TRANSFORM YOUR EMUNAH!

Rabbi Reuven Garber
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Short daily inspiration about Emunah and Bitachon with R’ Reuven Garber ”The distance between understanding Emunah intellectually and internalizing it emotionally is greater than the distance between heaven and earth!” Transform Your Emunah! https://transformyouremunah.com/

  1. 1D AGO

    593 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-30)

    I'm so excited to move forward in our Bitachon journey, B'ezrat Hashem clarifying these Torah sources that we're going to be exploring, and with Hashem's help transforming our Bitachon. The first Torah source we visited was the Chovos Halevavos, right at the beginning of the Shaar Habitachon, where he says that the essence of Bitachon is inner peace and tranquility of the soul. And the reason for that is because one relies on Hashem to such an extent that we know Hashem will always do what's best for us. And again, to highlight, that is a high level to achieve, with full sincerity. But we're not meant to get there, not in one day and perhaps not ever, but just to take small steps of growth in our Bitachon journey.   We're now going to move to the second Torah source that we're going to be visiting. This is Rabbeinu Yonah in Mishlei, Perek Gimel, Pasuk Chaf Vav. Rabbeinu Yonah writes, “I'm going to tell you what Bitachon is. Bitachon is the absolute clear belief, without any shadow of a doubt, in Hashem's salvation, and relying on Him with absolute sincerity, without any shadow of a doubt.”   So let's break this down a little bit. The main point of this Bitachon journey is that it translates into practical application in our lives. Of course, the starting point is learning about it, to be able to thereafter apply it in our lives. But in this piece in Rabbeinu Yonah, we're learning where is the ultimate opportunity to apply Bitachon. And Rabbeinu Yonah is teaching us that when adversity strikes and things might seem scary, I don't know where the solution is going to come from. I'm stuck. That is the most tremendous opportunity that I now have to fulfill my life's mission. Of course, as human beings, we are not meant to go look for adversity and difficulties. But when they do strike, just to have this perspective, that this is now the most opportune time to practice the reason that I exist.   So Rabbeinu Yonah is teaching us what is Bitachon. Bitachon is belief with absolute conviction, without a shadow of a doubt, that when something is wrong, Hashem is going to make it right. But he says the words, Not just that knowledge, but true reliance on Hashem. I'm relying on Hashem to take care of the problem, to the point that I have no worry in the world anymore. We've previously discussed an example which can help us illustrate and digest this concept. Let's say I have a very wealthy uncle who has come over to me one day and he says, I want you to know my child, you are very dear to my heart. As you know, I am very, very wealthy and it is not a big deal for me to send you a few million dollars. So please, any time in your life that you need help, come over to me. I will most gladly help you.   Now, once in my life, I run short of money and I go over to my good-hearted wealthy uncle and I ask him to help me and he helps me gladly. And he tells me, please, if it happens again, come over right away and I will help you gladly. And after a while, it happens again that I'm short of money. And again, I go over to my uncle, who I am relying on to help me, and he helps me once again. And this repeatedly happens time and time again. When I've been to my uncle 10 different times and each time he has helped me and encouraged me that he wants to continue to help me and to please come back to him any and every time.   When it comes to the next time, I certainly will feel confident and comfortable to the point that if somebody asks me, you're in trouble financially, what are you going to do? I will say, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to my uncle tomorrow and he's going to help me. And I will not feel any sense of anxiety. Rabbeinu Yonah is teaching us that bitachon means reliance on Hashem to the point that if I have a problem in my life, I am throwing the problem on Hashem to the point that I'm not going to need to feel anxiety. B'ezrat Hashem, with the help of Hashem, let us move forward now and explore these most fascinating and incredible Torah sources together. And b'ezrat Hashem, transform our bitachon.

