daily news. Our future is where our past is; without our past, we can't make sense of the present.

Shortly after midnight, Sunday, April 14, 2024, Iran launched an unprecedented 130 ballistic missiles, 30 cruise missiles and over 200 suicide drones against Israel. Is this the beginning of World War III?

Rebbe Nachman explains that one of two things happens to money: either Hashem takes the money away from the person, or He takes the person away from the money. They don't last together. King David wonders why people invest so much in something that slips through their fingers...

Since the dawn of our history, joy has been our mode of survival. Rebbe Nachman says that the lack of joy in life is the root of all problems, including health. Therefore, to hasten the coming of Moshiach and to be ready for redemption, we must strengthen ourselves in joy. Emuna is the only way to do that...

Is your money kosher for Passover? Is it kosher at all? Kosher money carries a big blessing and goes a long way...

Don't ever be down on yourself. With emuna and teshuva, there's always hope. Every soul has the potential of being a priceless jewel in the Almighty's crown. This is our concluding lesson on Rebbe Nachman's famous teaching of how to navigate life's ups and downs.