Rabbi Arush says that the highest form of Ahavat Yisrael (loving your fellow Jew) is hafatzah - distributing emuna. Everyone needs to learn about emuna, the simple belief in Hashem. Because Hashem is the only address for everything a person needs, both physically and spiritually, and the path to true happiness and fulfillment in life is found only through emuna, helping another Jew (or any person, really!) learn about emuna is enabling them to also find that happiness and fulfillment and joy in their life. Even more, emuna enables a person to reach their highest potential and fulfill their purpose in life - certainly helping a person achieve that is the best good you can do for them!
So when Rabbi Arush said at the funeral that we need to focus on Ahavat Yisrael (hence the inspiration for this learning in her merit) and hafatzah, really they are the same thing. Granted, Rabbi Arush was specifically speaking about getting rid of machloket (fighting), but with increased emuna through hafatzah this also happens - being able to make peace is dependent on emuna as well. How can you make peace with someone or something if you don't recognize that they are really just a stick in Hashem's hand? Without emuna, this is extremely difficult - with emuna, it's easy.
Rabbi Arush has been stressing lately just how much merit there is in spreading emuna - endless merit. He had one of his students tell his story in one of the lectures, which is basically that someone gave him the CD "Stop Crying" in Hebrew and it changed his life. He did teshuva and joined the Yeshiva, and now has given out thousands of books and CDs himself. All of that is in the merit of the person who gave him one single CD, someone who didn't even know him. He also uses the analogy of a father who has a son who is very distant - what reward is that father willing to give to someone who helps bring his wayward son closer?!
Maybe you're wondering how you can really get involved in spreading emuna. Not everyone is cut out to speak to random people, after all, and I still struggle with it. Here are a few suggestions:
Carry emuna materials with you, and leave them around! I always have some Margoliot (mini books) and CDs with me - and guess what they are now in English! The Gems series! Contact me for info on how to get them sent to you and you can get them super discount in bulk in order to give out as well. Anyway, I keep a mix of them in my purse, and I leave a few in a waiting room wherever I am, wherever I go, with the other books and magazines usually out at such places. Leave them next to the cashier at a Jewish bookstore or restaurant. And you might be surprised how many easy situations Hashem sends you - oftentimes people ask me about my kemea (special necklace with Likutei Moharan inside) and end up with some mini books or a CD in their hands. It's actually very easy - have you heard of the Garden of Emuna? If they say yes - great, here is some more! And if they say no, I hand them Pearls of Emuna mini book - here, find out what it's all about, it changed my life and it can change yours too. Also, if you know someone going through a rough time, send them a book or a mini book or a CD. When someone sends me a story of someone in need, I send them The Garden of Emuna along with a donation anonymously. Pray about it and Hashem will certainly give you lots of great ideas that will be super easy for you!
Don't forget, of course, to do hafatzah with yourself. Carve out a few minutes a day or a week to read a book, listen to a CD, download one of the Chabura recordings, listen to a shiur on Emunah Channel - whatever! Personally, my few minutes of learning is like grounding time, time that then affects the rest of my day, because now I'm starting from a place of emuna, trying to remember emuna, connected to Hashem and to the truth. And even if my learning is at the end of my long day, it still makes a difference. All the difference, in fact.
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