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Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear
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Hashem, the Only Healer
Jan 20Tap to summarizeThere are times when a person is faced with illness, and suddenly the entire world seems to revolve around doctors, tests, scans, diagnoses, and treatments. The more complicated the condition, the more the person tends to feel that everything is dependent on the doctor's words and the medications that he prescribes. If a person believes that the power to heal is in the hands of flesh and blood, then when the doctors say, "There is nothing more we can do," his hopes will collapse. Fortunately for us, we know the truth. The pasuk says,אני ה' רפאך- "I am Hashem, your Healer." Not the doctor is your healer, and not the medication is your healer. Rather, Hashem — and only Hashem — is our Healer. The more a person believes that, the more zechuyot he will gain, and the more likely it will be that he will be healed. Hashem is called the Borei Refuot, the One who creates the medications that we use to heal ourselves. Sometimes He creates a cure before we need it, and sometimes He creates a cure precisely when we need it. How many times has it happened that it seemed there was no hope, and suddenly a new treatment was discovered, a new approach was tried, and a recovery took place just in time. The treatment was discovered not because the medical world suddenly became wiser, but because Hashem decided that the time of healing had arrived. There is no illness for which Hashem lacks a cure. There is no condition for which He cannot create a new path of healing. The limitation is never in Hashem. It all depends on how much we are ready to trust in Him. We must go to doctors, and we must take medication, but we cannot put too much emphasis on them. We can never feel that without a specific doctor we cannot be healed, or without a certain medication we cannot be cured. A man told how he was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. It was recommended that he go to the biggest expert in the country in that particular field. The doctor, however, did not take insurance, and he needed to fill out forms to try to get approval for financial coverage. They refused his request, saying they had their own doctors who dealt with his issue. He tried every possible way to get approval — going to special committees, appealing to managers, explaining that it was a matter of life and death — but nothing helped. So he went to a doctor who was not recommended. That doctor told him that for his specific illness there was no standard medication, but this doctor knew something that others did not. At that very time, a new medication was being developed for precisely this type of sickness. That doctor was part of the development team, and when they reached the stage of trying the medication on patients, he included him in the trial — even though, according to the rules, he should not have been eligible. Baruch Hashem, he received the medication, and his life was saved. Six months later, the medication was approved for public use — but by then it would have been too late for him. Hashem led this man to the exact messenger through whom He wanted to give him the cure that He Himself had created. We are always in Hashem's hands. The more we know that, the more we trust that only He can heal, and the more heavenly help we will receive.
Transcribe →There Is No One Like Hashem
Jan 19Tap to summarizeAs we know, the miracles that Hashem performed at Yetziat Mitzrayim were not only to take revenge on the Egyptians. They were also to teach us lessons that we would need for all generations. Rabbi Menashe Reizman quoted Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel, who explained one of those lessons. The Egyptians believed in numerous gods, and every one of them was connected to their source of parnassah. They worshipped the sheep that gave them parnassah. They worshipped the Nile River that gave them parnassah. They worshipped Pharaoh, who they believed gave them parnassah. And Hashem made a mockery of all those gods, including the Baal Tzafon. Baal Tzafon was the place where Yosef hid all of the treasures that he accumulated during the years of famine. As long as Baal Tzafon stood, the Egyptians felt secure. It was their insurance policy. Even if the Nile failed, even if their livestock died, even if everything else collapsed, they still had mountains of gold hidden away there. Pharaoh emptied that treasure house and gave everything to the Egyptians in order to convince them to chase the Jews into the Yam Suf. That is what caused them to ultimately drown there, and that is how all of that wealth was transferred to Am Yisrael. Hashem was showing us that all of the things the Egyptians believed in were nothing. It was only Him who controlled everything. Sometimes a person becomes so wrapped up in his parnassah that he begins to trust in it. And if there is an issue with the product, or the customer, or the boss, he begins to tremble in fear that his parnassah is in jeopardy. Believing in the cause of parnassah is very similar to believing in the Egyptian deities. The Gemara says that whoever is somech geulah l'tefillah, no harm will befall him that day. Rabbeinu Yonah explains that if a person truly absorbs the message of the geulah from Mitzrayim, he will nullify all other imagined sources of help and rely fully on HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Only then can he truly pray. So long as a person believes that his refuah is in the hands of the doctor, and his future is in the hands of a diagnosis, how can he truly mean the words כי אל רופא רחמן ונאמן אתה that he says in tefilah? The more emotional involvement a person has in his hishtadlut, the weaker his emunah becomes. When it comes to parnassah, when a person truly believes that only Hashem is giving it to him, that only Hashem is marrying off his children, and that only Hashem is giving each person the house he needs to live in, then his kavanah in prayer becomes deep and real. First a person must nullify all other sources of support in the berachah of Ga'al Yisrael, and only then can he begin the Amidah properly. The Arugat HaBosem explains that the main essence of every berachah in the amidah is in its conclusion: כי אל גואל חזק אתה כי אל טוב וסלח אתה כי אל טוב ומטיב אתה Even though we must make hishtadlut, the Chazon Ish warns that we must not have emotional attachment to it. We must not lose our composure when hearing bad news about the industry we work in. Rather, we should remain calm, with the serenity of one who trusts that the same Hashem who helped him yesterday in one way can help him today in another way. The Gemara says that someone whose mind is preoccupied with worry in the performance of a mitzvah can be exempt from Keriat Shema. Then the Gemara asks: what about someone whose mind is preoccupied with worry because his merchandise sank at sea? Should he also be exempt? The Gemara answers no. He must remove the worry from his heart, because Hashem can provide his livelihood from somewhere else instantly. In fact, sometimes it is precisely through the sinking of the ship that his livelihood will come. Like the story of Rav Huna, who had four hundred barrels of wine turn sour into vinegar. One opinion in the Gemara says that afterward the emperor's daughter became ill and needed vinegar for healing. Suddenly vinegar was in great demand, and Rav Huna sold all of his vinegar at a great profit. He did not need wine in order to succeed. Hashem gave him even greater blessing through vinegar. Part of the purpose of Yetziat Mitzrayim is to bring us to one clear conclusion: כי אין כמוני בכל הארץ-there is no one like Hashem. Everything we could ever want or need comes only from Him. And the more deeply we believe that, the greater our tefillot and our avodat Hashem will become.
