Emuna Beams

Why bother learning emuna? Why bother searching for truth at all? What difference does either make? Modern society says, "Let me enjoy my life and don't bother me with the details." The problem with that type of attitude is that a life oriented toward appetite – fulfillment and material enjoyment - never attains what it seeks, let alone lasting happiness and fulfillment.

Guide for the perplexed: Rabbi Lazer Brody explains why Israel had no other alternative than making an immediate preemptive strike against Iran, its military infrastructure and its nuclear facilities. This is a current-events report with an emuna orientation.

Once we find the harmony within ourselves, we can make the world more harmonious. This uplifting book, "Emuna and the Noahide" by Lazer Brody will help us on both counts. Available online here.

An inherent law in creation is that the Creator lowers the haughty to ground-level zero but uplifts the humble above the clouds. No one should ever disdain another human being, for often, there's a turnaround, as Rebbe Nachman shows us in Part 2 of "The Clever One and the Simple One."

Rebbe Nachman's classic tale inspired me to compose this melody. Not only is this my favorite story, but the "Simple One" is my favorite character. It's the story of the underdog. Wherever he goes, people are smarter, stronger and more talented than he is. He's the brunt of endless ridicule and disparagement. He has one major virtue - simple emuna. Rebbe Nachman shows us where that takes him. See the lyrics below in English and in Hebrew.
Credits:
Guitar, arrangement: Guy Tzvi Mintz
Violin: Daniel Ahaviel
Melody, Lyric, native Israeli flutes: Rabbi Lazer Brody
English
I’ll tell you a story from old, about a simple person with a plain mind. Despite that fact that people ridiculed him, by virtue of his innocence and integrity, he became the Viceroy of the kingdom.
People call me simpleton
But that just suits me fine
I don’t look at other folks
I’m happy with what’s mine
So what if they have a high IQ
And I’m not very smart
They complain all the time
But I’m happy with my part.
 
Everyone makes fun of me
But I really do not care
It’s better to be a simple guy
Than some high-brow debonair.
 
עברית
אספר לכם סיפור מימים ימימה, על איש תם עם שיכל פשוט. למרות שכולם לעגו לו, בסופו של דבר, בזכות תמימותו וישרותו, נהיה משנה למלך.
זה מעשה שלו
וזה מעשה שלי
למה לנו לסתכל
ולדבר על אחרים
אז מה אם כולם חכמים
ואני תמים לרוב
הם תמיד מתלוננים
ולי תמיד טוב...
 
כל העולם צוחק עלי
בלב כה רם
אך טוב יותר להיות תמים
ולא להיות חכם! 
 
החכם אוכל אומצת בקר
ואני אוכל פרוסה
הוא רודף תענוגים
ולי אין שום תאוה
הוא אף פעם לא מרוצה
ולי יש הסתפקות
החכם תמיד מדוכא
אך אני תמיד מבסוט!
 
כל העולם צוחק עלי
בלב כה רם
אך טוב יותר להיות תמים
ולא להיות חכם! 

No other creation in the universe has the attribute of free choice, for no other creation has a Divine soul, a human soul and an animal soul. By learning the anatomy of free choice, we see how the human can rise higher than an angel or lower than a beast of burden.

Like all of Rebbe Nachman's tales, "The Clever One and the Simple One" is a kaleidoscope. Superficially, it's a guide to success and happiness. On a deeper level, it signifies the battle between simple emuna and intellectual sophistication. Today's lesson introduces us to our two protagonists.

Who doesn't yearn for a stress-free life? Is it possible? As we see today, when one border becomes quiet, another border flares up. Even if someone tries to avoid the war in Israel, they'll encounter antisemitism in France, the UK, Canada and the USA. There's no escaping. But we can cope, even be happy. We only need to learn a bit of spiritual anatomy…

This amazing 2-minute message reflects the simple conclusion of an IDF infantry soldier in Gaza. The question, "Do we know what we're fighting for" helps us reassess our priorites in life.

Despite the cryptic inferences in this story as in all of Rebbe Nachman's tales, we can understand on a personal level. This tale maps our individual journey of searching and finding Hashem.

Only seven short weeks prior, the People of Israel were still slaves in Egypt. But now, they willingly accepted a different type of servitude, accepting the yoke of the Torah and its commandments. They had no idea of what to expect. Three Hebrew words changed the course of history. The greatest sound and light show that the universe ever saw was about to begin…

For peaceful interpersonal relationships, we all must avoid projecting our own weaknesses, insecurity and character flaws on others. Those who see their own faults in their fellow humans look at the world through spiritually-smudged lenses. As such, they arrive at quick judgments and sorely mistaken conclusions, both of which destroy relationships, as we learn today.