Emuna Beams
About
Available on
Community
430 episodes
Life is like a ferris wheel. Don't boast when you're on top of the world, because you'll soon go down. But, don't be upset when you hit rock bottom, for you'll soon go up. Rebbe Nachman shows us the awesome secrets embedded in the ability to serve Hashem during good times and the opposite.
What do you do when you feel low? If you play a musical instrument, grab it! If not, clap your hands and start humming the tune that comes into your head. Plug into your true source of strength - the Almighty – which is unlimited. You'll soon be singing a melody of trust that your soul composed. It worked for King David and it will work for us.
On Monday, March 25, 2024, the USA enabled the UN Security Council to pass a unilateral condemnation of Israel calling for immediate withdrawal from Gaza. There was no demand of Hamas and no mention of the 134 Israeli captives. The USA could have vetoed this injustice, but merely abstained. Israel asks, "Where are our friends?" Why has the Almighty put us in a position of someone all alone on a narrow bridge on a dark night looking for a friend, but can't find one?
How will the name of Amalek be finally obliterated? Israel has a secret weapon that has unfathomable power. It's the letter Aleph.
The story of Purim begins 523 years before the miracle of Purim, in the Hebrew year of 2882 (878 BCE). Hashem commanded King Saul to wipe out Israel's arch-enemy, the nation of Amalek. King Saul buckled under political pressure and failed to fulfill Hashem's commandment. He had misplaced mercy on Agag, the Amalekite king. King Saul resultingly lost the monarchy and the seed of Amalek again rooted itself. We fast forward to the Hebrew year of 3405 (355 BCE). "Showdown in Shushan," in the Persian Empire, is where the 10th generation great-grandson of Agag - Haman - threatens to annihilate the entire Jewish People. The 10th generation great-grandson of Saul - Mordechai - must now make some painful decisions to thwart Haman's evil scheme. The question is, will he too, like his great-grandfather King Saul, bow to political correctness? Let's see how this is the template for current events...
A thirsty deer has been walking for hours in the forest. With its keen sense of smell, it detects a freshwater stream in the distance. The deer now runs to the stream. Despite its yearning for a drink of water, it first raises its head and emits a call of thanks to the Creator. King David's thirsty soul yearned for Hashem in the same way.
This week, we learn how the true spiritual leaders attain their greatness. Despite their prodigious wisdom, they are extremely humble. How do we know? Ask the geese in the desert…
Maybe you feel alone in the world. Even your relatives and best friends are indifferent to your pain. You feel ill or downtrodden and all the "fair-weather friends" are no longer at your side. Don't lose hope; Psalms 38 and 39 are for you. King David was in the same situation; he can talk to your heart.
The story of Purim is the story of the true national leader of Israel. It begins with Abraham, continues with King David and then with Mordechai. It will soon culminate with Moshiach. Our past is our future. One cannot understand current events in Israel without understanding the events that led to the miraculous downfall of our enemies. The tyrants and traitors of old are still with us today.
The debate that's ripping Israel apart: should Yeshiva students be drafted into the army or not? Who really protects our country, the soldiers or the Torah scholars? Rabbi Lazer Brody, who has been on both sides of the fence, answers...
A person is capable of attaining much higher levels of spirituality than he or she thinks. One's spiritual potential has no bounds. An adequate cleansing of the soul brings an individual to the lofty level where his or her face can reflect the heavens.
One good deed of altruism with no fanfare or ulterior motives can potentially save an entire city, even an entire world. Our acts of compassion invoke measure-for-measure for ourselves, our families and our communities. A shining example from the Talmud is the story of the old brick oven...
In this world, it appears that the cruel and powerful are the ones who succeed. Don't envy them; their success is temporary at best. In the context of Divine justice, which prevails ultimately, the mighty fall yet the weak and humble inherit the earth.
A person must learn to function in two types of situations. Most everyone can function in favorable times, when life is looking up. Happy are the spiritually courageous who can function in trying times, when things are looking down.
If Netflix could reproduce even a small portion of the drama in this week's Psalms, they'd break all box-office records. No screenwriter could imagine how King David, a hostage with no dream of escape, finally made his way to freedom.
