Living Emunah 2675 Praying Again The pasuk says, " וישכם אברהם בבקר אל המקום אשר עמד שם " and Chazal tell us, it was at this time that Avraham Avinu instituted the tefilla of Shacharit. This took place right after Sedom was destroyed. We know Avraham prayed so hard to save Sedom, and seemingly his tefillot were not answered. That was precisely when…

Finding a shidduch is compared to Kriyat Yam Suf. Many explanations have been offered to clarify this connection. The road leading to finding the right match can be exceedingly difficult, but when that day finally comes, the feeling is exhilarating. It seems that the Torah's depiction of the shidduch process unfolded very smoothly . Avraham sent El…

There are many singles who are having a very hard time in shidduchim. It is so difficult for girls to watch the days pass by with no prospects in sight. They wait week after week, month after month, and year after year, wondering if they will ever get married. The same is true of a boy who is getting on in years and can't seem to find the right one…

Hashem appreciates every little effort we make in our Torah learning. Sometimes in His subtle ways, Hashem gives a person a little smile, kavyachol, showing him how much He appreciates what he does. A man told me he was living in New Jersey for the summer, but spent a couple of nights a week in his Brooklyn house. It was very difficult to bring his…

One of the reasons that we are required to make hishtadlut when trying to accomplish something is because Hashem wants us to camouflage His involvement in it. We are to do as much as needed to make it appear that we are the ones accomplishing, but realize that, actually, our actions are not what bring results. Only Hashem does. This is one of the b…

A wealthy man told me that although his business is thriving, he understands that he did absolutely nothing to earn his wealth. He then related just one example of how Hashem orchestrated events to bless him with the wealth that he has. He had an average business here in America and was looking to open a similar business overseas. While he was on t…

It may happen that when a person sets out to do a mitzva, he runs into obstacles. He then continues trying to do the mitzva, but the obstacles get harder to overcome. He may think to himself, I don't understand, I'm trying to do something for Hashem. Why would He keep trying to stop me? Does He not want me to do the mitzva? The answer is, for sure …

The midda of קנאה , jealousy, can ruin a person's entire life. It can cause him to always feel lacking and dissatisfied. The Orhchot Tzadikim writes that it could lead a person into doing the worst averot . It is a Midda that everyone is born with, and it is up to us to uproot. One of the things that people are jealous of is other people's material…

There are times when a person feels like he is being pushed to his limits. He already experienced one difficulty, and then another was added, and then another. He feels like Hashem is picking on him, and he's having a very hard time understanding how Hashem could do this to him, especially since he learned about how much Hashem loves him. We must c…

The Gemara says in Masechet Sotah that we have a mitzvah to emulate Hashem. And one of the ways in which we do this is by visiting a person who is sick, just like Hashem did in this week's parasha Vayerah when Avraham was home, healing from his brit milah . Our greatest Rabbis would take away time from their Torah study to go visit sick people. Whe…

There are people who have been hurt in the past by others and were never able to get over it. They carry the pain with them and hold a deep-rooted grudge towards the individuals that hurt them. Holding on to pain and carrying around negative energy is very detrimental. It is a very big test to be able to forgive and move on, but the person must kno…

Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein told a story in his Sefer בך בטחנו about a great Admor who appeared to his son in a dream a year after he passed away to give him a message. The son asked his father to tell him what it's like in the upper world. His father was not able to reveal too much, but he did tell him that the reward for every little deed that we do…

So many people have said they can't believe how much learning Emunah has changed their lives for the better. They feel bad that they didn't start learning about it earlier. They now live every day of life together with Hashem and there is so much more meaning behind everything they do. A young woman recently shared with me how she discovered Emunah…

Parnasa comes from Hashem. Those who know that are much calmer when it comes to earning a livelihood. A man said he contacted a well-known photographer regarding the possibility of having him take the pictures at his daughter's wedding. At the end of the conversation, the man said he would think about it and get back to him. The photographer replie…

The pasuk says in this week's parasha, Lech Lecha , ויוצא אותו החוצה . Avraham Avinu, who knew how to read the stars, told Hashem that he saw he was not going to have children. Hashem told him to go outside of his astrology, because אין מזל לישראל . It doesn't matter what the stars say, because we are above the stars, and things can always change. …

Chazal have taught us a wondrous segula to have our tefillot accepted faster. Namely, if someone is in need of a yeshua and knows of someone else with that same need and prays for that person to be helped. With this statement, the chazal are also teaching us how important it is to pray for others. The Be'er Mayim Chayim explains, when we pray for o…

We say in Ashrei that Hashem is משביע לכל חי רצון . The Seforno explains this to mean that Hashem gives everyone chesed because that is His desire. This should give us a lot of chizuk knowing that Hashem's desire is to give every one of us chesed all day long. Everyone has different needs and Hashem gives everyone what they need when it's good for …

When a person hears an amazing story about how Hashem saved someone from his problem, it's supposed to give him chizuk to realize how fortunate he is that he also has Hashem who could help him from his problem as well. People have said, however, that hearing these kinds of stories can have the opposite effect on them. It makes them feel worse that …

When Hashem makes a decree upon a person, there are many ways in which it can be carried out, and our deeds can change things for the good. The Gemara says, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai had a dream on Rosh Hashana that his relative was destined to lose a certain amount of money. Over the course of the year, he advised his relative to give large sums …

In this week's Parasha , Noach was commanded to bring into the Teva two of every kind of animal that existed in the world to keep it's species alive. The sefer Birkat David quotes from studies that were done investigating how many species exist in the world. It said there are 10 kosher animals, 5,300 non-kosher animals, 18,000 kinds of reptiles, 9,…

The pasuk says, שיר המעלות ממעמקים קראתיך ה . There are times when a person calls out to Hashem from the depths of his troubles. He recognizes that he doesn't deserve salvation. But, כי עם ה' החסד , Hashem has so much kindness, והרבה עמו פדות , and endless ways to save a person. So he calls out, no matter how hopeless the situation seems to be, and…

The love that Hashem has for us is unfathomable. We may not always get what we want, but that's just because what we want is not good for us to have at the moment. Hashem wants us to be happy, and He cares about every last detail of our lives. Even things that may appear to be trivial, are very important to Him. Sometimes He shows us how much He ca…

The joy that we experienced on the Chag is supposed to carry us throughout the year. There is a big yetzer hara that can disturb a person's happiness, and we must not fall prey to it. The Gemara tells us that Adam and Chava had the most blissful life in Gan Eden. There were angels roasting meat for them and serving them wine. But then the nachash c…

One of the greatest tools that we have to give us chizuk for difficult times are the real life stories that other people share. We are able to see the Yad Hashem very clearly and it helps us have hope even when things are looking very bleak. A woman sent me some details of what took place during her last pregnancy which will give us a tremendous am…

We say in the Yom Tov Amida , אתה בחרתנו מכל העמים אהבת אותנו ורצית בנו – Hashem chose us from all of the other nations, He loved us and wanted us. In the siddur of the Gr"a, the question was asked, seemingly love is more powerful than ratzon . So if we already mentioned that Hashem chose us out of love, why do we also say that he chose us from rat…