Tracht Gut Vet Zayn Gut!! Think Good And It Will Be Good!

Once, Reb Michoel Beliner, a spiritual mentor,'s son fell deathly ill. The doctors said that there was nothing they could do. Reb Michoel's followers advised him to immediately travel to the 3rd Chabad Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek. Reb Michoel began to weep, saying that he would strongly like to go, but the doctors said that it was only a matter of hours, how could he now set out on the road? One of the older chassidim berated him. He quoted from the Talmud that one should never despair of being granted G-d's mercy, and added that surely the good angels would succeed in having the Heavenly verdict postponed until he reached the Rebbe. And so Reb Michoel set out on his trip.

Arriving in Lubavitch, Reb Michoel was fortunate to immediately have a private audience with the Rebbe.

R'Michoel later related: "When I entered the Rebbe's room and handed him my personal request for my son, I thought to myself, 'The doctors said it's only a few hours...,Who knows what has in the interim happened with my son? ' and I began to weep. But then the Rebbe read my note and said, 'Don't cry. You must have bitachon in G-d with simple trust that He will save your son. Tracht gut vet zien gut. (Think good and things will be good.) You will yet celebrate the bar-mitzvot of your grandsons!' "The Rebbe said.

Soon after, the bo recovered. And from then on, whenever Reb Michoel experienced difficulty he would bring to mind the luminous face of the Rebbe as he spoke those words, and the situation would actually change for the better.

The Rebbe explains that when a person places his full trust in G-d, feeling fully at ease with complete bitachon, that is enough for him to merit G-d's salvation. This is true even for someone who is seemingly undeserving, for toiling in strengthening his bitachon, that alone gives him the merit to be helped. That is the deeper message of the words of the Tzemach Tzedek, "Tracht gut" - "Think good and things will be good."

G-d exists! Story with barber....

A man went to the barber shop to have his hair cut. As the barber worked, they talked about different thngs. When they eventually touched on the subject of G-d the barber said:"I dont believe that G-d exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.

"Well, if G-d would be real would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If G-d existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving father would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. As he went outside, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy hair, dirty and unkempt.
The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and said to the barber, "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "And I just worked on you!!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair, like the man outside."

Ah but Barbers do exist!! "What happens is, people do not come to me."

"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "Thats the point! G-d too does exist! What happens is people don't go to Him."

G-d is there for us. We just have to go to Him. Pray to Him. Connect with Him. And you will surely see there is a G-d!

Serve G-d with Joy !:)

"Serve G-d with joy!" sings King David the Psalmist.

Joy is central to connecting to G-d. Being happy when you do a mitzvah demonstrates that you like this connection, this tremendous privilege of serving the Infinite Author of All Things. And in fact, the Arizal, a master Kabbalist, once asserted that the gates of wisdom and divine inspiration were opened for him only as a reward for doing mitzvot with boundless joy.

Not just mitzvot, but everything we do—eating, sleeping, business, and even leisure activities—can be part of the way we connect to G-d. All it takes is the right intentions.
"Serve G-d with joy!" applies to all times and situations.

When we're happy, the toughest tasks are a breeze, the strongest adversaries are easily vanquished. On the other hand, if we're down, even simple challenges seem overwhelming.
*Envision being given the opportunity to host your nation's head of state in your humble home. Picture how overjoyed and excited you'd be at the honor. When we do a mitzvah, we cause G-d to dwell with us here in our world—and we get to host Him! Shouldn't this be a cause for joy?
If we Consider how small and insignificant we are by comparison to G-d, and then contemplate on how much He loves and cherishes us -that definitely is a cause for joy.

* We should recognize that all that transpires is part of G-d's plan, and that G-d is in control. And we should understand that no evil could emanate from G-d—for He is entirely good.
* We should feel overjoyed and secure in the knowledge that everything is exactly as it is supposed to be, and Someone is looking out for us.

Let a sense of purpose lend bounce to your step as you go about your daily activities.

Story -All fasted he ate. Generosity saved his daughter.

Deeply worried, Reb Yosephah made his way to the Study Hall of Ostrah. As he walked in, the young men looked up in respect and anticipation, for he was the supporter of many of the young scholars who came to study there.

