Lazer Brody's Blog, page 326

Zaidie's Home

A main member of the reception committee that welcomed me home to beloved Israel yesterday was my 12-month-old grandson Nachman. He had a great time helping Zaidie (Yiddish for grandfather) unpack (see photo above).

This trip (29 Days) was the longest and most taxing trip we ever had. Within the USA alone, we had 16 different domestic flights. There's so much to share with you, but we'll do that a little at a time. Meanwhile, with Hashem's help, we're trying our best to catch up on a substantial backload of work.

There's certainly no place like home - especially if you live in Israel. Thank You, Hashem, and thanks to all our dear friends across the USA, the Ukraine, and in Israel who helped make this trip so meaningful. My special thanks to Breslev Israel's General Director Yosef Nechama and Breslev Israel's Program Director David Reckles who did such an awesome job with the planning and logistics, freeing me to concentrate on the spiritual side. Warmest regards also to our friends in NYC, Monsey, Chicago, Minneapolis, Memphis, Denver, Seattle, LA, Miami, Oklahoma City, Fort Sill, and Dallas.

The cherry on the cake was an unforgettable Shabbat in Uman, Ukraine with Rabbi Motta Frank, Rabbi Eliahu Godlevsky, Lipa Schmeltzer, Yosef Karduner, and other dear friends.

I made a special prayer on Rebbe Nachman's holy gravesite in Uman for all our Beams readers, asking for everything you need in material and spiritual abundance; I have no doubt that Hashem will certainly bestow His blessings upon you and yours.

A Wobbly Reed

The prophet Ezekiel chastises the House of Israel for trusting in the aid of foreign powers (Ezekiel 29:6), that according to Rashi's commentary there, never ever helped. Rashi of saintly memory teaches elsewhere (see his commentary on Kings II, 18:21) that whenever one leans on a wobbly reed, it breaks. Rabbenu Bahiya, author of the famed Chovot HaLevavot (Duties of the Heart) expands Rashi's train of thought, and teaches an important principle in Jewish spirituality: Whenever a Jew trusts anything or anyone other than Hashem, Hashem moves away and casts the Jew at the mercy of the futile and miserable object of his trust. This is no joke; that's why I talk about emuna day and night.

Let's not waste our valuable time or breath on the tempest in the tea cup of politics and trumped-up Hollywood-style crises. Make an intelligent decision on how current events affect your life and where your future is - yes, beloved brother and sister - I'm referring again to Aliya. Start giving it some good, hard thought.

The first principle of our faith is that Hashem did, does, and will do every deed. In that respect, no government or individual has any power over us - we are completely in Hashem's hands.

Israel can only rely on Hashem - past, present, and future. If we strengthen our emuna, G-d willing, our beloved holy land - with all our villages, towns, cities, homes - will remain in tact, amen. What does it mean to strengthen them? Simple - more Torah, more holiness, more unity, and more acts of compassion and loving-kindness. The month of Nissan is a wonderful time for teshuva, too.

 

People pleasers

Many folks are "people pleasers"; rather than acting their natural selves, they play various roles to ingratiate themselves with others. Such people are never happy, for the following reasons:

1. They are dependant on the approval of others, something that they don't always receive;

2. They have to act differently with different people, to the extent that they lose their own identity;

3. They never develop their true selves; even worse, they become so confused by playing so many roles that they don't know who their real selves are.

4. They are far from the truth;

5. Their own self image is very low, because they conform and concede to others rather than standing up for what they really know is right.

Those who choose emuna - the pure and complete belief in Hashem - save themselves tons of anxiety and grief, for the following reasons:

1. They are dependant on Hashem's approval, and not on the approval of flesh and blood. This leads to emotional independence. They are free to be themselves.

2. By fearing Hashem, they have no need or reason to fear flesh and blood, so they suffer less from worry and anxiety.

3. By living according to Hashem's wishes, they don't have to cater to the multiple sets of demands of different people. This alone puts one's soul at ease, and saves untold emotional wear and tear.

4. Loyalty to Hashem and His Torah, especially in the face of today's Epikursim (skeptics and scoffers), makes a person feel strong and strengthens the self-image.

5. By performing Hashem's will and living according to Divine statutes, one is connected to absolute truth, as opposed to whimsical human notions, which change from minute to minute and from person to person.

If you'd like to be a lot happier, start learning what Hashem demands from you, and pay less attention to people pleasing. Be polite to everyone, kind and considerate to your fellow human, but stand firm on the Torah's commandments. As a people pleaser, one is a loser. When you're goal is pleasing Hashem, you're always on top of the world.

