One of the foundations to Torah and Judaism is the belief in the coming of Mashiach. In the Thirteen Principles of Faith outlined by the Rambam, we declare, I believe with complete emunah in the coming of Mashiach, and even though he may seem to be delaying his arrival, I nevertheless will eagerly await and anticipate his arrival every day. We've d…

One of the many mitzvos that we have is the mitzvah to pay a worker on time for their services. Simply speaking, when somebody does a job for me and the usual expectation is to be paid on the same day, then unless stated otherwise, one is obligated to complete the payment without delay. The Chofetz Chaim in his Sefer Ahavas Chesed writes that the r…

There are countless Torah passages which outline the tremendously great value of Torah learning, and the emphasis Hashem places on this great mitzvah. The most famous one, perhaps, is the Mishnah we recite every day in the morning prayers, where the Mishnah says that the value of Torah learning is equal to all of the other mitzvahs put together. So…

We learned a very fundamental and important concept from the Gemara, which teaches us that it is actually considered a sin to be fearful of circumstance and individuals. The more we internalize ein od milvado, that there is no other power in the world outside of Hashem, and v'hu levado asa veoseh veyaaseh l'chol hamaasim - He Hashem exclusively orc…

We've been discussing that one of the automatic extensions of having bitachon in Hashem is that it leads to a life without fear. I don't fear any individuals nor any circumstances because I know that Hashem is exclusively running the show. We learnt the Gemara which teaches us that it is actually classified as a sin to be fearful. And although init…

The Gemara in Brachos page 60a, relates that when one of the sages encountered that one of his students was fearful about something, the sage reprimanded the student, quoting a verse that states that it is a sin to be fearful. The reason for this is because when we internalize that Hashem exclusively orchestrates every happening throughout our live…

We've discussed the many Torah sources which teach very clearly that it is Hashem's will for us to pray to Him. According to our own logic and common sense, one might have thought that if one has true bitachon and emunah in Hashem, then if Hashem orchestrates our lives in a way that presents challenges for us, perhaps we might think that the ideal …

We've been discussing the powerful statement of the Ramban, which teaches us that the opportunity to apply bitachon is completely independent of our actions. Of course, we always have to try to do our best - more mitzvos and less aveiros, whilst at the same time to internalize that the many statements that we are taught from Torah sources about the…

We discussed the verse which says, "trust in HaShem and do good." And we mentioned the Ramban who explains that the reason this verse is written precisely in this way, firstly stating, "trust in HaShem" and only thereafter stating "and do good," is to teach us that the action of bitachon, the action of trusting in HaShem, within HaShem's perspectiv…

The verse states, "Betach bashem va'asei tov" - trust in Hashem and do good. The Ramban points out in his Sefer Emunah Ubitachon, that the verse is precisely written in this order. First the verse states, "trust in Hashem", and thereafter the verse says, "and do good." And the reason for this, says the Ramban, is because one might think that they a…

On the one hand, the Torah teaches that we are supposed to love our friend just as much as we love ourselves. This mitzvah teaches us the importance of caring for other people, how we are to go out our way to make our maximum effort to helping out another individual, sometimes in the form of charity, sometimes in the form of putting a smile on our …

We are taught that whilst the Jewish people were in the desert, they received their sustenance in the form of mann, which was food which fell from the heaven, which tasted like anything one wished for it to taste like. Commentaries explain that although the man fell from the heavens, not everybody received it in the same way. Those people that were…

Everybody who is alive needs sustenance. And although for many people, receiving one's sustenance might be a constant struggle throughout life, nevertheless, one way or another, people do recive their sustenance, some through easier means and some through more difficult means. The gemara states that the miracle of recieving one's sutenance, is on p…

Everybody who is alive needs sustenance. And although for many people, receiving one's sustenance might be a constant struggle throughout life, nevertheless, one way or another, people do recive their sustenance, some through easier means and some through more difficult means. The gemara states that the miracle of recieving one's sutenance, is on p…

One who doesn't believe in HaShem, God forbid, would of course not reach out to HaShem about anything. One who is privileged to be able to know the truth and believe in HaShem and know that He can help me and I have the opportunity to talk to Him about anything and everything, which would be a greater effort than doing anything else, much of the ti…

When making a commitment to Hashem of how much time we are planning to commit to be our sacred time, just you and me Hashem, it is motivating to internalize what the verse states in Divrei Hayamim. The verse states, "For everything is from you, Hashem, and from your hand we have given back to you." Hashem created the world and Hashem created us. Ev…

We've been discussing how when it comes to talking to Hashem, a basic practical application of emunah, although we might understand logically how it is so obvious and vital for us to talk to Hashem, because if we believe in Him, obviously we should have a personal relationship with Him, and although we might have also had the opportunity to learn w…

