Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

Making a Place for Hashem — Parashat Terumah


Listen Later

The pasuk says in this week's Parashat Terumah, וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם Hashem commanded the Jewish people to make a Mishkan so that He could rest His Presence among them. Obviously, the Presence of Hashem cannot be contained in a physical building. Perhaps one of the lessons we can learn from here is that if we make a place for Hashem to come into our lives, He will reveal His Presence to us in ways that can transcend nature. How do we make that place? By believing in His control and His abilities. The Be'er HaParasha related a story that recently took place, heard directly from the man involved. A man whom we'll call Yehuda had just merited his first baby after four years of marriage. Last year on Chol HaMoed Pesach he was learning the sefer Netivot Shalom, and there he read that if a person has proper emunah — namely, that nothing is hard for Hashem and He can always help no matter what the issue is — then he can merit his own personal Keriat Yam Suf. The sefer advised having those thoughts and feelings especially on the seventh day of Pesach, when Keriat Yam Suf occurred. Yehuda came home that day very excited to put into practice what he had just learned. He was going to work on believing that Hashem can do anything, including giving him and his wife a baby. He also invited his sister to stay with them for Shevi'i shel Pesach, as she had been struggling with shidduchim for almost seven years. He wanted her to also have this emunah so she could have her very own Keriat Yam Suf as well. They read stories about emunah and statements of Chazal about Hashem, and they truly took to heart that Hashem could help them in an instant. They felt so strong in their emunah that they could already feel the joy of salvation. Now, less than a year later, on the Sunday of Parashat Beshalach, this sister celebrated her wedding. And on Tuesday of Parashat Beshalach, Yehuda and his wife celebrated the birth of their very first baby. True belief in Hashem's salvation can do wonders. A woman told me she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and was instructed to schedule surgery immediately to have it removed. The doctors sounded very negative and instilled a great deal of fear in her. She is a woman who learns emunah daily and refused to let the diagnosis overtake her. She focused on emunah, on Hashem, and on praying, and two weeks later the surgery was done. They told her they believed they removed everything, but she would need months of chemotherapy going forward. She asked them to please take a biopsy before starting any chemo. They told her it was ninety-nine percent certain cancer and she would definitely need treatment. She answered, "I am going to be from the one percent. Please check it." She then went and strengthened her emunah even more, reviewing articles she had saved about how doctors' prognoses are meaningless when it comes to Hashem. She even sent them to her family to strengthen them as well. At the next appointment she asked again if they had taken the biopsy. Once again they told her it was ninety-nine percent a problem, but they had done the test and were waiting for results. Once again she said, "Ninety-nine percent means there is one percent that it is fine, and I believe Hashem can put me in that one percent." The next day, Erev Shabbat, she received a call from one of the doctors who told her, "Your prayers must have been answered. Everything is fine. You don't need any chemotherapy." She felt the greatest feeling — the feeling of Hashem's salvation, the feeling that her emunah was rewarded. She was overwhelmed with gratitude. The more we want Hashem in our lives, the more He reveals Himself to us. Shabbat Shalom.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Living Emunah By Rabbi David AshearBy Rabbi David Ashear

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

94 ratings


More shows like Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

View all
The Rabbi Sacks Legacy by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

The Rabbi Sacks Legacy

556 Listeners

The Israel Guys by The Israel Guys

The Israel Guys

317 Listeners

Jewish Stories to Inspire: Motivational & Spiritual Stories Based on the Torah's Ethics, Values and Wisdom by Stories to Inspire

Jewish Stories to Inspire: Motivational & Spiritual Stories Based on the Torah's Ethics, Values and Wisdom

186 Listeners

Living with Emunah by Rabbi Efrem Goldberg

Living with Emunah

110 Listeners

Meaningful People by Meaningful Minute

Meaningful People

2,007 Listeners

From the Inside Out: With Rivkah Krinsky and Eda Schottenstein by Rivkah and Eda

From the Inside Out: With Rivkah Krinsky and Eda Schottenstein

264 Listeners

The Q & A with Rabbi Breitowitz Podcast by Rabbi Dr Yitzchak Breitowitz

The Q & A with Rabbi Breitowitz Podcast

235 Listeners

Call Me Back - with Dan Senor by Ark Media, Ilan Benatar

Call Me Back - with Dan Senor

3,249 Listeners

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing by The Times of Israel

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

1,070 Listeners

Kosher Money by Living Lchaim

Kosher Money

820 Listeners

History for the Curious - The Jewish History Podcast by JLE

History for the Curious - The Jewish History Podcast

237 Listeners

Gedale Fenster - Podcast by Gedale Fenster - Podcast

Gedale Fenster - Podcast

402 Listeners

Honestly with Bari Weiss by The Free Press

Honestly with Bari Weiss

8,533 Listeners

Inspiration for the Nation with Yaakov Langer by Living Lchaim

Inspiration for the Nation with Yaakov Langer

1,119 Listeners

Stories Of Hope With Tzipora Grodko by Meaningful Minute

Stories Of Hope With Tzipora Grodko

344 Listeners