Transcribe →Parashat Va’era: The Lesson of the Makkot
Jan 16Tap to summarizeIn this week's parasha, Va'era , we read about seven of the makot which Hashem brought upon the Mitzrim . The Ramban says one of the lessons we are supposed to learn from the makot is that in the same way it was obvious that Hashem was behind those open miracles, it's also supposed to be obvious that Hashem is controlling the world through nature as well. If a person's roof is leaking, it is Hashem who caused it to happen. If a person's car got dented, it was Hashem who made it happen. If a person made money through a business deal, it was Hashem who made the deal for him. And whenever a person receives any type of help from another individual, it was Hashem who brought it about. Each time a person experiences any situation in life and he attributes what happens to the workings of Hashem, that is included in the mitzvah of אנכי ה' אלוקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים. A woman told, she was going through a lot of hardships. When Chanukah came, she managed to put them out of her mind and was looking forward to spending one of the evenings at her parents' house who were hosting a Chanukah party. That night when her son came home from school, he was very upset about his basketball practice. He made everyone in the house miserable because of it and, in the end, things got so bad, they didn't end up going to her parents' party. This made matters much worse. The next day, she did not want to talk to anyone, especially her son. That evening, her husband reminded her they had a Bar Mitzvah to attend. She wasn't feeling well, she was in a terrible mood and did not want to go, but she forced herself to go because it was the Bar Mitzvah of a close friend of theirs. She sat at a table there feeling sorry for herself, not wanting to talk to anyone. But then, a friend came over to say hello and that friend began talking to her about how difficult it has been raising her children. And then she mentioned, her eldest son, who was a senior in high school, just spent the whole night crying because his basketball team lost the game and it has been a strain on the house. This woman couldn't believe the hashgacha that was taking place. Here, she felt her son's attitude which ruined the previous night was so silly and now a friend, who she hadn't spoken to in a very long time, comes over to tell her the same thing happened in her house. This gave the woman so much chizuk . She felt Hashem talking to her and was able to move on happily, despite all the problems she was having. Her belief that it was Hashem who orchestrated that, and sent that friend to talk to her, is a mitzvah in its own right. So in addition to all of the other benefits that she received from that meeting, she also got a spiritual elevation by fulfilling a mitzvah. A relative of mine told me that for whatever reason, she hadn't made chulent in the past three months. This past Shabbat, she prepared it and, as usual, was planning to plug in the crock pot right before she lit the candles, but it completely slipped her mind. Her housekeeper had polished the tray that her candles are set upon this past week and therefore the tray was a little out of place so she moved the tray back into place and, all of a sudden, a small folded yellow piece of paper came out from underneath and fell right into her hands. She opened the paper and it had just one word on it. " Chulent ." She had written that note three months before to remind herself not to forget to plug in the crock pot. And on this day, it "accidentally" fell into her hands. She was so excited seeing how Hashem reminded her to plug in her crock pot. Although one could look at this and say, "Yeah, that just happened to be," she is fulfilling a mitzvah by believing it was all done by hashgacha peratit . The more we accustom ourselves to seeing the yad Hashem in everything that happens, the more we will be fulfilling the main purposes of Hashem's performances of the makot in Mitzrayim . Shabbat Shalom.
