Lazer Brody's Blog, page 13

Like Riding a Bull...

You learn about life from everything, especially from a Texas rodeo. When I saw the above scene, after breathin' easy that the cowboy ridin' that bull came out alive, I thought that life is like trying to ride a crazy bull - we try our best to hold on, but sometimes we get thrown, and pretty hard at that. OK, so we eat some dust, but there's always another chance for the strong of heart...

That's an emuna reaction. The reactions of the locals were different - I'll tell you what they were saying, and then how they said it:

Spectator #1: That cowboy had no business trying to ride that bull - "He dug up more snakes than he could kill."

Spectator #2: Ain't no way he'll come out of this alive - "He's tradin' in his guitar for a harp."

Spectator #3: What a brave cowboy - "He's double-backboned."

Spectator #4: After the cowboy got clear of the bull and was lucky enough to survive the fall - "He could sit on the fence and the birds would feed him."

Spectator #5: Describing how mean that bull is - "Like a tornado on a trail drive."

Our sages say that the evil inclination embodies itself in a wild bull (see Petach Ha'Ohel, parshat Behaalotcha). With that in mind, emuna can tame a bull much better than the most experienced cowboy can. So good Lord willing and the creek don���t rise, we'll see y'all in Texas soon for "Texemuna." For details, to arrange an event or set up a private appointment, give a holler to staff@breslev.co.il. 

Garden of Wisdom Lesson #78 ��� The Insatiable Ego

The Clever One continues with his quest to prove that the whole world is stupid in believing that there is a king and only he is a man of intelligence���

Sleep Your Problems Away!

I took this picture the other day from the front cover of a recent National Geographic magazine. It's totally Divine providence, because shortly you'll be reading about sleep in one of my upcoming articles. 

Sleep is THE biggest, most overlooked, most important, most ummm.... secret to health. 

Unfortunately, it's looked down upon by our society. We believe those who sleep are lazy, unmotivated, stuck in their comfort zones, and maybe unproductive. Okay, I believe it. About David. Because I'm just so jealous that he can fall asleep in three seconds! It's not fair!! 

In reality, it turns out that sleep is not only the key to increasing your productivity. It's also the key to losing weight, ridding yourself of disease, getting sick less, increasing your mental focus and clarity, and everything else you can think of. 

I've been following a former Navy Seal, Dr. Kirk Parsley, who is one of the foremost sleep experts in the world. In one of his interviews, he explains why sleep is such a critical factor in weight loss. 

Basically, if you get less than nine hours of sleep, you wake up a borderline diabetic. I don't remember how exactly he explained it, but you can check out his many interviews and learn for yourself. At this point I'm satisfied just to relay information that's practical and relevant. 

Many of his Navy Seals were complaining of being tired, not performing up to par. He tested their blood and hormone levels and was shocked to find that not only did they suffer from metabolic syndrome, which is a precursor to diabetes, but their testosterone levels were equivalent to those of an 80+ year old man.

This seemed impossible to him, but after more tests, he slowly started to realize that all of the Seals had one thing in common: they didn't sleep enough.

Well, I'm not going to give away the rest of the article, but I will give you this little amazing tidbit: Dr. Parsley speaks about ADHD, and guess what?! 

He says it is unfair to diagnose a child with ADHD until he gets one straight month of proper sleep. 

It has been discovered that symptoms of sleep deprivation are almost identical to symptoms of ADHD! 

So! For your sake, the sake of your children, your spouse, your co-workers who have to suffer through long days of working with you, and everyone else you come into contact with, GET ENOUGH SLEEP! You need 9 hours, and I know it's hard, but it will be worth it!

I elaborate more about sleep in my upcoming article, so don't miss it. 

In the meantime, I'd like you to place more importance in getting enough sleep. It's the key to your physical and mental health, happiness, and your spouse's happiness. 

Trust me. No one likes a cranky spouse. 

Scroll down for details on Rav Brody's weekly emuna talk, and have a wonderful day! (And night!)

~Racheli

The True Friend

Fair-weather friends, if they were honest, would talk like this: "It's easy to be your friend, just so long as it doesn't cost me anything or take me out of my comfort zone." That of course, is not a friend at all, let alone a true friend.

