Emuna Beams

The Heavenly Heart: Likutei Moharan, Torah 142

There are people with upright hearts. They have the desire to perform an important commandment, but for some reason, they are unable to. This desire stimulates the Heavenly heart, which personally comes to the aid of such individuals.

Alone Against the World: Psalms 110-114

King David pays tribute to our patriarch Abraham, who stood alone against the whole world. Abraham's life is a shining example for King David and for all subsequent generations until Moshiach. It's also the template...

Gideon's Holy Commandos

Draft the Haredim? Don't draft the Haredim? First, Israel must decide what type of army they want. A conventional army sometimes wins, sometimes not. An army like Gideon's adheres to one set of rules only, and they're neither conventional nor politically correct.

Tefillin for Lev L'Achim

My cherished friend Rabbi Uri Zohar zatza"l, left an awesome legacy, the "Lev L'achim" organization, which does humongous Torah outreach all over Israel. As a team player, I love cooperating with them. Lev L'achim has a waiting list of soldiers and young people who need and want tefillin but can't afford them. Most of the time, they get donations of old tefillin that are seldom reliably kosher. As part of our Emuna Beams Tefillin Project, we donated 5 brand new pairs of tefillin to Lev L'Achim. I wanted to make sure that our the soldiers and young people who get them are well-protected, so I personally oversaw the production of these tefillin. If you're worried about the situation in the world, don't. Five new tefillin-wearing warriors are now in Hashem's army, so whatever happens will be successful. Am Yisrael Chai!

Rhythm of the Reeds: Likutei Moharan II, Torah 11

"Perek Shira", the "Song of Creation" teaches us that every creation sings its own unique song of praise to the Almighty. Rebbe Nachman adds that when a person prays in the field, all of creation joins in…

Downfall of the Evil: Psalms 108-109

David's suffering became a template of Jewish history until the arrival of Moshiach. His prayers for salvation and rescue from enemies are therefore relevant to every generation, especially ours. Doeg the Edomite symbolizes our national nemesis, the offspring of Esau, from the Romans to Haman to the Nazis. Ultimately, they all disappear.

The Other Guy's Son

Someone notifies you that your son has been badly wounded, rushed by helicopter from the battlefield to the hospital. Nearly berserk, you get in the car and drive as fast as you can to the hospital too...
The most urgent item on our national agenda is not Iran - it's eradicating baseless hate and urgently accepting the mitzva of Ahavat Yisrael. In memory of Rabbi Tzvi Kogan Hy"d, see this 4-minute clip and share it with others. It's a must for our security.

Tefillin for Assuta Hospital

The Assuta Hospital in Ashdod does fabulous work. They've treated many of our injured soldiers that were injured in Gaza. When Rabbi Tzvi Goodman, the Rabbi of the Bet Chabad at the hospital told me that they lacked Rabbenu Tam tefillin, we took it upon ourselves to provide a brand new, super "mehudar" set. We presented it to them on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024.

Fantasy World: Likutei Moharan, Torah 72, Lesson 4

Lewd, evil and idolatrous thoughts all come from Fantasy World. This is a domain under the exclusive control of the evil inclination. It shows a person illusions of extreme pleasure which are none other than dark-side spirits to lower the victim to the depths of depression. Here's how to avoid it.

Survivors' Song

Psalm 107 is the psalm of thanksgiving, especially obligating a person who survives a dangerous situation. The psalm mentions four cycles of peril and deliverance. These constitute the four groups who are particularly required to thank Hashem for rescuing them.

Miraculous Mosquitoes

An interviewer once asked me what I most like about Lebanon. I answered: the cedar trees. He asked me what else. I answered: the mosquitoes, between JabJennine and Sultan Yacoub. In 1982, they saved my life. Here's the story. 

Purification: Likutei Moharan I:72, Part 3

The evil inclination with its three layers resembles an almond. On the outside, there's a course shell. Once you break through that, there's a thin husk that clings to the meat of the nut. Yet on the inside, there's a fine biochemical – glycoside – that's dangerous, because the body breaks it down into cyanide. That's a metaphorical insight into the angelic evil inclination that wants us to do premature things that ultimately cause damage. They must be mitigated and purified.