We've been discussing how one of the highest forms of expressing our emunah, belief in HaShem, in a practical way, is to talk to HaShem in our own personal words. And at the same time, how do we deal with the reality that it can be difficult to talk to HaShem, because HaShem is not seen nor heard. And ultimately it comes down to growing more in our…

We've discussed many times that the Torah commentaries write, that the ultimate way for us to gain our place in the next world is by making our maximum effort to grow in our emunah. We've also mentioned how one of the highest expressions of emunah, belief in Hashem, is to place high focus in our dedication to talking to Hashem in our own words. We'…

Hashem runs the world exclusively, He does not need my help. Nevertheless, I have a commandment to perform the mitzvah of Hishtadlus, to make my own personal effort, although this might seem like an apparent contradiction. As discussed many times, if this is what Hashem commanded us, this is what we do. And the best advice of how to find out what o…

We've been discussing that truly internalizing emunah, that Hashem exclusively runs the world, can and perhaps should lead to us sometimes being uncomfortable about having to make our own efforts in our endeavors, otherwise known as hishtadlus. There is no black and white law in Torah literature which outlines subjectively how much hishtadlus each …

We've been discussing the seemingly absurd mitzvah of Hishtadlus, because again, if Hashem runs every detail of the world exclusively as Emunah teaches us, my job is actually seemingly to do the opposite, to internalize that I don't need to help Hashem. So why then, Hashem, did You command me to make my own effort to perform Hishtadlus, to try to s…

Seeing as our life's work is to internalize the meaning of the words Ein Od Milvado - there is nothing else in the world except for Hashem - not just to know Emunah in our heads, but to truly grow in internalizing the Emunah in our hearts and in the very core of our beings, it is worth revisiting a question we've discussed previously. If Hashem run…

We've discussed previously with regards to the famous verse that states ein od milvado - there is nothing else in the world except for Hashem exclusively - and we've discussed that there are many levels to what it means to truly understand and internalize this verse. Simply speaking, if someone were to ask me, "do you believe that Hashem runs the w…

When we approach prayer, tefillah, we know that there are different forms. As discussed previously, one of the highest forms of tefillah is when we offer our thanks and praises to Hashem. Hashem knows exactly what we need, and when we thank Him for what He is already giving us, that gives Him reason to shower more blessings upon us, seeing our appr…

As discussed many times, our main job in this world is to grow in our emunah, our belief in Hashem. And one of the branches of emunah is to believe in the potency of the words of the prescribed prayers. If we were to see the spiritual impact of the words that we say, we would not have the free choice anymore whether to say these prayers and how to …

As discussed many times, our job in this world is to believe, to have emunah, even when we don't see, when we don't understand. When it comes to the prescribed prayers that have been outlined to us by the sages, the brachos over food and drink, and the many other prescribed blessings that have been outlined to us, we need to believe and internalize…

The Gemara teaches us that tefillah, prayer, is one of the highest things in the world, and nevertheless, the usual tendency of people is to undermine the power and potency of tefillah. As with many areas, when a certain action is spiritually potent, the evil forces make their maximum efforts to try to deter us from tapping into these holy endeavor…

We've discussed many times that our job in this world is to believe specifically when we don't see or when we don't understand. We are also called on to have emunah, to believe that with regards to every single one of us, the amount of pleasure that we are destined to experience in this world has been preordained Not only that, as we've learned pre…

If we are to ask ourselves, what is the greatest gift that we could give to another individual? We might come up with different answers based on our perspectives and preferences. The Gemara tells that Hashem approached Moshe Rabbeinu and told him, “I have a great gift and this great gift that is full of goodness is called Shabbos.” Although we migh…

The Torah records how Moshe Rabbeinu was prohibited from entering the Land of Eretz Yisrael, and having such a burning desire to have the privilege to enter the Holy Land, he poured out his heart in prayer to Hashem, begging Him to override the decree prohibiting him from entering the Holy Land. We are taught that when Moshe Rabbeinu prayed to Hash…

We've discussed many times that emunah ultimately is about what we believe, not about what we see nor about what we understand. In fact, as learnt numerous times, the Torah commentaries teach that this world is referred to as the world of untruth, where things that appear to be a certain way are in actuality very often the opposite. People and situ…

Emunah means belief, specifically, when I don't understand, I don't see, I nevertheless believe. Emunah is a personal relationship with Hashem that is just between me and Hashem. No one else can truly know the real level of another individual's emunah. In fact, you could have two people that, from our perspective, if we were to be painting the scor…