Transcribe →Our Job
Jan 15Tap to summarizeOur parnasa is only b'yad Hashem, nobody can take away money that Hashem wants us to have. הרבה שלוחים למקום – Hashem has many ways of giving us parnasa . Our job is to deal in business the way Hashem wants us to – honestly, keeping our word, and being upright. He decides how much we make and where it comes from and we do our part by doing business according to halacha . A man we'll call Yosef told me, he started listening to emunah classes a couple of years ago and he has become a completely different person when it comes to money. He knows now, he only works for Hashem and his main concern is doing what Hashem wants him to do. This past year, he did a job for a customer and the customer began nitpicking every step of the way. The customer mentioned to him that someone stole a lot of money from him and, when the job was completed, the customer said he was not paying the balance due - $30,000. He seemed to think that because someone wronged him, he was allowed to wrong someone else to get his money back. Yosef told him that he did everything he was supposed and deserved to be paid, but the customer was adamant about not paying. They went to a rabbi for advice to resolve the matter and the rabbi told the customer, "You owe the $30,000." The customer nodded his head, but later on refused to pay. Yosef said to himself, I worked honestly, I did my hishtadlut, Hashem is my boss, He will pay me the way He wants to . He mentioned that he sits next to that customer in the same shul, his children play with his children, but he did not tell anybody about what happened. He doesn't hold a grudge against that man and he would never speak lashon hara about him. The day after he decided to let the money go and not cause a machloket over it, he received a phone call for a very easy job that earned him $75,000. He works for Hashem and Hashem is the only One who matters to him. What an inspiring attitude to live by! It is so clear that our parnasa comes only from Hashem. A Rabbi told me, he was once learning with a very wealthy man and, after they finished, another man walked up to them and he told the wealthy man he had a tip on a stock and told him to buy it right away. On the spot, the wealthy man called his broker to place the order. It was a cheap stock and he told the broker to buy one million shares. A few days later, once again while the wealthy man was learning with the rabbi, the other man came over to them and apologized that the stock went down. The wealthy man said, "What do you mean went down? I made millions on it, thank you!" "Are we talking about the same stock?" said the other man. They looked into it and saw that the wealthy man accidentally told the broker the wrong symbol of the stock. The stock he bought went up while the other one went down. In fact, he said, the president of that company called him asking him why he bought so many shares. He thanked him because he was the cause of the stock rising. If Hashem wants someone to make money, that person's going to make the money. He is the only One we need to impress and He wants honesty and integrity. When people see us acting the way Hashem wants us to act, it also brings about a great kiddush Hashem.
Transcribe →Keep Praying
Jan 14Tap to summarizeFor a 20% discount on Rabbi Ashear's new book on Parnassah click the link below and enter Promo Code - Emunah20 https://www.artscroll.com/ Books/9781422640708.html Some people say they can't pick up a siddur to pray with. They feel betrayed. They had invested hundreds of tefillot, day and night, crying out to Hashem for help, but never got what they were asking for. They weren't asking for luxuries, and they knew it was so easy for Hashem to give it to them. They don't think that they are so bad that they shouldn't deserve what they were asking for. The only conclusion they have is that prayer doesn't really work, at least not for them, so why should they bother continuing with it. It is certainly not easy to deal with disappointment, but we must know this is one of our main jobs in this world. For someone like this to say, “I trust you, Hashem. I know You hear every word that I say, and I know You love my prayers,” and he continues to pray, it would elevate him so much. The prayers from a person who has so many reasons to turn away are so valuable. Every tefila is a mitzvah in its own right, and will earn a person eternal life, especially when it's so hard for him to do. Every tefila is heard, and every tefila counts. A businessman in Yerushalayim needed $300,000 to take his business to the next level, and went to the bank to apply for a loan. The bank dragged their feet and did not give him an answer for two months. During that time, he prayed so hard for heavenly help. He went to Meron to pray by the kever of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. He went to the Kotel numerous times. The day they finally called back, he was in the car, and immediately recognized the number of the bank manager lighting up on his phone. The first words he heard was, “I'm sorry, I hate to disappoint you, but we can't approve your loan.” To him, this loan was his entire future. His head started to ache, and he felt dizzy. He couldn't continue driving, so he pulled over to the side of the road. He thought of all the heartfelt tefilot that he had made. He said to himself, “ Ribono Shel Olam , what happened to all my prayers? Weren't they worth anything?” He was ready to give up on prayer altogether, but then he stopped himself, and he reminded himself of the basic principles of emunah. He said to himself, if Hashem decided not to give me this loan, that means it was the best possible outcome. He sat there for ten minutes, giving himself chizuk in emunah, and then he was ready to continue driving. As he was going to pull away, an elderly man knocked on his window, asking him for a ride. When the man got in the car, he asked if he could relate a short devar Torah . He then went on to give a mashal of how every tefila we make is heard by Hashem and connects us to Hashem. The man was floored. Exactly when he needed that chizuk , a man came into his car and asked him if he could relate that chiddush to him. That evening, he went back to the Kotel to pray, this time with deep-rooted emunah. He accepted Hashem's decision about the bank, and then he asked Hashem to give him the money in a different way. The very next morning, his accountant called and told him, he just found out that the government is giving financial backing to small businesses, but there are two conditions to get it. Number one, he had to have all the papers ready in two days. And number two, only someone with no outside financial backing qualified for the offer. Since he had just applied for the loan, he had all the papers ready, and because he was denied for that loan, he qualified for this much better offer. Nobody knows what we need better than Hashem. Sometimes all we need is just to keep praying more.
Transcribe →