    5 min

  2. 2D AGO

    592 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-29)

    Let's move forward on our Bitachon journey. Remember this is the treasure of the world, the point of our lives. What a tremendous privilege just to be appreciative to Hashem that we're on this journey together. Thank you Hashem for the incredible opportunity we have to be learning about Bitachon. We're exploring now a bit of an introduction to Bitachon. What exactly is Bitachon? And as we discussed previously, the first Torah source that we visited was the Chovos Halevavos.   And again I cannot highlight enough how important it is to get your own copy of Chovos Halevavos. In today's times, it is so easy for anyone at any and every level to be able to learn so much of Torah literature that was not available previously. There is a fantastic artscroll copy of Chovos Halevavos which really walks a person through all the details with commentary and I highly recommend you get your hands on and slowly work through the fantastic Shaar Habitachon which is really one of the most classic foundational works that we have in Torah literature about Bitachon.   We discussed the Chovos Halevavos who teaches us that the essence of Bitachon is the is the tranquility of the soul, is the inner peace that we achieve when we rely on Hashem. So what we are learning here is that one of the things that Bitachon leads to is inner peace And the true litmus test eventually when we want to know how much Bittachin we truly have is how much inner peace do we have when adversity strikes, when something goes horribly wrong with my business or perhaps illness strikes or a serious family issue and the many other trials that we have in our lives. How do we respond to that situation?   Now again I cannot emphasize enough, it is not about getting there because it could be that we've been working on Bitachon for so long and something happens and we feel tremendous panic and anxiety. That's okay because if we are on the Bitachon journey that is all Hashem expects of us. We are limited by our human limitations and maybe we have a very high level of anxiety to start and maybe we're just dropping that anxiety a little bit by working on our Bitachon. That is all Hashem expects of us.   So what we've learned so far is that what Bitachon really leads to is inner peace regardless of the circumstances around me because I'm relying on Hashem that He's taking care of me and He'll always do the best for me and He is not limited by any human limitations and therefore I'm able to live with absolute inner peace, calm, serenity and happiness. The Chovos Halevavos writes that the reason that a person feels this inner peace is because the person is relying on someone else and that takes the anxiety away.   We are learning here that the real translation of the word Bitachon is reliance. It's not just the knowledge that Hashem can do anything and it's not even just the knowledge that Hashem always wants to do good for me and does good for me. It's not just that knowledge but it's the actual reliance that Hashem is there for me and has my back. Of course as we move forward in this journey and explore all the Torah sources we will see how to practically apply that reliance but just as a start we're seeing now what does Bitachon mean. Bitachon means to rely on Hashem.   Let's use a little analogy just to illustrate to ourselves what exactly it means to rely on something. Let's say I have a rare illness and there is a doctor overseas that is the only doctor in the world that can help me. Now I've researched this extensively and I know as a matter of fact that this is the only doctor in the world that can help me and I know that he certainly can help me. That stage can be translated more as the emunah, the belief that this doctor can help me whereas the reliance on the doctor would be to get up and go and visit him and take all the necessary efforts to make it work that I can be seen by him and he can help me out.   And similarly when it comes to Hashem, simply speaking emunah would translate more as the knowledge and belief that Hashem can do anything for me and has my back whereas Bitachon would be the reliance on Hashem, the taking the leap and throwing my problem on Hashem's back rather than carrying it myself. B’ezrat Hashem, let's move forward discussing these Torah sources and gaining more clarity in our Bitachon journey.

    5 min

  3. 3D AGO

    591 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-28)