True friendship has a price-tag ��� it's called empathy, the ability to feel the other person, to know when to give a pat on the back or a word of encouragement. True friendship means that you feel when the other person needs you and you're there for him/her. You're not too tired or too busy. A true friend pays the price of true friendship, even if it means sitting up all night to help or listen to the other person.

Unsurprisingly, the best spouses and best parents are first of all true friends to their partners and children.

This week's shiur will help you rethink and reboot your relationships, whether you're married and/or a parent or not. It will also teach an important parameter to consider when picking a prospective soul-mate or best friend. We'll learn what the Torah says about true friends, and it's an eye-opener...

Don't miss today's emuna lesson and live broadcast from Jerusalem entitled "The True Friend", which will take place, G-d willing, on the ground-floor main sanctuary of the Chut Shel Chessed Yeshiva on 13 Shmuel Hanavi Street in Jerusalem at 7 PM Israel time; the shiur is open to the public - both men and women are invited. You can see today's lesson here - the broadcast, as well as our lessons posted from now on - are Mac and iPod compatible. If you tune in too early to the live broadcast link, you'll be sent to the main page of the Breslev Israel website, so try to tune in on time.  If you are not able to view today's broadcast live, then G-d willing, you'll be able to see the video tape of it later this coming week on Lazer Beams. 

Affordable - and Beautiful - Israel

Dear Rabbi Brody,

I really want to make Aliya with my family, but people have been telling me that if I don't have a half million US bucks, I won't be able to get a decent apartment. I don't want a mortgage, and with property values in my area, I'll barely clear $200,000 when I sell my home. What can I possibly buy in Israel with that amount of money? Thanks for your time and attention, Gerald from Midwest USA

Dear Gerald,

if you're looking for a flat with in an American neighborhood of Ramat Bet Shemesh or Jerusalem's Ramat Eshkol or Har Nof, $5-600,000 is roughly what you'll pay - no less. But, if you're willing to both live and think outside the Anglo-Israeli box, then you'll have some wonderful opportunities, where $200,000 or less will suffice.

Gorgeous places up north with growing observant communities are Maalot, Nazareth Illit, Tzefat and Kiriat Shemona.

As far as the south of Israel goes, Arad has the cleanest air in the world and it's also gorgeous. For $200,000 or less in Ashkelon, you can get an apartment in walking distance to the Mediterranean. If you go to a place like Ofakim or Yerucham, you can get a palace for $170,000 or less.

Contact my dear friends at Nefesh B'Nefesh, because there are usually several incentive programs for moving to the Galilee up north or to the Negev down south. Both are wonderful places to raise your family. Remember also that education here is virtually free, but you'll have to a bit of legwork to find the right schools for your children. It's well worth it. The younger they are, the easier they'll adapt. May Hashem help you succeed! Blessings always, LB

Texemuna, 2019 - Coming Soon!

G-d willin', we're gonna be in the Lonestar State during the last week of February through the first week in March, 2019. If you're in Texas, and you'd like us to visit your community, give us a shout so you won't be left out!

Angry Wife or Divine Prod?

From Rabbi Shalom Arush:

The "Shovevim" weeks, which we have now entered, are a special time for enhancing our closeness to Hashem, our emuna, personal holiness and teshuva. But, when we don't initiate teshuva on our own accord, Hashem ��� Who loves us so much ��� stimulates us. Often, He uses our wives as a prod to mobilize us in self-assessment and teshuva. Here's how: 

Husbands periodically see faults in their wives that need rectification. Maybe the wife suffers from anger and screams at or hits the children. As a person with emuna, he prays to Hashem that she should rectify her fault, saying, "Hashem, help my wife overcome her short temper; have mercy on her, and rid her of her terrible anger!" Such prayer is a mistake, the advice of the evil inclination.

The above husband's prayer is not coming from a point of truth. It is not the result of the husband's care and compassion for his wife and his true concern for her welfare. He just wants to put an end to his own suffering; for his own convenience, he wants her to be calm and happy. Therefore, his prayer stems from his care about himself and not from his concern for her.

