Countdown to the 3 Weeks and Video Awesomeness

Thank you to my good friend Mrs. Roseberger for pointing this one out to me: https://emunahchannel.com/make-god-your-best-friend-amazing-advice-on-how-to-connect/

And a particularly awesome shiur from Rabbi Cassouto: https://emunahchannel.com/be-yourself-find-who-you-are/ I had such hashgacha pratis listening to this - I had paused it, and then something happened. Someone questioned me strongly on someting I had said standing on the side of kedusha and I was confused. Then my son said - turn the shiur back on. And there was Rabbi Cassouto - so what if the world is against you! Believe in yourself! If the whole world is against you then you are on the side of kedusha!

 

Now onto some world news: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/us-officials-warn-of-isis-attacks-on-july-4/2015/06/27/ US Officials are warning that ISIS may be planning terror attacks this coming Shabbos July 4 – even though we fast on Sunday because of Shabbos, this Shabbos is still the infamous day of mourning called the 17^th of Tammuz when the walls of Jerusalem were breached, among other major terrible things that happened to the Jewish people on that date. The situation is Europe doesn’t look much better, what with a major anti-semitic rally being planned for this Shabbos as well in the religious community of Golders Green – the posters on Facebook for it look like something straight out of the Holocaust. Outright ghastly. I can’t bear to copy it but if you want to see it head over here: http://palmtreeofdeborah.blogspot.co.il/2015/06/the-one-week-countdown-to-17th-of-tamuz.html. Who can forget the Freedom Flotilla III happening as we speak and the death of Bar Kappara Erev Shabbos Hashem should avenge his blood – he was a 70 year old farmer beaten to death by Muslim “Palestinians” (amazingly his name means “son of / being an atonement) and a sweep of terrorism around the world including Tunisia and France.

 

What does this all have to do with emuna? Well Rabbi Arush always says forget the news, the news is everything is for the very best! Let’s go deeper though. It is so easy and common to throw your hands up and say “We need Moshiach now! There is so much suffering in Klal Yisrael! Sicknesses, terrorism, anti-semitism, everyone is suffering! Dai! Enough!” In fact, I feel like I hear this all the time – “There are so many tzaros in Klal Yisrael.” Rabbi Arush had harsh words for such talk in the weekly newsletter for the Yeshiva for this past Shabbos Parshas Chukat – “To speak like this is Lashon Hara against Hashem and it is kefira gemura – total heresy.” I gasped – what harsh words! But it is true! Total heresy! Speaking against Hashem as if He is doing something bad, so to speak! Gasp! And I think like this all the time…

 

Hashem loves us and does EVERYTHING for the best – EVERYTHING bar none. He explains that we aren’t continuing to be punished for the crying we did in the desert at the Sin of the Spies, when Hashem said we will “cry for generations.” We are still being punished because even today, we are still crying and complaining – just like this. “There are so much tzaros in Klal Yisrael.” Wait, is Hashem evil G-d forbid? Is he doing something unjust to the Jewish people? Such statements bring on harsh judgments because then Shamayim opens up the records – is something wrong happening, something unjust? And they find only that Hashem is actually being too lenient with us! Just the opposite is true – Rabbi Arush stated emphatically twice “Everything is just fine with Klal Yisrael. The only singular lacking and problem that we have is that we lack daat – holy knowledge.” That is the daat to thank Hashem for everything. That is the daat to have the emuna to know that ein od milvado – there is only Hashem – no anti-Semites, no ISIS, no Supreme Court, no mother, no father, no husband, no wife, no kids, no mother in law – only Hashem who uses various sticks to prod someone to return to Him. And that since He does everything, and everything He does is good, with no exceptions – this is also good. But in order for it to be truly good for eternity, we have to use these sticks to get closer to Him, to repent from our sins, to change our lives, to yearn to serve Him better.

 

And I am afraid to say this, but here goes. Rabbi Arush mentioned also in the parsha sheet that someone who recognizes that everything is from Hashem, and uses everything in His life to do teshuva and improve Himself, then everything is really good for him and he feels no suffering at all. Since the purpose is to get closer to Hashem, and all his suffering is fulfilling this purpose, then really everything is for his eternal good and he actually feels no suffering in it at all, since He is enjoying the closeness to Hashem! There is no evil in the world at all! But in The Garden of Emuna Rabbi Arush mentions something else that brings this point even farther – he says that such a person cannot be touched by anything evil at all, since he relies completely on Hashem. But G-d forbid if a person lacks this emuna, and thinks that things are random G-d forbid, or thinks that there is evil in the world and does not see Hashem and His goodness – then G-d forbid, something evil can befall such a person. This is because of the spiritual rule that whoever you fear, that thing rules over you. So if you see Hashem and fear Hashem, and know Hashem has complete control over your life - then Hashem really does have complete control over your life, and truly no evil can befall you. But if you fear anything else, and think something else has power, then Hashem c”v hands the control over that person to the object that he fears!!! Since that person has chosen to see X in place of Hashem, then that X will be made to look like it has power, since Hashem has to continue to give the person the free choice to see Him – or not. It is truly terrifying, Hashem should save us all!!!

 

We must go into these Three Weeks of Mourning only with thanking and praising Hashem for everything. If we could truly do that, then we would completely correct the sin of crying and complaining for no reason, and instead of needing a reason to cry since we are crying anyway Hashem yishmor, and instead of more tears coming to correct the sin of tears of complaints against Hashem, we can correct those tears of complaining with songs and praises to Hashem – and then these weeks will be weeks of joyous celebration, the coming of Moshiach b’rachamim, and the rebuilding of our holy Temple in Jerusalem, speedily and in our days AMEN.

