Emuna Beams

Passover is a story of emuna. Many things we are about to say sound like outright exaggerations to the logical 21st-century ear. Yet, emuna is beyond logic. Our entire history defies logic.

Now that Purim has passed, Passover is quickly approaching. We all face what many consider one of the most daunting tasks of the year: cleaning for Passover. It doesn't have to be that way. Today's podcast shows how to make it pleasant and enjoyable. We can clean for Passover with a song in our hearts. 

Today's podcast is not only an important Purim-week lesson, but it's the key to winning the war and a practical message about Jewish unity. "The Toothpick Test" is something that anyone can do, especially at the family Purim table. We cordially invite Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and opposition leaders Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Lapid to join us in this test.

Rebbe Nachman's classic parable seems absurd, but it's actually a cogent reflection of the emoji and smartphone generation. The second half of this lesson elaborates on Likutei Moharan I:119, which helps us understand the concepts of foolishness and spiritual unawareness we see in the Turkey Prince.

The Book of Esther is a living blueprint: the Purim story—unfolding over 13 years—reveals patterns that mirror today’s geopolitics and upheavals, showing how Hashem’s hidden hand directs history. Using parallels between Ahashverosh and modern leaders, and the choices of Mordecai and Esther, the episode emphasizes teshuva, faith, and how apparent threats can become redemptive when people repent and...

Rabbi Nachman teaches the “Pasture Pastoral,” a concise exploration of Likutey Moharan (Torah 63, with links to Torah 11) revealing the secret of Perek Shira: every level of creation and every pasture has its own niggun (melody) that sings to Hashem. Using shepherd imagery, flute music, and the Land of Israel, he shows how these melodies uplift the soul and unite human prayer with the natural worl...

Gravity and natural ability are very similar. Both are strong limiting forces. But pull us down. Yet, we can overcome by applying a sustained upward force that is greater than their downward pull…

Many people with acute difficulties in life are worrying that they can't prepare for the upcoming holidays the way they might want to. Yet, we must serve Hashem with all of life's difficulties. Know full well that it's Hashem Who is challenging us with the difficulties...

If you can't honestly express your pain and shed real tears to your Father in Heaven, Who really loves you and cares about you, then who else on earth is there to cry to?

The closest distance between two points is a straight line. In spirituality, straightness means simplicity and honest innocence. The two traits, which are really one, makes a person beautiful. They also create the closest distance between the person and the Creator. They're also he key to happiness...

So what if we made a mistake? Rebbe Nachman promises us that all we have to do is to declare a new beginning, and start all over with enhanced faith and enthusiasm. Even a turkey can make a new beginning…

Astrology is certainly real. A person has reason to fear an unfavorable horoscope. The good news is that those who cling to emuna uplift themselves above the influence of the stars. There, pain and affliction no longer exist...

Did you ever wonder how a little 105-pound Korean Karate specialist can break a whole stack of bricks? We can utilize his same technique to obliterate any obstacles that stand in the way of our goal, but we won't need a fist...

Rebbe Akiva was born with every disadvantage. He was the son of a poor convert. Until age 40, he was an illiterate migrant worker. Yet, he became the the greatest of sages and surpassed the monumental greats of his generation. How did such an underdog become the father of the Oral Torah?

How can an upright person become a common thief? The slightest compromise with the evil inclination is a tiny breach that will soon grow wider…

Don't let anyone in the world discourage you from pursuing your goal. Putting your own dreams and aspirations aside while bending to the will of others is a formula for frustration and bitterness. People-pleasers are never happy, nor do they rise above mediocrity…

Draft the Haredim? Don't draft the Haredim? The debate is meaningless until Israel decides what type of army they want. An army like Gideon's adheres to one set of rules only, and they're neither conventional nor politically correct. And, only the best are fit for service...

It doesn't matter whether there are wars, lockdowns and layoffs. Today's podcast is the key to an easy and adequate income. Get your free PDF download of Parshat Haman here .

A beautiful story in the Gemara tells of a young man who valiantly saved a lass from drowning in a well. This story teaches that breaking a promise is a severe transgression of Torah that triggers extreme difficulties in life. These difficulties frequently manifest themselves in a measure-for-measure manner. That way, a person with spiritual awareness can recognize what he or she did wrong and ato...

The digger had every reason to be deeply disappointed. Nevertheless, he maintained the smile on his face at all costs. Hashem then gave him a real reason to smile. Rebbe Nachman's lesson about happiness…

In our formative years, different people stuck all types of labels on us. Even worse, they stuck the labels on a bottle and put us inside. As children, we subconsciously thought that our parents, teachers, and peers knew what they were talking about. They most likely did not. The acute problem is that most people spend their lives stuck inside that same bottle. It's time to break out...

Rebbe Nachman reveals the template of Jewish history in this allegorical tale of treachery and innocence. In every generation our enemies rise up against us, but the Holy One rescues us from their hands...

The Creator has already packed our backpacks for us. He has given us the tools we each need for our journey in life and to reach our individual destinations. Our job is to become acquainted with those tools, refine and cultivate them, and utilize them properly.

Menachem Herman and I got together for an evening of song and inspiration in Netanya last night. As a soul correction of our past, we've taken quite a few melodies and uplifted them with an emuna slant and lyrics. This is one of our favorites, which we originally did in 2008, when the UN and Obama were threatening to split Jerusalem:   Sweet Home Jerusalem Based on the original song "Sweet Home Al...

Gratitude is one of the most vital - if not the most vital - character trait a person could have. It's the key to happiness and to faith. So much so, that the Almighty personally taught Moses how very profound gratitude is. We see this lesson in this week's Torah portion, Va'era.