    The Chovos Halevavos is one of the classics that we have on Bitachon, and I highly recommend that if you have not yet done so, you should get a copy to slowly work through, and B’ezrat Hashem, over time, master more and more. And if you've already been through it, to go through it again and again and again, because many of the greats have taught that one of the most foundational works that we have when it comes to the topic of Bitachon is the Shaar Habitachon of the Chovos Halevavos.   In this series, we're going to be quoting particular Torah sources that clarify a better picture for ourselves of what Bitachon is and the many questions that arise, but at the same time, there's no question that when you take a sefer like Chovos Halevavos and delve into it yourself, you will gain tremendously in your Bitachon journey. So what exactly is Bitachon? We learned the Chovos Halevavos right at the beginning of the Shaar Habitachon in Perek Aleph, where he writes, “The essence of Bitachon is the tranquility of the soul” and as the Chovos Halevavos explains, this is because when you rely on someone else, that they will do absolutely what is best for you, without exception, you feel tremendously tranquil, because you know you are in great hands.   And as we explained, when it comes to human beings, although another human being can certainly remove anxiety from us, because we do have many abilities, and when we know someone else will use their maximum ability to do the best possible for us, that can remove tremendous anxiety. However, that is certainly limited, because we are limited by our human capacity and even though we might be the most well-meaning person in the world, the situation someone might be relying on us for might be beyond our capacity, whereas when it comes to Hashem, Hashem is unlimited and we can rely on Him for anything. And therefore, as we build our Bittachin, the more we rely on Hashem, the more tranquility of soul, inner peace we will have. Because the more we digest that Hashem only wants the true best for us, but not only that, He can actually do it, beyond any statistic or natural limitation. And the more we build that belief, the more we will internalize the realization that we can live lives with complete calm throughout any and every situation.   So let's say that I'm in need of a certain amount of money, and I've requested from somebody else to help me out with this charity, and they've promised me that they will help me out, and I know as a matter of fact that they want to help me and they have my best interest in mind. There's no question that I'm going to feel much less anxious from this situation, because I'm relying on somebody to help me, I know He can help me, and He wants to help me. Whereas someone who has an illness, and there is no doctor in the world that can provide any treatment for this situation, under these circumstances there's nobody to rely on except for Hashem.   Our job in this world is to make our maximum effort to rely on Hashem exclusively, under all circumstances. Of course it's easier to rely on Hashem when nobody else can help us, but our job is not only to choose to rely on Hashem then, but throughout any and every situation, even when it seems like people can help us, to try to digest more and more that it is not people who help us, it is exclusively Hashem. People are the messengers of Hashem that He has placed in those circumstances to be there to help us out, but in truth it is Hashem exclusively who is helping us.   As we read in the well-known 13 principles of faith of the Rambam, “Hashem alone, Hashem exclusively, takes care of everything in this world with absolute divine providence”. Before delving into anything about Bitachon, the starting point is to digest that Hashem has absolute hashgacha pratis in this world - Hashem is personally looking after every single one of us down to the finest detail, personally managing and orchestrating every single one of our lives. B’ezrat Hashem, together let us take another step forward in our journey of Bitachon.

    5 min

  4. 4D AGO

    590 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-27)

