Lazer Brody's Blog, page 293

The Archer

Many people ask me why Hashem doesn't grant them their heart's wishes. Consider the following examples:

* A person goes on a date and becomes totally infatuated. He/she begs Hashem that the match should be successful. Hashem knows that it's not that person's true soulmate, and certainly not for the best, and therefore doesn't grant the request.

* A person begs for financial success; Hashem knows that if that person would have a lot of money, he'd not only become arrogant, but he'd drift far away from Hashem and from observing His commandments.

* A person prays for a new Audi or Mercedes, despite the fact that his income doesn't justify such a purchase. Hashem knows that such a car will invoke neighbors' jealousy and even an IRS audit, for the tax people want to know where he got the money to purchase such a car...

* A person prays day and night that Hashem should help him to be accepted at a certain professional school or place of employment; Hashem knows that this would be a terrible move on the long run.

* A woman with two healthy children begs Hashem for another child, yet has terrible health complications after the third child is born.

The examples are endless. 

The Archer on this week's Breslev Israel magazine tells a lot more about prayers and how to have them answered.

Also featured this week:

Rabbi Shalom Arush: The Fancy Yacht

Rabbi Dovid Charlop: Loving Our Land

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach: No More Fear

Dr. Zev Ballen: Take this Key

Racheli Reckles: Breaking My Vessel

Rivka Levy: Spiritual Spleen

Dovber Halevi: Which Dome?

Chaya Ovadia: Fill'er Up!

Justin Taylor: USA Today - A Police State?

Have a great week! Don't forget, Lag B'Omer is this coming Wednesday night and Thursday. Big Beams blessings from the sunny south of Israel.

Our Way

When things don't go our way, it's because our ego is getting in Hashem's way.

Hashem does everything for the absolute best, so let's put our own sorely limited intellect aside and let Hashem run the world.

Pesach Sheni Today: A Great Second Chance

Today is the 14th of Iyar - Pesach Sheni.

During the time of the Holy Temple, anyone who deliberately fails to participate in the Pascal sacrifice on Passover eve is punished by karett, a terrible punishment that amounts in the severance of a person’s soul from the Jewish people. Yet, a person who was far away from the Holy Temple or ritually impure on the afternoon of 14th of Nissan, when we prepare the Pascal Lamb Sacrifice that we partake of on Seder night, the eve of the 15th of Nissan, is given a second chance. Hashem invites all those who were “ritually impure” and “far away” to return to the Holy Temple a month later on the 14th of Iyar. They fulfill the obligation of “Pesach Sheni” – a second chance to fulfill the Pascal sacrifice – and are completely forgiven for missing Pesach Rishon, the first Pesach.

You are the greatest, Hashem!

Few people could have been “further away” or more “ritually impure” than I was, the way my secular lifestyle used to be. But Hashem is ever so patient – He grants us a second chance. In fact, “far away” and ritually impure” are not only the two tickets to a second chance, they describe much of our assimilated youth. But don’t give up on them – Hashem gives everyone a second chance. We should help others become aware of that second chance. Just as a little footnote, Pesach Sheni – the second chance – is not only prophetic for me, it’s the story of my life. I was born on Pesach Sheni.

The Emuna Army

There's a lot that the media doesn't tell you. Emuna is spreading like wildfire in the IDF. The combat units are full of religious soldiers who believe in our Torah and in our Holy Land. The number of religious junior officers is two and a half times greater than the percentage of the religious population. Soldiers in combat units are coming close to Hashem big time. This is all despite the fact that the top brass doesn't make life easy for religious soldiers.

Here's a 3-minute clip of our recent visit with an IDF infantry unit on the Gaza border. Have a great Shabbat Emor and G-d bless.

"Emuna in Asia" Tour

Weekly Live Broadcast

With Hashem's loving grace, our weekly emuna lesson and live broadcast will take place day a bit earlier than usual today, Wednesday at 7:05 PM local time at our Chut Shel Chessed Yeshiva, 13 Shmuel Hanavi Street, Jerusalem, in the main sanctuary. Everyone is welcome, both men and women.

This week's lesson is entitled, "The Scroll" and it's our pre-Shavuot leson. As always, it is open to the public - both men and women are welcome. 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 as follows: 

9:15 AM in LA and the West Coast, 10:15 AM Denver, 11:15 AM Mexico and Central Daylight, 12:15 PM EDT, 5:15 PM in the UK, 6:15 PM Johannesburg and Capetown, 7:15 PM Israel, 12:15 AM Hong Kong and Singapore, or 2:15 AM Sydney and Melbourne. As soon as we can, G-d willing, we'll post a link to the lesson for all those who couldn't see it live.