We've been discussing how the usual way of the world we live in very often directs us towards becoming spectators and passengers. Yes, many would agree that one needs to first work in order to achieve their success, but the goal, according to many with the mistaken perspective, is that eventually we finish our work so that we can sit back and relax…

We live in a world where for many people the ultimate goal is to become a spectator and passenger and enjoy the pleasures that the world has to offer you. Very often the message that we hear and are exposed to in this world is that the ideal is to reach a place where I can just sit back, relax and enjoy and have everything done for me, where I can …

We learned in the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos that the world stands on three things, Torah, Avoda and Gemillus Chassadim. Gemillus Chassadim refers to acts of kindness. So important is it to perform acts of kindness that that is considered one of the pillars that keeps the world going. We all have many opportunities on a daily basis to fulfill this trem…

The Mishnah in Pirkei Avos teaches us that the world stands on three things, Torah, Avoda and Gemillus Chassadim. We've learned many times the tremendous potency of Torah learning and how we are taught that the value of Torah learning is on par with all 613 mitzvahs put together and many other powerful fruits that we bear from Torah learning. The s…

We know that the Sefer Torah is comprised of 600,000 letters, and the law is that if even one letter is either missing or damaged, the entire Sefer Torah is considered to be invalid and unusable. In the same vein, we are taught by Torah commentaries that there are 600,000 Jewish souls that exist. Now of course, there are many more than 600,000 Jews…

The Gemara recounts an episode where one of the rabbis had a near-death experience. He was considered to be clinically dead, and thereafter his soul returned back to his body, coming back to life. The Gemara recounts that when this sage was asked what he experienced during this episode, the sage responded that he saw the next world, the world where…

The Torah records a verse which states that the humblest person in all time was Moshe Rabbeinu. We know that the Torah was written by Moshe Rabbeinu at Hashem's command. So, in a sense what is happening here is Moshe Rabbeinu is writing about himself, “I am the humblest man of all time.” Some Torah commentaries explain that true humility means that…

Imagine for a second that we were given the following offer. If we give $100 to charity today, we will prevent a certain country from dropping an atomic bomb. Even if it's difficult to get those $100 together, most of us would make a plan, because stopping an atomic bomb from falling is a very worthwhile investment to make.In a different scenario, …

We've been discussing that one of the highest expressions of Emunah is the performance of Hashem's mitzvos and specifically to perform them just because He commanded me to and not because I understand or agree with His understanding. It is so vital to perform the mitzvos based on our belief in Hashem rather than based on our agreeing with His logic…

Our goal in this world is to train ourselves to truly and sincerely believe and trust in Hashem's prescription. Hashem commanded us to perform many mitzvos. Some of them are easier to understand with our limited understanding, whereas other mitzvos are more difficult to understand. For example, Hashem commanded us to visit a sick person. That is ve…

Our job in this world is to grow in our belief in Emunah and everything that that entails. As we've discussed, one of the potent areas Hashem has given us the privilege to be able to tap into is the words of Tehillim, the holy words of David HaMelech. And again, our job is to believe that our recitation of the words of Tehillim are making an impact…

In Hashem's great kindness, He has given us many opportunities of how to impact our lives in this world, as well as impact our future lives in the next world. One of the potent gifts Hashem has given us is the power of tehillim. Tehillim are comprised of 150 chapters that David HaMelech authored. If one studies tehillim, one will quickly realize th…

Torah commentaries teach that the distance between knowing Emunah in our heads as opposed to truly and sincerely internalizing that Emunah in our hearts is greater than the distance between heaven and earth. Most believing Jews understand that prayer to Hashem makes an impact and is certainly a worthwhile investment on our part. However, internaliz…

The famous words in the Torah, “ein od milvado” - there is nothing else in the world except for Hashem, mean that everything in the world is completely under Hashem's control and guidance. That being the case, it's sometimes difficult to understand why we need to do anything. Because if Hashem runs the show 100% and my efforts do not make any diffe…

The Torah teaches us in a verse about Moshe Rabbeinu, “Vayehi yadav emunah”, and his hands were emunah. And the famous commentary on the Torah, the Targum Unklus, translates the words as, “and his hands were spread out in prayer.” What the Torah calls emunah, the translation that follows is prayer. One of the most potent expressions of our belief i…

We know that the Torah sources refer to Hashem and the Torah as one. One of the most potent things that we can do in our endeavor to connect to Hashem is to learn Torah. The Gemara, as outlined by the Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewish Law, also teaches us that even if one does not have this high motive of just connecting to Hashem and learning the…

We've learned many times the incredible, potent value of Torah learning. There is no question that the more involved we are in Torah learning, the more we come closer to HaShem, because we are taught in Torah literature that HaShem and the Torah are in essence one and the same. In a sense, the closest that we can get to HaShem is when we take the T…