    It is with great simcha and appreciation that today we begin the Torah sources of this tremendous journey of Bitachon. Today we begin to explore part one of the many sections we're going to be exploring as we've outlined in the previous sessions. So part one, what is Bitachon? Now of course this question really encompasses anything and everything we're ever going to learn about Bitachon because ultimately everything we learn about Bitachon will give us more clarity about what Bitachon truly is.   But this is an introduction to Bitachon to get a bit more clarity about what it means to rely on Hashem. What does Bitachon itself mean? How do we even translate the word Bittachon? So with Hashem's help let's begin our journey in Bitachon. The first source that we're going to explore is the Chovos Halevavos in the Shaar Habitachon, right at the beginning in Perek Aleph where he writes that “The essence of Bitachon is the tranquility of the soul of the person trusting and relying, and that the person's heart should be relying on the one he is trusting in.”   The Chovos Halevavos is teaching us here that the true essence of somebody who has Bitachon is tranquility. That means to say that anything and everything could be happening around me. On a global level or on a personal level there could be a major world war and chaos everywhere with things completely unpredictable and a person with Bitachon will have absolute inner peace and tranquility. And the reason for that is because one with Bitachon is relying on someone else to take care of them. Of course we are referring to Bitachon in Hashem but the Chovoss HaLevavos illustrates this by teaching us what happens when one relies on someone else.   I'd like to share a story that I once came across that helps illustrate this concept from the fantastic sefer Living Emunah from Rav David Ashear. He tells that there was a little girl on an airplane ride and suddenly there was tremendous unusual turbulence on the flight. Many of the passengers were quite scared as to what was going on whereas this girl was completely calm. One of the flight attendants noticed this and came over to the girl and said, “Little girl. The adults on this plane are feeling quite terrified at the moment and you seem to be completely calm as if nothing is going on. Why is that?” And the girl responded, “well my father is the pilot so why should I be anxious about anything? I know that my father will absolutely always do what is best for me.”   And as the Chovos Halevavos goes on to say in this paragraph that a person who has Bitachon in someone else has inner peace because you're relying on that other person and you know that they will always do what is best for you. Now the reason the Chovos HaLevavos teaches us about having Bitachon, reliance on other people is because ultimately that teaches us how to have true Bitachon in Hashem. This little girl understood that her father would only always do what is best for her and therefore even when things seemed like they were not going according to plan and potentially could cause anxiety, she felt calm.   Now the example is not 100% accurate because when it comes to other people we are limited in our abilities as well-meaning as we might be, we might not be able to help another individual under certain circumstances because of our human limitations, whereas when it comes to Hashem, the basics of Emunah teach us that Hashem is completely beyond any limitation and can without a doubt save us from the most unpromising situation that we might encounter.   So again what we're learning in this first passage from the Chovos Halevavos is that the essence of Bitachon is tranquility. Of course we cannot expect to get there in a day where we can have bombs exploding around us and we can remain completely tranquil, but again as we spoke about in the introduction, the point of Bitachon is not necessarily to get there - it is to aim to get there and to take small steps to go as far as we can. B'ezrat Hashem, let's continue further in our journey of Bitachon.

    4 min

  5. 5D AGO

    589 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-26)

    This is tremendously exciting that we're moving today to wrap up the contents we've been discussing of what we're going to be exploring in the Torah sources. Again, there are many, many, many Torah sources throughout Torah literature about Emunah and Bitachon, and one can almost get lost in the Torah literature without clear direction of what to do. I thank Hashem for the inspiration that He provided for me in my own Bitachon journey to try to clarify in a very orderly way of the different questions that can arise in Bitachon and try to compartmentalize the different questions in an organized way and under each section explore the Torah sources to do with that section so that, B’ezrat Hashem, at the end we can come out with more clarity and feel more confident to move forward in our Bitachon journey.   Up until now, throughout the series, we've been outlining the different sections we're going to be discussing, 15 sections in total. Today we're going to summarize the 15 sections and B’ezrat Hashem, thereafter, we're going to move forward with the Torah sources themselves. So in part one we'll discuss, B’ezrat Hashem, what exactly is Bitachon, a bit of an introduction to Bitachon.   In part two we'll discuss what is the source for the mitzvah of Bitachon. Is it a Torah mitzvah, a rabbinic mitzvah, what exactly is the source? And now we move to part three, how important exactly is Bitachon? So important to digest the Torah sources we'll learn in this section, to see that this is ultimately the point of our life, Bitachon is the point of our lives. Part four, does Bitachon always work? There's a type of Bittachon that one can be so confident in Hashem that He will come through for me in the way that I desire.   And then we move to part five, if that is the case, why must Hashem come through for me? Are there not many factors to Hashem's calculations? Maybe I don't deserve it, maybe it's not good for me, am I the master of my own destiny? And if that is the case, is that not a dangerous thing to do? Is it not safer to just put it in Hashem's hands and not have a desire of my own? We then move to part six, what is the prerequisite for Bitachon to be effective? And as discussed, there is a form of Bitachon where you can be so confident in Hashem coming through for you that He will come through for you in exactly the way that you desire. But you have to be 100% sincere on your reliance on Hashem exclusively.   Part seven, can a sinner apply Bitachon? Part eight, why were there tzaddikim that were not always saved by Bitachon? Part nine, what is the position of the Chazon Ish about Bittachon? And although that seems like almost a random, not so interesting type of question, we will learn in that section why this is such a fundamental opinion in the way we're going to make a conclusion as to the final halacha, how we are to apply Bitachon.   Part 10, can Bitachon be applied even to mundane endeavors? Is Bitachon only something that I should aim to apply to my spiritual journey, or is it something I should bring into my day-to-day mundane endeavors, and even things that I might get involved in which are not so holy? Part 11, what is my obligation of hishtadlus? At first glance, it can very easily appear that hishtadlus and Bitachon do not work together and contradict one another. But again, of course, we've got to make sense of this great mitzvah that Hashem has given us, where on the one hand, we have an absolute obligation to believe Hashem exclusively runs everything in our lives, and on the other hand, we have to make our own efforts.   Part 12, how do I acquire Bitachon? It's not just the theoretical subject that we're learning. How do I make it practical in my life that I can truly live by the values of Bitachon? Part 13, what exactly is the relationship between tefillah and Bitachon? Part 14, what is the true reward for having Bitachon? As we'll see in the Torah sources, any small effort that we make towards growth in our Bitachon is way greater than any reward we might imagine to receive for ourselves in this world. And part 15, where in Chazal are examples of Bitachon?   “Hashem, please give us tremendous success in the next phase of what we're going to be doing, moving forward to the actual Torah sources in each of these sections, and b’ezrat Hashem each one of us, gaining more clarity in our Bitachon journeys.”