"My daughter is very ill," he announced solemnly. "Here is an added stipend for each of you. Please fast and pray for her recovery." He handed each student an envelope with money and they promised to fulfill his request.

And so they did. Or rather, so did all of them but one. Rabbi Yitzchak Drohovitcher (who later became a leading kabbalist in his generation), but was then a young man, he spent the money at a local grocery, purchasing a hearty meal for himself. While all the others committed themselves to fast, he sat down to eat.

Soon, word spread that thank g-d the young girl's condition had taken a change for the better and the crisis had passed. Later, when she fully recovered, Reb Yosephah invited everyone to a thanksgiving celebration. At the feast, he reproved Rabbi Yitzchak, "I am surprised at your strange, disrespectful behavior. While all your fellow students were immersed in prayer and fasting, you indulged in a meal."

Rabbi Yitzchak answered quietly: "Fasting is nothing out of the ordinary for me. Quite the contrary, having enough money to purchase a meal is exceptional. Thus, when I sat down to eat, the angels asked: 'Why has Yitzchak been able to purchase a wholesome meal during the week?' Other angels responded, relating that my meal came about because of your generosity.

"Therefore, it was decreed that generosity should be shown to you as well and your daughter be granted a speedy recovery."

Shabbat Shira - Song. Power of Song.

This past shabbat, we read in the Torah the song sung by Israel after the parting of the Red Sea.

What gives song/music its power? How does it have the ability to transport us to another time and place?

The Kabbalah says: The way a soul can move around is through song. Songs have this power because they are the language of the Divine.

When G-d created the universe, He consulted, so to speak, with the angels: “Should I bestow upon the human race the gift of music?” The angels replied with a resounding “no.” “The human race will not appreciate the sublime power of melody. They won’t know how to appreciate angelic, divine nature of song. “Give us your gift of music,” the angels said, “and we will sing Your praises, we will sing Your songs. We will know how to use the power of melody to reach great spiritual heights.”

“No. I will give the gift of music to humans". Decided G-d, "Because I want them to have something to remember Me with.

“Sometimes life will be difficult. Man can feel depressed and hopeless. I therefore want them to have song to remind them, that even you’re stuck in the dire straits of material existence or are experiencing loneliness you can break out in song, which will lift your spirits.

“Yes indeed,” G-d concluded, “I will give the human being the language of music and song, so that he can use it to discover transcendence.”

Song has the ability to transport the soul because the source of its power is its Divine language. Songs have the ability to lift our spirits to unprecedented heights. It is spiritual transportation.

Every creature, every molecule, every atom emits its own unique sound. Every soul pulsates and purrs. .

To access the music within, we need to get in touch with our life’s purpose and recognize that every moment of our day, every activity and every interaction is a spiritual opportunity.

We are now, after the 'Shabbat of Song', imbued with the power to turn our lives into one extended symphony.

High time to start singing.

Russian Soldiers /vodka . Direction of head.

One night, In old-time Russia, in Czar Nikolai's army, a few soldiers decided to secretly climb over the fence to pay a visit to the local inn. At the inn, they thirstily drank their vodka, their much longed for drink.

After a while one of the soldiers cried out: "Hey, we have to hurry up and get back to our base before inspection so that they don't catch us missing!"

The soldiers quickly paid and starting running back to the army camp, but having drunk too much one by one, they fell to the ground, at the side of the road.

It was their bad luck that just then one of the officers passed by and found them lying there drunk.
The next day, of course they were summoned to appear to the commander's office. The soldiers were trembling with fear, knowing they may be severely punished for what they did.
The commander spoke in a harsh voice explaining to them the army laws that they had transgressed.
Suddenly though, he changed his tone. His voice became softer and he said; "I also like to have some vodka from time to time. I understand your reason for escape, i am aware that it has been a long time since you were last allowed to visit the inn. Thus i have decided not to punish you for this act!"
"However", barked the commander pointing to one soldier, "Everybody is exempt from punishment - except you! You will be penalized because when i passed by on the road i noticed that all of the soldiers were lying with their heads in the direction of the army camp - except you. Your head was in the direction of the inn!"

We all have our ups and downs in our service of G-d. It happens that sometimes we may fall. However, what is important is - in what direction our heads are.

