Emuna Beams

People like me began learning Torah after completing advanced degrees. We are keenly familiar with both sides of the fence, secular and academic education versus Torah education. Let's see objectively which develops more powerful brainpower.

The Seder night is when we tell the story of our Exodus from Egypt. This is one of the Torah's 613 commandments that one can fulfill only once a year on the first night of Passover. The Zohar and the Gemara laud the amazing attributes of this mitzvah. It strengthens emuna and solidifies the family. In addition, it enhances one's inner joy, especially when we tell of the Exodus as if we were there...

The account of the four sons in the Passover Haggadah is like a kaleidoscope where we see many different images. We see how four general types of people relate to emuna. What's more, we learn about four facets that are in each of us. As such, the Passover Seder and the story of the Exodus are as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago.

Passover is our freedom holiday. On Passover night at the Seder, we tell the story of how the Almighty liberated us from slavery in Egypt. Are we free today? Half the world's Jews live under foreign regimes. The other half live in Israel, which is far from independent today, living under dictates and limitations from the White House. What's more, Israel's anti-emuna government and military discriminate against Torah-observant Jews in more ways than one. Is that freedom? If we're not free, then why tell the story of Passover? Let's find out, with this lovely parable that you can tell at your Passover Seder table.

On the eve of the Exodus, it wasn't enough for someone to say, "I have emuna in my heart. I don't need all these rituals." A person like that would have died in Egypt on Passover night. Hashem wanted the Israelites to be proactive in fulfilling His commandments...

Rebbe Nachman teaches us a lesson about Passover, which is a lesson for life. The bitter herbs are an integral part of the Seder, and of life as well…

When Moses delivered Hashem's message of "Let My people go" to Pharaoh, the Egyptian king retorted, "Who is Hashem that I should listen to Him? Besides, I've never heard of Hashem before" (Exodus 5:2). With such unprecedented arrogance, Pharaoh was inviting punishment.

There was a rich Jew in Hungary who went bankrupt. When he had money, everyone would kowtow to him. But, now that he lost his money, no one would even say "good morning" to him. The unfortunate person went to the Chasam Sofer and complained that no one paid the slightest attention to him.

Rebbe Nachman reveals the secret of the Tikkun HaKlali, the general remedy. The human body has ten types of pulse, which correspond to the ten types of song. The ten types of song are the key to inner happiness. So is the matzah we eat on Passover…

Passover is a story of emuna. Many things we are about to say sound like outright exaggerations to the logical 21st-century ear. Yet, emuna is beyond logic. Our entire history defies logic.

Now that Purim has passed, Passover is quickly approaching. We all face what many consider one of the most daunting tasks of the year: cleaning for Passover. It doesn't have to be that way. Today's podcast shows how to make it pleasant and enjoyable. We can clean for Passover with a song in our hearts.

Today's podcast is not only an important Purim-week lesson, but it's the key to winning the war and a practical message about Jewish unity. "The Toothpick Test" is something that anyone can do, especially at the family Purim table. We cordially invite Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and opposition leaders Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Lapid to join us in this test.

Rebbe Nachman's classic parable seems absurd, but it's actually a cogent reflection of the emoji and smartphone generation. The second half of this lesson elaborates on Likutei Moharan I:119, which helps us understand the concepts of foolishness and spiritual unawareness we see in the Turkey Prince.

The Book of Esther is a living blueprint: the Purim story—unfolding over 13 years—reveals patterns that mirror today’s geopolitics and upheavals, showing how Hashem’s hidden hand directs history. Using parallels between Ahashverosh and modern leaders, and the choices of Mordecai and Esther, the episode emphasizes teshuva, faith, and how apparent threats can become redemptive when people repent and trust God. The lesson also reviews Purim customs (fasting, reading the Megillah, feasting, gifts and charity) and the holiday’s core message that no decree is irreversible and divine providence remains constant.

Rabbi Nachman teaches the “Pasture Pastoral,” a concise exploration of Likutey Moharan (Torah 63, with links to Torah 11) revealing the secret of Perek Shira: every level of creation and every pasture has its own niggun (melody) that sings to Hashem. Using shepherd imagery, flute music, and the Land of Israel, he shows how these melodies uplift the soul and unite human prayer with the natural world. Clear and practical, the lesson explains why music and place matter in prayer, how food and fields carry sparks of holiness, and how each person is a shepherd responsible for tending and correcting their part of creation.

Gravity and natural ability are very similar. Both are strong limiting forces. But pull us down. Yet, we can overcome by applying a sustained upward force that is greater than their downward pull…

Many people with acute difficulties in life are worrying that they can't prepare for the upcoming holidays the way they might want to. Yet, we must serve Hashem with all of life's difficulties. Know full well that it's Hashem Who is challenging us with the difficulties...

If you can't honestly express your pain and shed real tears to your Father in Heaven, Who really loves you and cares about you, then who else on earth is there to cry to?

The closest distance between two points is a straight line. In spirituality, straightness means simplicity and honest innocence. The two traits, which are really one, makes a person beautiful. They also create the closest distance between the person and the Creator. They're also he key to happiness...

So what if we made a mistake? Rebbe Nachman promises us that all we have to do is to declare a new beginning, and start all over with enhanced faith and enthusiasm. Even a turkey can make a new beginning…