    4 min

  6. APR 30

    588 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-25)

    I'm so excited, we're about to wrap up the outline of the sections we're going to be discussing, outlining the Torah sources of the most important topic in our lives, bitachon. We're going to begin today's session with part 14 that we're going to be outlining. And in many ways, this is perhaps the most important section that needs to be highlighted. What is the true reward for having bitachon? Now why this is such an important question to discuss is because as we've alluded to, there are many different forms of bitachon. And one of the types of bitachon that we're going to discover together is that one can rely on Hashem to such an extent that Hashem will come through for you for exactly what you desire in the way that you desire. And if you do it in the right way, that you're 100% reliant on Hashem with full sincerity, He will for sure give it to you in the way that you desire.   But something which is much more important than that is that the true reward for having bitachon is much greater than anything you can achieve or receive in this world. So let me give you an example to illustrate this concept. Let's say I want to have bitachon in Hashem to give me 10 million dollars. Now if I do it correctly, which again is not an easy task because bitachon is the point of our lives, and if it was just as easy as going to a vending machine and putting in a coin, then that would defeat the whole purpose because this is the point of our lives. But let's say I reached such a high level that I have absolute sincere bitachon in Hashem to receive 10 million dollars. Now I might think that the true prize is receiving 10 million dollars, but in truth, much, much, much greater than receiving those 10 million dollars is the reward that I will receive both in this world and especially in the next world for just trying to take a step forward in my bitachon journey.   And the reason it's so important to highlight this is because regardless of what we actually achieve in our bitachon journey, if we are trying to take a step forward, we are achieving way, way greater than receiving 10 million dollars. And of course, we'll discuss it more extensively when we get to B’ezrat Hashem, but for our purposes right now, it's important to internalize that any small step that we take forward in our bitachon journey is achieving for us way greater than anything beyond our imagination. And why it's so important to remember this is because although to reach the highest levels of bitachon, let's say backtracking to our example before, I have bitachon in Hashem that I want those 10 million dollars, something which seems so far-fetched and I work very, very hard on my reliance and everything that entails as we'll discuss B’ezrat Hashem.   And let's say after everything's said and done, I don't get the 10 million dollars. Not, God forbid, because bitachon doesn't work. As we'll learn, bitachon works, period. But the reason it might not work was maybe I was not fully sincere. Maybe I was only 99% sincere in my bitachon endeavor. And as we'll learn, in order for it to be an absolute logarithm that Hashem will for sure come through for you, it has to be 100% reliance on Hashem. Now one might feel, but how am I going to get to 100%? What if I'm only 99%? Now again, this is why this is so, so, so vital to remember that the true reward for bitachon is way greater than receiving whatever you might be trying to receive. Because as we know, this world is temporary. Eventually, we're all going to move to a much greater world for eternity. And eternity is forever.   So as the Sfarim teach, whatever reward we can imagine for ourselves in this world is not even comparable to one moment of the true pleasure we'll receive in the next world. And the efforts that we make in our bitachon journey are one of the greatest things we can do towards achieving for ourselves the greatest places in eternity. And therefore, let us constantly remind ourselves that one of the greatest possible things that we can do is just to make an effort to grow in our emunah, in our bitachon, regardless of what we actually achieve.   Even if we feel like we've been working on bitachon for so long, and we've barely grown in the endeavor, if we've been making an effort to do so, it's as if we've done everything. B’ezrat Hashem, in the next session, we're going to wrap up the introduction of the contents of bitachon. And thereafter, we move forward to the Torah sources themselves, and with Hashem's help, move to more clarity in our bitachon journey.

