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 succeed in my endeavors? We've discussed that the basic reason we perform Hishtadlus is not because of our understanding of the mitzvah, but rather jus...
Jul 07, 2025•5 min•Ep. 378
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 runs the world exclusively, why do I need to try make any effort in what looks like I am trying to help Him, otherwise known as Hishtadlus? Whether tryin...
Jul 06, 2025•5 min•Ep. 377
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 world?" and I am to answer in the affirmative, that certainly is a milestone in having understood to some degree what the verse ein od milvado means. H...
Jul 04, 2025•4 min•Ep. 376
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 appreciation for what He is already giving us. We of course also have the prayer in the form of requests, asking Hashem for the things that we need. It is...
Jul 03, 2025•5 min•Ep. 375
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 say them, whether we have devotion, intention and meaning. because the potency of the prescribed prayers would be obvious to all of us and none of us ...
Jul 02, 2025•5 min•Ep. 374
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 that the words that have been outlined in these prescribed prayers are imbued with a special holiness beyond anything we can imagine. Of course, the ...
Jul 01, 2025•4 min•Ep. 373
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 endeavors. Specifically, because tefillah is one of the highest spiritual endeavors within our reach, as the Gemara outlines, the evil forces in the spiritual...
Jun 30, 2025•4 min•Ep. 372
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 previously, the Torah commentaries teach that we ourselves, before we came down into this world, prescribed the exact happenings of what will be best for...
Jun 29, 2025•5 min•Ep. 371
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 might have some understanding about the great gift and opportunity that we have each week as Shabbos approaches, it is motivating and inspiring to highlig...
Jun 27, 2025•5 min•Ep. 370
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 Hashem to have this privilege, he chose to verbalize and direct his prayer in a particular manner. Although Moshe Rabbeinu is considered to have been the ...
Jun 26, 2025•5 min•Ep. 369
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 situations which are often defined as success stories in this world, many times in the world of truth, are defined as exactly the opposite. So how do we f...
Jun 25, 2025•5 min•Ep. 368
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 scorecard, we would give both of them the same score, because they both seem to be succeeding in the same areas in the same way. However, it is so importa...
Jun 24, 2025•5 min•Ep. 367
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 to the pleasure and entertainment that the world has to offer. We are so privileged to be able to not need to be bound by any perspective that could ...
Jun 23, 2025•5 min•Ep. 366
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 just be passive and enjoy pleasure. We are so privileged to have Hashem's perspective teaching us the true way we are supposed to live our lives. The ...
Jun 22, 2025•5 min•Ep. 365
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 tremendous mitzvah of Gemillus Chassadim, acts of kindness that upholds the entire world. Just giving another individual a smile or sending somebody a mes...
Jun 20, 2025•5 min•Ep. 364
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 second pillar that the Mishnah says upholds the entire world is Avoda. The commentaries explain that in today's times Avoda refers to prayer to Hashem....
Jun 19, 2025•4 min•Ep. 363
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 in the world, however we are taught that different parts of the same soul may be embodied by numerous different people. But in essence, in its source...
Jun 18, 2025•5 min•Ep. 362
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 everything is upside down from this world. He explained further that many of the people which are considered to be success stories in this were consi...
Jun 17, 2025•4 min•Ep. 361
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 a person is able to write about themselves, “I am the humblest man of all time.” And of course this being counterintuitive begs explanation. And the ...
Jun 16, 2025•5 min•Ep. 360
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, if we were offered the following: If you are to sit down and say to Tehillem for one hour today, you will then cause a dying individual to be saved. M...
Jun 13, 2025•5 min•Ep. 359
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 because when we perform the mitzvos based exclusively on our Emunah in Hashem, our belief in Hashem, we will treat every mitzvah with highest priorit...
Jun 12, 2025•6 min•Ep. 358
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 very logical, even in our minds, that's a nice thing to do. Honouring one's father and mother is also a logical mitzvah. However, many mitzvos are count...
Jun 11, 2025•5 min•Ep. 357
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. Even though we may not be able to experience and see the result of our actions, our job is to grow in our Emunah, in our belief that just like if a ...
Jun 10, 2025•4 min•Ep. 356
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 that these are King David's personal conversations with Hashem, both through times of joy and happiness, as well as through times of sorrow and challeng...
Jun 09, 2025•5 min•Ep. 355
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, internalizing the true extent of just how powerful each word of prayer we utter creates is our life's work. Imagine for a moment that every time we would pray, ...
Jun 08, 2025•5 min•Ep. 354
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 difference, as taught by the Torah commentaries, why do I need to do anything? And the simple answer is that Hashem has commanded us that even though He do...
Jun 06, 2025•5 min•Ep. 353
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 in Hashem is praying and talking to Him. If I sincerely believe that Hashem exists, an obvious go-to is talking to Him. We need to internalize the trem...
Jun 05, 2025•4 min•Ep. 352
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 Torah just because He commanded us to, even if one is learning for some personal motive to some degree, for example, one feels that they will receive...
Jun 04, 2025•5 min•Ep. 351
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 Torah and delve into it and learn it to the best of our abilities. Of course, each one of us in our own right ought to make our maximum effort in our p...
Jun 01, 2025•5 min•Ep. 350
The information that is found in the Torah is so much that sometimes it can be overwhelming. How am I supposed to learn all of the information in the Torah? Even if somebody is completely dedicated to Torah, it is almost an impossibility to get to know all of the different diverse areas of the Torah. Certainly, for most of us who are limited, it can be overwhelming. Again, here we have Hashem's perspective guiding us as to how we are to lead our lives. Although we are taught the incredible value...
May 30, 2025•5 min•Ep. 349