Dropping the Vacuum Cleaner

First things first – welcome back from a long break! There has been lots going on here, including Pesach and a trip to Ch”l but Baruch Hashem we are basically back on time, and back on track, now. Not that the Pesach notes have finally been finished, but at least I got my kitchen turned back over before Shavuos! And I think I mostly have found everything too, which is a nice bonus.

 

Due to a special wedding, next week the Chabura restarts but on MONDAY evening June 8, 2015 – 8:15PM. Please come on time since we want to be done with introductions and learning by 8:30PM at the latest with Hashem’s help. Thereafter it will again be on Tuesday evenings, 8:15PM. No need to RSVP but if you plan on coming, do let me know. Also if you are interested in coming but want a different day of the week, please let me know since there is some flexibility and we’ll do what works for the most people! And of course be in touch if you need help getting here (near Shimon Hatzadik train and bus stops).

 

In the meantime, I admit that I have not gone ahead in Women’s Wisdom but I did finish the chapter I was learning in The Garden of Gratitude. Interestingly, I feel like whatever I am learning in Rabbi Arush seems to be happening in my life (I mentioned this to my husband, who warned me not to read some of his books in that case! Ha ha). Anyway, for the past few weeks I feel bombarded with little trials, which Rabbi Arush explains are real suffering, but compared to big problems can hardly be called suffering at all. But he gives an incredible formula based on the difference between the 3 days it took to get to the border of Israel from the Yam Suf, versus the 11 days it should have taken, and the 40 years punishment we received. Based on these ratios, the example is like this: You are judged to lose $100 in order to atone for some sin. Hashem sends you a test – you lose $20. If you accept losing that $20 with love and most importantly recognize that it came as a result of Divine providence from Hashem, thanking Hashem for losing the money and doing your best to do teshuva – then not only did you just pay only 1/5 of what you really owe, but then Hashem wipes from your sins the equivalent of $100,000!!! In fact, He wipes all your sins clean, just for the tiny suffering of losing $20, which is hardly suffering at all. But don’t accept it with love, thus denying Hashem’s goodness and start complaining, thus bringing more judgment upon yourself, and now the entire $100,000 stands to be lost G-d forbid.

 

It’s a very powerful parable. Of course most of our lives we cannot see these spiritual accountings with such clarity – that’s the whole point of the test. Anyway I feel absolutely bombarded by days where things just don’t go my way, but thank G-d nothing is really “wrong” so to speak. Well, the baby going to sleep at 2AM really IS wrong if you ask me, but that’s the whole point – working on recognizing that things are not all supposed to go just so. Maybe that is easy street but it isn’t the point of life to be on easy street, hanging out on the beach with a cocktail, plenty of money in the bank and all your needs provided and secure. In fact, that is actually the curse of the snake – to eat dust, and thereby never have any need for a connection to Hashem. Indeed, Rabbi Arush says that if someone doesn’t experience even the slightest bit of suffering for 40 days, they should be quite terrified, since clearly Hashem is repaying their good deeds in this world and they have no share in the World to Come!

 

What I realized is that the main point is recognizing that you don’t really want that super easy life you think you want. That’s what your body wants, but living for your body is pretty miserable, since it’s always uncomfortable and no matter how much you try to satisfy it, it continues to want incrementally more. Besides which, physical pleasure doesn’t hold a candle to any form of spiritual pleasure – the best proof of that is that no amount of money in the world will make a healthy parent sell their child. That’s because the physical pleasure of money can’t touch the spiritual pleasure of being a parent. So when faced with an obstacle, the question is NOT what your Evil Inclination wants you to think, which is “I don’t want this! This is pain, this is difficult, and I want easy street!” Really, you don’t have that option, because Hashem loves you, and hence you are not on Easy Street (see above). Really the only question is: “Do I recognize Hashem and try to say thank you and accept His Divine providence, even though I don’t understand it – or bring more judgment upon myself by denying that and complaining?” That is really the choice. You will suffer whether you like it or not – it’s the acceptance of the suffering by recognizing the Source, or not, that is actually in your power.

 

Of course training yourself to do this in everyday life takes, well – a lifetime! So Rabbi Arush says – ask Hashem to help you, and then every day review your inevitable failings, do teshuva, recognize at that point that what happened was from Hashem, apologize for not accepting it at the time and getting angry, blaming the messenger, or whatever, and move on. Hashem won’t hold it against you, so neither should you! He also adds to expect this stage to last years – yes, YEARS – before you start actually living your emuna in the moment and not losing it in the moment. So don’t beat yourself up or expect yourself to just get it right away. Like everything from Rabbi Arush, it is abundantly simple and yet incredibly difficult to actually do.

 

So for instance, I recently worked on thanking Hashem for the vacuum cleaner dropping on my foot since the handle broke, and having to ice my big toe a few times a day for days. Thank G-d the nail survived. Thank G-d the foot survived. Thank G-d it healed and no long term effects noted. My option was not to avoid having this happen. Really, my option is – accept this with love, or take upon 5,000 times more suffering than this very painful big toe! Well, I guess I’ll take just the toe! I almost screamed out “That’s it, we’re replacing this vacuum cleaner NOW!” But thankfully my husband was nowhere around for me to complain to him, and by the time he came home I was much calmer. And noted – yes I need to be more careful with it, yes we do need a new one, and yes Hashem also caused it to drop on my foot either way.