    5 min

  7. APR 29

    587 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-24)

    We are right at the end of our journey of outlining the sections, b’ezrat Hashem, to give us more clarity of where we are heading in this bitachon journey. B’ezrat Hashem, in part 12 we will discuss the question of how do I acquire bitochen. And as mentioned previously, this is so important because as many Torah sources teach, ultimately the purpose of the Torah is to apply it in a practical way. And when it comes to practical mitzvos, it's much easier to relate to - that I can learn the details of a particular mitzvah and thereafter I can actually take those details and apply them in a practical way.   And when it comes to bitachon, yes the daily inspiration is certainly something beneficial to constantly be mindful, to live by the values of bitachon. But much more than that is how do I make it practical? How do I actually take bitachon and live by the values of bitachon? We'll learn and explore that true bitachon removes fear, leads to serenity, calm, happiness and so, so much more. Not to mention the true reward which awaits for us in the next world – in Olam Haba.   But how do I get there? Again, I hope that all of us will realize that bitachon is ultimately the point of everything and we'll be inspired to make it the focal point of our lives because it is our lives. It's about bitachon. It's about removing the false opinions and assumptions of the world around us which teach that you are your own boss; You are the master of your destiny, and try to remove Hashem from the picture. And a life of bitachon brings Hashem into the picture and teaches us that Hashem exclusively runs every single detail of our lives and therefore, of course, our only address should be Him. And yes, we've got many details to discuss such as why then should I do Hishtadlus at all? And of course, we know and we'll learn that we do have to do Hishtadlus. But how do I reconcile that with bitachon? And much more that we'll discuss in those sections.   In part 13, Bezrat Hashem will discuss the question, how do we reconcile tefillah and bitachon? Now, something which is just some food for thought for the meantime. If we really and truly trust Hashem, why do we daven for things to be any different than the way He makes it? Even if something is a challenging situation, we know ultimately that Hashem does everything for our best. And similarly, you could ask, why would I rely on Hashem for something to be different than the way He's made it to be? There is much more to discuss about this, but just a little bit of food for thought for right now: When it comes to tefillah, we've been trained over the years that we're not only allowed to pray and daven for our own needs and wants, but it's commendable in a mitzvah to do so.   But because bitachon is not as well taught of a subject, for numerous reasons, when it comes to relying on Hashem for things to be a certain way that we would like it to be, it's more difficult for us to digest that that should be Hashem's will. But again, when we reconcile that with what we know about tefillah, that Hashem desires that we daven for the things that we would like.   When our many great ancestors listed in the Torah, let's just take one example for now, Rachel Imenu was not able to have children. She very easily could have just accepted the situation and said, “Hashem only does what is best for me. I'm not going to pray for anything. He didn't want to give me children, I'm not going to pray for children.” But that wasn't her approach. Her approach rather was, “I am going to pray for the outcome to come about in the way that I desire.” And similarly, we've got to discuss how this applies to bitachon, to relying on Hashem for our own needs in the way that we desire. B’ezrat Hashem, let's discuss this further and let's move forward together in our journey of bitachon.