A Talk with G-d

Guess who wrote these lyrics:

There are people who have let the problems of today
Lead them to conclude that for them life is not the way
But every problem has an answer and if yours you cannot find
You should talk it over to Him
He'll give you peace of mind
When you feel your life's too hard
Just go have a talk with God

Many of us feel we walk alone without a friend
Never communicating with the One who lives within
Forgetting all about the One who never ever lets you down
And you can talk to him anytime He's always around
When you feel your life's too hard
Just go have a talk with God

Well He's the only free psychiatrist that's known throughout the world
For solving problems of all men, women, little boys and girls
When you feel your life's too hard
Just go have a talk with God
When you feel your life's too hard
Just go have a talk with God
When your load's too much to bear
Just go talk to God He cares
I know he does

When you feel your life's too hard
Just go have a talk with God
thank you
thank you very much

  

No, it wasn't a Breslever - it was Stevie Wonder, way back in 1976. Hear for yourself:

A big Beam blessing to Menachem Herman for sending us the above Beam. Have a super Shabbat!

Recognizing the enemy

The Yetzer (EI) is the nastiest, lowest, most evil dirty fighter that ever lived; what makes life even tougher is that the Yetzer is an angel.

The Talmud teaches that the Yetzer tempts a person into going against Hashem's will, and then flies upstairs to the Heavenly Court to report the crime and demand the punishment. He's the pits...

Here's an example: The Yetzer will tell you that it's perfectly OK to talk about another person; once you do, he makes sure the book gets thrown at you, with all the tiny clauses. He'll tell you that it's OK to relax in front of the TV or to go to a movie - once you do, he'll make sure you get nailed for bitul Torah, or forsaking Torah study in your free time.

As an accusing angel, the Yetzer's a pest; as an inner emotional enemy, he's deadly. The Yetzer tells you that you're worthless, that you'll never succeed. He robs you of your most important armaments in life - your confidence and your self image. Without them, you're an emotional cripple. The Yetzer will literally drive you crazy, send you to the shrink, and drive you to substance usage.

Here's the good news: Hashem maintains a perfect balance of good and evil to insure your free choice. This site is a forward command post with all its big guns trained on the Yetzer. So, for a counter-offensive, let me tell you that the Yetzer is the biggest lier there is. Look at this picture:

What you see is a microscopic view of sand particles from a tropical beach. Notice that each particle is totally unique. Sand, a dormant mineral, is the fourth and lowest order of creation. Above the mineral comes the plant, and above the plant comes the animal. Man is the highest order of creation, since he/she has a physical body with spiritual attributes.

If a grain of sand is special, then your own unique talents transcend your wildest dreams. You are capable of doing things that no one on earth can. That's what you need a good spiritual guide for - to help you learn about yourself and your talents. Fortunately, we are blessed with the best spiritual guides that history has ever known. Never have there been such masters of the soul like Rebbe Nachman of Breslev, Rebbe Schneur Zalman of Ladi, Rabbi Eliahu the Gaon of Vilna, or Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, all of blessed memory. If you 'd like to know what you're really worth, read their books.

Whenever the Yetzer gets down on you, he's lying through his teeth. The only way to defeat the Yetzer, and to begin tapping the reservoir of wonderful potential within you - for your own happiness and emotional welfare - is to begin giving your exquisite soul what it needs. There's no better food for the soul than personal prayer and emuna.

Arctic Lights

Here's more exquisite tesophotography from Terje Sorgjerd. Hashem, You're so magnificent...

Shabbat Balak in Uman

I'm writing this little update from Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, where Yosef Nechama and I are on route to Detroit-Amsterdam-Kiev and finally in Uman, Ukraine Wednesday evening, 6 July. The USA tour was awesome, and there's so much to share (which I hope to, soon, G-d willing, as soon as I get a chance to breathe. Meanwhile, this coming weekend, Shira Herman will be hosting the "Empowered Women's Retreat", where I'll be giving six different shiurim over the weekend. Guess who else will be in Uman - Lipa Schmeltzer, Yosef Karduner, Rabbi Eliahu Gudlevsky and Rabbi Mota Frank, so it should be a super-exciting Shabbat. Gotta run to catch the plane - blessings and warm regards!

Magnificent Time-Lapse Milky Way

Any doubt that there's a Master Creator to the world? See this exquisite time-lapse video bty Norwegian photographer Terje Sorgjerd. When I first saw it, I had to run out of this office and run down to a deserted part of the beach and yell, "I love You so much, Hashem!" Let's see what happens to you...

Everywhere I Walk

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev said, "Everywhere I walk, I walk in the Land of Israel."

Guy Tzvi Mintz is one of Breslev's (and Jewish music's) best musicians. He's also my dear friend and brother. Here's how we concluded a personal prayer session up in the Judean Hills near Bat Ayin: 

In another week, I'' be back in Israel, G-d willing. It's so hard to be away from home. Even though I must do my mission periodically outside the Land of Israel, the Land of Israel is forever inside of me. Rebbe Nachman said it best: "Everywhere I walk, I walk in the Land of Israel." G-d bless for a wonderful Shabbat.

Richie Havens: Freedom

As a tribute to American Independence Day, here's Richie Havens, forty years down the road from our university days, singing "Freedom." Happy Birthday, America.