The downfalls lose their impact when we keep sight of our direction.

Grab the Jewels - i.e. the Mitzvot - NOW.

There was once a king who, wanting to show his appreciation to his new general for winning the war, offered to allow him to go into his treasury house for an hour and take whatever he wanted for himself.

The general was thrilled. He prepared a large sack and waited anxiously for the day. But then the king regretted his decision. Not wanting to renege on his promise the king's advisers advised the king to place musicians at the treasury house and have them play the most beautiful music. This would distract the general from despoiling the king's treasury.

Sure enough the plan worked. The general became paralyzed and fixated with the music. By the time the general realized that he was losing the chance of a lifetime, the hour of opportunity had passed. He wound up with just a few small items, but lost all that potential for riches because of his distraction with the orchestra.

Rav Eliyahu Lopian said this parable refers to this world. G-d puts us in this world and tells us to "grab the jewels", i.e. – the mitzvot. However, at the same time, G-d gives us distractions of life. We become fixated with these distractions. One day, someone taps us on the shoulder and says, "It is time to leave this world." We look back and bemoan the fact that we have missed our opportunity of mining this world for the spiritual treasures that were available to us. We leave the world empty handed or at best, we leave with our sacks half full.

When the mitzvot are just there for our taking, it is hard to imagine that there will come a time that they will not be there anymore. We need to foresee the future and take the proper implications from that vision.

Everybody has FREE CHOICE! Choose wisely, be good!

No matter who you are, or what your situation is, you can always make the choice to do the right thing. G-d gave you the gift of 100% free choice.

Our sages explain that if we merit, G-d will hasten the redemption for us, but if not then it'll come in its regular time. It's the very actions we do that cause Moshiach to come. G-d carefully constructed a perfect system that the result of any good deed is a better world. The redemption is not a reward, it’s just part of nature, it’s how G-d originally planned the universe.

Therefore, every single act that we do directly impacts the world as a whole either for the better or for the worse. As soon as enough good is done, Moshiach will automatically arrive. G-d created this system and gave us the free choice to use it.

We bring Moshiach. It’s completely in our hands.

It says that G-d heartened Paroh's heart. What does a hardened heart mean? Did Pharaoh no longer have free choice? The truth is that G-d still allowed Pharaoh free choice despite hardening his heart.

The mystics explain that G-d did not alter Pharaoh heart. Pharaoh’s heart became hardened automatically after a lifetime of evil and G-d sent Moses to warn him about the next plague despite his ‘hardened heart’ because everyone has 100% free choice.

Pharaoh, despite everything he had done which had hardened and desensitized his soul, still possessed a spark of good, a sliver of power to turn himself into a good person. There is no such thing as I can’t.

G-d always gives a person the tools he or she needs to do the right thing. No one is ever beyond the power of Teshuva, of returning to G-d and his good ways.

Every good deed we do not only makes our heart a little ‘softer’, more sensitive to spirituality, but automatically brings the entire world one step closer to Moshiach.

We are always in control, and we always have100% free choice. What we do with it is up to us! Let's choose wisely!

The Commandment to Love G-d.

Little Chaim doesn't like fish. Now what if his father were to command him to like fish – would the son be able to overcome his inherent dislike of fish and begin to love it?

It is a basic part of the Shema prayer, “And you shall love G-d with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your might”. How is it possible that G-d has given us a mitzvah, a commandment, to 'love' Him? If we do not have love in our hearts for G-d, how is it possible to change our nature and begin to love G-d?

What is it that makes it possible to command someone to love G-d yet to command someone to love fish may be foolish?

The basic difference is that man can exist without fish. A man is not dependent on fish alone for his life. But man can not exist independent from G-d; man's total existence is dependent on G-d. More than that, nothing exists outside of G-d. While we may appear to have an independent existence, it is only because our senses can not perceive G-d. We are limited beings.

Our every moment existence is totally dependent upon His good will, which He never retracts. Even when man sins against Him, He gives man the ability to continue.

We in fact have an inherent love of G-d hidden in our soul. And so by contemplating on G-d that He is the source of our existence and provider of our physical needs, evokes that hidden love for Him.

The active concept of love of G-d is the contemplation and awareness of His goodness. The more we contemplate on His goodness, the greater will be our awareness of Him. The more we will be aware of Him the more love we will feel for Him in our hearts.