    4 min

  8. APR 28

    586 - Transform Your Bitachon! (Part-23)

    We're coming to the end of outlining all the sections, and very soon we're going to be moving to the Torah sources themselves, which is tremendously exciting, again, to appreciate how privileged each one of us are to be on this journey of transforming our bitachon, really the keys to the highest treasures in the world.   We outlined previously what we're going to be exploring in part 12 of the Torah sources, where the question is, how do I acquire bitachon? We've mentioned many times that Torah is replete with countless Torah sources about Emunah and bitachon, and it is very clear from many, many, many Torah sources that the entire purpose of our lives, of the whole Torah, of all the mitzvos, of everything we exist for, is ultimately for the sake of bitachon. And there is much to learn about bitachon, but how do I get it? And B’ezrat Hashem, in part 12, as well as the other sections, will explore this further.   But suffice it to say, for now, something to realize is that if bitachon is the point of my life, then certainly I should make it my life's mission to invest much time and energy into this tremendous holy endeavor. It's not just a nice added benefit to my life that will enhance my life, it is my life. And if we internalize that, we will begin to add more and more time, energy, and effort into our bitachon quest.   It's an amazing privilege, all of us, to be on this journey together, transforming our bitachon, but it is certainly only the beginning, because as we take these concepts, each one of us, into our own personal life, we will find that we're able to apply it in our own personal relationship to Hashem. And the more we internalize how important bitachon is in our life, the more effort, energy, and time we'll invest into it. But in terms of the technical side of the Torah sources, in part 12, we will, B’ezrat Hashem, discuss the question of how do I acquire bitachon.   The next question, part 13, how important is tefillah and personal prayer? There are many important terms that we throw around loosely. Emunah, bitachon, tefillah, personal prayer. How do I practically bring them all together? Throughout our Emunah series, we quoted many times fascinating sources, such as the Mesillas Yesharim in chapter 15, where he writes that more precious to Hashem than anything else is when we seclude ourselves with Hashem and talk to Him in our own words. Hashem desires our personal relationship with Him. And we discussed also many times the well-known words of the Sefer Chareidim and the Shelah Hakadosh, that the effect of secluding ourselves and personal prayer with Hashem has seven times more of a potent effect than even that of Torah learning on our neshama.   And for anybody who is even slightly familiar with Torah literature, this is a fascinatingly powerful statement, because the Torah is replete with the importance about Torah study. Torah study is one of the most powerful things anybody can do in this world. Nevertheless, we are learning here that on some level, talking to Hashem in our own words can even be more powerful than that. Now again, if you'd like to listen to our previous recordings about emunah and personal prayer, you're invited to visit our website at transformyouremunah.com.   But for our purposes right now, as we proceed on this incredible bitachon journey, how do we reconcile personal prayer with bitachon? If I have so much bitachon and reliance on Hashem, do I even need to pray to Him? Why should I daven about anything? Can't I just perhaps rely on Hashem to such an extent that I don't even need to pray? Because if I am so confident that Hashem will help me out, why should I even pray for something to be different? And if I can reach the ultimate form of bitachon, where my will is the same as Hashem's will, and I don't necessarily have a will of my own, why does prayer exist at all? Because ultimately, prayer is saying to Hashem, “Hashem, I would like this to be this way. Please make it happen this way for me.” And there's a lot more to discuss. B’ezrat Hashem, as we move further in our bitachon journey, will discuss this further, and with Hashem's help, bring more clarity to our bitachon.

    4 min
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Short daily inspiration about Emunah and Bitachon with R’ Reuven Garber ”The distance between understanding Emunah intellectually and internalizing it emotionally is greater than the distance between heaven and earth!” Transform Your Emunah! https://transformyouremunah.com/

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  • Creator
    Rabbi Reuven Garber
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    594
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
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    TRANSFORM YOUR EMUNAH!