One cannot possibly attain Divine honor if he or she has a contaminated soul. The cure for a contaminated soul is penitence, or teshuva. The evil inclination gets its vitality from the spiritually-contaminated blood in the left side of the heart. A special type of teshuva, which we learn in today's lesson, can rid the heart of such blood and starve the evil inclination. This is a key to attaining humility, spiritual health and Divine honor.
A soul feels parched and stifled when it lacks Divine light. It also feels dull and unexpressive. King David provides a triple-strength remedy to rejuvenate the soul. You'll feel so good that you'll soon be singing your own new song.
There are two types of honor: man-granted honor and Divine granted honor. Everyone questions whether a person is worthy of the honor he or she receives from other people, but no one questions Divine granted honor. Rebbe Nachman teaches that the only way to attain Divine honor is through teshuva, or penitence. Not only that – a person is not yet a person until he repents. The key to repentence is silence, worth its weight in gold...
What do you do when you're pinned down in a nasty crossfire? How does it feel when bombs are exploding all around you? What do you do when you look at your watch and calculate that your life expectancy is lesson than a minute? Such a picture is amazingly similar to King David's predicament when he wrote these Psalms.
Boris lost his leg in a fierce battle in Gaza City six weeks ago, but he came out alive. His other crew members lost their lives. Yesterday, while visiting the Rehabilitaion Center of the Tel Hashomer Hospital outside of Tel Aviv, Boris shared his miraculous story with me. Is there really intervention from the upper worlds?
Today's Emuna News broadcast includes a strategic analysis of the current Gaza war, a spiritual analysis and a forecast of what's to be expected in the coming month.
If a person wants advice that he or she can depend on, they need a connection to a tzaddik. The tzaddik connects a person to truth. Truth connects a person to emuna and emuna brings Geula. But that's not simple. There's heavy opposition, and that's the Scorpio...
The more a person gets to know the Almighty, the more he or she wants to praise His Name. All of creation knows its Creator and incessantly sings in reverence to Him. Hashem is the ultimate good, omniscient and invincible. He is also absolute truth and justice. Nothing escapes Him, neither the slightest good deed nor the schemes of sinister people. The more we trust in Him, the happier we are.
Are you really free? Do you have a ball-and-chains of peer pressure, social correctness or a tyrannical employer? In this 8-minute clip, we learn the meaning of true emotional, spiritual and physical freedom. Meet the lone servant...
Rebbe Nachman teaches us the importance of taking advice from the right person. Advice is tantamount to marriage. Therefore, one must be extremely careful who he or she takes advice from. Most people are extemely indiscriminate about whom they allow to enter into their mind and spirit. Why let someone who is less than meritous influence our lives and our way of thinking?
King David teaches that a humble individual is never lost or bewildered. The truly humble person merits Hashem's personal guidance. That way, he or she is always walking on the right path.
Many people don't understand why "You shall not covet" became one of the Ten Commandments. The Torah specifically says, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife… nor anything that is your neighbor's" (Exodus 20:13). A person shrugs his shoulders in innocence and protests, "What did I do wrong? Did I steal? Did I kill? Did I commit adultery? So what if I found that other woman attractive? I didn't touch her! I didn't even speak to her!" That's where the evil inclination, dressed up as the covet culprit, gets gullible people to jump in a boiling pot of troubled waters...
Rebbe Nachman teaches that one cannot possibly obtain emuna until he or she commits to search for the truth. That means putting aside personal agendas and objectively looking for the intrinsic good what is genuinely upright.
No one suffered the amount and severity of tribulations that King David did. Yet, he found solace in his unswerving trust in Hashem. In history's best-known Psalm, he shows us how to find the calming waters in a world of turbulent seas…
Israel is now in a situation where no viable solution is in sight. Any massive attack on Hamas central command endangers the hostages, whom the terrorists use as a human shield. Negotiating with Hamas simply perpetuates their power. What do you do in such a situation? This is the same exact predicament that Israel was in at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. See how the Torah is the blueprint for current events, especially this week.