If Hashem doesn't love this husband, then his prayer will be answered. Sounds strange, doesn't it? Let's see why:

Continue reading Rabbi Shalom Arush's eye-opening article Angry Wife or Divine Prod in this week's empowering new issue of Breslev Israel web magazine.

Also featured this week:

Rabbi Lazer Brody - Takeoff Power

Racheli Reckles - I Want my Soulmate!

Gedale Fenster - A Unique Purpose

Rivka Malka Perlman - Leave Me Alone, Mom!

Dennis Rosen - Look for the Good

Danit Milner - The Potential Volcano

Natalie Kovan - The Land of the Living

Enjoy, and have a fantastic new week!

Hold on, one second - did you hear?

There's a really good chance that Rabbi Lazer Brody will be in Texas and neighboring states during the last week of February and/or the first week of March, 2019. If you'd like him to visit your community, give us a shout or flash an email to staff@breslev.co.il - hope to see you soon!

 

Return, not Repent

Shavua Tov! Hashem not enamored by the self-induced suffering and breast-beating penitence that many folks think is teshuva. We'll learn in today's lesson that teshuva is not repenting but returning - returning to Hashem with all our hearts���

A Weird Gift

Who would think that their evil inclination is gift? According to Rabbi Shalom Arush, it's a tremendous gift, as he explains in this most encouraging clip. Enjoy it and have a most wonderful Shabbat!

Mitzvot and Body Health: Torah and Chakras

Hello Rabbi,

Does the performance or violation of the mitzvot affect the body? More specifically, I have a pain in my right leg that no doctor has been able to cure? Is there something spiritual I may have done wrong or a correction to make? Thank you! Wim B., Amsterdam

Dear Wim,

A 16th century CE scholar from Tzfat, Rabbi Elazar Azikari (who composed "Yedid Nefesh" and was a colleague of the famed father of Kabbala Rabbi Yitzchak Luria) wrote a monumental book called "Sefer Hacharedim", or The Book of the (G-d) Fearing. In this book, he takes each part of the body and lists the corresponding mitzva. There are 613 mitzvas that correspond to the 613 parts of the body. The fulfillment of a mitzva adds to the spiritual vitality of the corresponding body part, and the spiritual vitality strongly influences the physical health of that particular body part.

For example, tefillin affects the left arm and the front part of the head. Belief in G-d affects the heart. Eye problems can often be traced to stinginess (refusal to give charity) or to looking at forbidden things. It's quite noteworthy that cervical cancer is almost unheard of among woman who practice family purity. The list is long and elaborate.

What happens? Observing or transgressing the Torah has a direct effect on the soul. How? Torah is Divine light, or energy. The human energy field, or aura, is a field of energy that surrounds and permeates not only every part, but every cell of your body. Different mitzvoth affect different parts of the body. This is something that famed Kabbalist Rabbi Elazar Azikari knew over 500 years ago and can now be proven tangibly with modern technology.

My esteemed colleague and renowned head of the Hidabroot Organization, Rabbi Zamir Cohen, who is a brilliant rabbi and an expert on Torah and science, proved with the aid of aura-and-chakra videography how tefillin for men and hair-covering for women have a profound effect on a person's chakras. He brings visible proof in his book The Coming Revolution, and its amazing. 

Simply speaking, health comes from the Divine illumination that's reflected in one's chakras. Performing mitzvoth enhance Divine illumination and are therefore conducive to good health. The opposite holds true as well: physical sicknesses are rooted in spiritual causes, since the spirit is the life force. Therefore, many physical ailments can be cured by Teshuva, that is, correcting a mitzva that in turn healthfully influences a certain part of the body. That's it while standing on one foot.

As far as the pain in your right leg, ask Hashem in your daily hitbodedut sessions to enlighten you as to what has brought on the pain and to help you to make teshuva for the root cause. I'd also suggest that you check if you haven't insulted your father or fail to honor him in any way.

Stay healthy, Wim. Warm regards to all our friends in Holland. Blessings always, Lazer