However the more we look at ourselves as a separate entity, the less we can feel any love for G-d. The more we try to see G-d in our lives, the more He will give us the ability to perceive Him in this world.

Basically, The more we contemplate on G-d's goodness, the better.

Golus, exile - like in a dream.

When we will be redeemed from exile, the experience will be like awakening from a long sleep.
A dream can fuse two opposites; in a dream state, we can visualize things that are logically impossible. While praying, we can become aroused with love for G-d. When the prayer is over, though, the love vanishes and we go back to our preoccupation with material mundane matters.

However, we should not assume that our spiritual service while in exile has no value. Even if the inspiration later vanishes every spiritual success is real and permanent. Our G-dly soul is always complete, and its accomplishments can never be erased.

The fact that we are in a 'dream-state' has a positive component. It means that we are able to overcome boundaries tht to our rational mind seem insurmountable. Our rational mind tells us that we must progress in an orderly, systematic fashion. We mustn't think too big or get ahead of ourselves. However, in a dream state we ignore all these limitations and can make a huge spiritual leap all at once, out of proportion to our previous level.

Our exile is a state of sleep but through increasing in Torah and Mitzvot we can awaken in an instant to the ultimate state of redemption.

PARSHA - VA'AIRA. Gratitude!

'Gratitude is an attitude'.

This week’s torah portion of Va'aira, demonstrates just how far Jewish tradition teaches us to be grateful and to remember our benefactors.

Seven of the ten plagues occur in this week’s reading. Moshe, messenger of G‑d, is bringing down these terrifying plagues on Pharaoh’s Egypt. Yet, interestingly, he calls upon his brother Aaron to be the agent for the first three plagues—blood, frogs and lice. Why did Moshe not do those himself?

The Midrash, quoted by Rashi, teaches us that this is because it was through the waters of the Nile River that Moshe was saved as an infant when he was put in the basket. It would have been insensitive and inappropriate, even after so many years later, for him to strike those very waters that saved him. The blood and the frogs both came directly from the water, and so Aaron struck the water rather than Moshe.

And the same thing with the lice that came from out of the ground, the earth too, had helped Moshe to cover the body of the Egyptian taskmaster whom he had killed while defending a Jewish slave. Therefore, it would have been wrong for Moshe to strike the earth, and so for this plague too, Aaron did it.

What a monumental lesson to each of us on the importance of gratitude. Do water and earth have feelings? Would they know the difference if they were struck, and who was doing the striking? How much more so should we be considerate of human beings when they have done us a kindness..

The story is told of the Chatam Sofer that he once did an enormous favor for someone. Later, the fellow asked him, “Rabbi, what can I ever do to repay you for your kindness?” The Chatam Sofer replied, “One day, when you get upset and angry with me, please remember what I have done for you today—and, rather than pelting me with big rocks, please throw small stones instead.”

Once again, the Torah is teaching us not only religious ritual, but how to be better people—more sensitive, and yes, eternally grateful human beings.

Jewish People given the privilege to refine sparks

A king once lost a precious gem from his ring, and many of his subjects—servants, ministers, generals, and so on—volunteered to search for it. However, the king refused to allow them to. Instead, he instructed his precious only son to search for the lost object and return it.

The king did not do so because he suspected that his other subjects might pocket the gem. Rather, he wanted to be able to give the opportunity to his son to find it, so that his son would receive the credit. Moreover, he even dropped his son several hints as to the whereabouts of the gem. But how did the king know so well where the gem was to be found? In fact, it was all a setup. The king had deliberately feigned to have accidentally lost the gem only so that his son would find it, and so that the father could beam with pride at his son’s accomplishment.

The Baal Shem Tov offered this parable for the spiritual process by which the sparks of holiness came into our physical world:
G-d deliberately caused the sparks of holiness to fall into the physical world, and then insisted that only the Jewish people, of whom it is said, “You are sons of Hashem, your G–d,” be charged with the mission of refining them.

Refining the lofty sparks of holiness trapped in the physical world is a task and privilege specifically assigned to the Jewish people.

Wow what a privilege. And how do we refine these sparks? By doing Mitzvot and living holy.