If you can't see the broadcast, you might need to download a new version of Flash Media player, which you can do here. We hope you enjoy the broadcast.

Believe in Yourself

We're delighted to finally present our Mac and iPhone/iPad compatible videos using Breslev Israel's latest VOD application.

This is the replay of our lesson from 2 weeks ago, where we speak about how - according to Kabbalists - many of us today are reincarnations of Holocaust martyrs. Enjoy, 52 minutes long.

I left my heart in Meron

I don't remember if it was Tony Bennett or Frank Sinatra (maybe both?) that sang, "I left my heart in San Francisco". I can safely say that I left mine in Meron.

Meron on Lag B'Omer defies description. This year, I won't be able to be in Meron for Lag B'Omer, because I'll be on a plane to Singapore; my first task is to spread emuna around the globe. But, if you can imagine a Woodstock of complete holiness, with the spirit of one of our people's greatest tzaddikim of all time - Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai - walking around in your midst, where the tears of elation mix with the tears of a broken heart, dancing on air in perfect unity with people you might not speak to all year long, while on-the-house food and drink flow out of trees and stones, that's Meron - a little place of heaven on earth. Here's a small taste from a few years ago (takes a few seconds to load). We look forward to seeing all of our friends in Singapore, mainland China, Hong Kong and the UK between May 10-23, 2012.

A Young Woman's Call for Help

See Call for Help at Dr. Zev Ballen's Emuna Therapy blog.

Better Than the Irish Lottery

I received an email from Chaim Michel (pen name, to protect his privacy for obvious reasons), calling my attention to his article, "What Husbands Need to Know" on Aish.com, where he attributes saving his virtually hopeless marriage to "The Garden of Peace" by our beloved rabbi and spiritual guide Rav Shalom Arush shlit"a. Chaim was quite upset that the Aish editors toned down his praise for Rav Arush and the book as well as removed some of his most important points, such as the necessity to guard one's eyes and maintain personal holiness to assure marital bliss. When he confronted them about it, they purportedly told him, "those parts are not for our readers." Hashem wrote Lo Taturu in His Torah, commanding us to guard our eyes. Hashem intended all of "our readers" to be aware of this commandment. Breslev Israel is therefore happy to present you with Chaim Michel's original uncut article entitled, My Personal Redemption, with the sections that the Aish editors completely removed highlighted.

* * * * *

Imagine that you failed to pay income tax for the last twenty years, and you owe the IRS back taxes that total a million dollars! You go before the head of IRS who is fully capable of throwing the book at you if he so desires. Yet, he’s kind, attentive, and understanding about everything you have to say in defense of yourself. Yet, despite your excuses for not having paid income tax for the last two decades, you still owe the money and are legally liable to pay it in full, or else…

Got the picture? Now imagine that the head of IRS offers you a proposal” “OK,” he says, “I’m willing to wipe your slate clean of the $1,000,000 dollars in back debts. All you have to do is to begin paying your income tax on a monthly basis from this moment on. Do you agree?”

Your head is spinning. What?! Such compassion!? Of course you agree! You take out your pen and you sign the commitment right away. You’ve just saved a million dollars and time behind bars…

A fantasy? No way – that’s just how teshuva works. In fact, that’s low-level teshuva, the teshuva out of fear. The Gemara says that if a person makes teshuva out of love, his transgression becomes a merit. That means that instead of paying a million-dollar fine, you get a check for a million dollars.

The Evil Inclination and the heresy of modern society have been giving Hashem, Torah and mitzvas terrible publicity. Teshuva really is umpteen times better than winning the Irish Lottery.

Continue reading The Wise Man and the Fool on this week's online issue of Breslev Israel Magazine.

Also featured this week:

Rabbi Shalom Arush: Stop Comparing

Rabbi Avraham HaCohen Kook: The Omer Controversy

Dr. Zev Ballen: Stop the Insanity!

Rivka Levy: Smart and Simple

Racheli Reckles: Little Grease-stained Shirts

Chaya Ovadia: If Money Grew on Trees

Dovber Halevi: The Set-up

Yael Karni: The Road to Redemption

Bracha Goetz: Writing Books for Children

Bright Beam Blessings for a wonderful week!