Parshas Toldos: What’s the Worry?

Welcome to our new "Parsha Pearls" series on the weekly Torah portion. This week, we find Isaac and Rebecca haven't yet had children and are begging in prayer to the Almighty to become parents. Why are they so worried? Isaac's father Abraham received a solid promise from Hashem that Isaac would father the entire Jewish People (Genesis 21:12). Isn't Hashem's promise enough?

From the Depths

Just as cholesterol clogs the arteries, transgressions clog the pathways to the heart and the heart itself. A clogged and hardened heart has no desire to pray, for it cannot feel the Divine presence. Today, we learn how to perform a spiritual stent. Powerful prayer - a silent scream - penetrates the depths of the heart and renews its spiritual health.

Friends and Enemies

Every word of sincere personal prayer is far more valuable than the Hope Diamond, which weighs 45 carats and is worth some $250-300 million. There will be many robbers and hijackers lying in the lurk to prevent those words of prayer from reaching the Heavenly throne. These evil forces do everything in their power to prevent a person from building an intimate relationship with God. For practical purposes, we refer to them as the enemies of personal prayer, the antagonists whose purpose is to obstruct our efforts to get close to the Almighty. Since these antagonists are so powerful, the rewards for overcoming them are unfathomable.

Private Speaking 101

The more we maintain an even emotional keel, the more we become immune to stress and anxiety. The more we live a stress-and-anxiety free life, the more mental and physical energy we have. That leaves us more resources to devote to productive endeavors. In that respect, there's no stress-buster like daily personal prayer. Today, we learn the art of private speaking. This is our own intimate conversation with our loving Creator.

Yes, We Can!

Anyone who learns how to fill their prayers with emuna can work miracles and virtually dictate reality. Let's see how...

Outstretched Arms

Can emuna penetrate to every organ and limb of the body? Today's lesson shows how it can. A body full of emuna is a master key to emotional, spiritual and even physical health. You can easily test it on yourself as well.

Why Prayer?

A person might ask that if the Creator alone did, does and will do everything, then why pray? What do we need prayer for? Isn't everything predetermined? So what difference do my prayers make? These are the questions that today's Emuna Hour answers...

The Language of Emuna

If prayer were a commodity on the futures market, it would be the best investment anywhere. What's more, the dividends are phenomenal as we learn in today's inspiring podcast.

60 Seconds to Success

Here is an amazingly simple spiritual ploy to help you succeed in whatever you do.

Visiting the Palace

In Psalm 27, King David expresses the desire to sit in the House of the Lord all the days of his life, but then he requests to be able to visit the Lord's palace. Doesn't that sound like a contradiction? If you're somewhere all the time, why must you ask to visit that same place? It's not a contradiction at all; here's why:

The Gold Ring

This is a moving story about a little boy's devotion to his older sister after their mother died, with a lesson about compassion and prayer.

Rainbows

We're spellbound when we saw a rainbow, because it's one of three sights that refect the Divine Presence. Therefore, whenever we see one, we should immediately make the blessing of "zocher Habris:"
Baruch ata A'donai, E'loheinu melech ha-olam, zocher habrit v’ne’eman biv’reetoh v’kayam b’ma’amarav.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who remembers the covenant, and is faithful to His covenant, and keeps His promise.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֶ'לוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם זוֹכֵר הַבְּרִית וְנֶאֱמָן בִּבְרִיתוֹ וְקַיָם בְּמַאֲמָרוֹ