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Simple Answers: Renewal

Written by R. Nati

Today I've lived like I never ever lived before!

...Just because it's the only day I have.

Just a sunset signals the beginning of a new day (vaya erev vaya boker, yom echad, it was evening and morning, one day - Berashis-Genesis), we just go into the next.

Rebbe Nachman teaches us to always begin anew - each day, each hour, each minute. You must remain young, renewing yourself. Everyday making a fresh start. This a very simple but profound secret and a key to survival in this day and age.

Hard Questions Simple Answers Part 4

Written by R. Nati

In regards to all the questions about where we are, and when will be, etc... In the Holy city of Jerusalem there are many a Tzaddik, as well as regular folks, preparing begday Moshiach, clothing for the geulah. There is a local tailor in Meah Shearim who is swamped with orders for these clothes, only to be worn for the arrival of the redeemer. He has so many orders that he can't get them done fast enough. They are very beautiful indeed.

This started right after Pesach. The tailor says it all started with a certain chassidic rebbe, then another, and another, etc, until everyone here feels the energy of what is to come. "People are talking."

I'd like to share a bit of Torah from a little sefer called 'The Empty Chair', a book of aphorisms by Rabaynu, Rebbe Nachman of Breslev. Entry "On The Spiritual Journey" : "Spiritual awakening begins with inspiration coming from without. Then once you are already on the road, the real work begins. Keep at it and inspiration will come from within." (L.H. 3:152c)

Rebbe Nachman said that often even just his daily religious obligations felt like a crushing burden. But the Rebbe found a way to bear the weight of his devotions by each morning saying to himself, "I will ignore tomorrow and all future tomorrows- today is all there is!" The Rebbe understood what wears us down most on our spiritual journey is the feeling that there is to much to accomplish. Instead, he advised focusing only on the task at hand. By doing so, we can overcome even the most daunting of obstacles.

We need to just keep it simple and to the fact. For example I used to look at the siddur and say 'how long is it gonna take to say all this', overwhelmed by the length of the prayers. So I said brachas, jumped to shema, and from there added on each week more and more. The same with my learning. I used to look at all the necessary reading a Jew must do each week and say 'ee efashar', there's no way I can read all this. But slowly I just started to read the parsha for the day, then Tanya for the day, chassidus, then halacha - 1 law a day then, etc. If I had time to read something else I wanted, ok, if not, not. Same thing in prayer - I would tell my yetzer I'm only gonna say one bracha of shemonei esrei with kavana, then another and another till I (G-d willing) make it all the way though.

I've come a long way, thanks Hashem. But now when I look up from where I stand, I see mountains, "BIG MOUNTAINS" in front of me. Gone are the days of flat sand and foot hills, now the real work is beginning! But we can climb any mountain one step at a time. And there within lies the the secret; One step, one day, no more. I/we can make it for the day! You have to believe this to carry on. Ok, so I fell yesterday! And this last week I let the ruach stuss knock me down, 'Blam'. There was a time when I would cry and pout for months on a wrong committed, now the I know the key is to acknowledge my fall, ask for forgiveness, stand up, dust off and run before the next wave comes. The quicker we do t'shuva the less hold the Other side has on us.

...

"I will praise Hashem with my life; I will sing to my G-d with the little I have left." (salms 146:2). With only what I have left I'll cling to You in praise. And hope only in YOU!

Master of the Universe, help me! You work in amazing ways. Help me to able to make myself happy at all times. I am shattered and broken. Help me to be happy always. Teach me a way. You and You alone know all things: You know everything that has happened from the day I was born until today. You know everything that is happening to me today and this generation, and everything taking place in the whole world and in all the souls of all the Jewish people. You know everything that has happen to my soul: from the day my Neshamah, Ruach and Nefesh were first emanated; How they descended through the worlds of Atzilut, Beriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah; how the were brought into all the bodies that they were incarnates until they entered this body of mine, this gross and materialistic body...

You alone know the meaning of all these mysteries and all that happened to me in those times and since then until today. You know all that I have done, the good the bad. You know all my sins and transgressions, day by day - those that were unintentional, and those I did deliberately; those under compulsion and those I did of my own free will. And You know whatever good points I have managed to gather, it was only through Your kindness that I did so - even in the bad times.

Likutey Tefilah I 90 excerpt from Reb Nosson of Breslev's prayers 'which I have made mine with little changes'

I have endured from the day of my birth until today, ONLY BY YOUR UNMERITED MERCY!!! and so have you, all of you!

It's All From Hashem

Written by R. Nati

Jewish emunah, and I hesitate to translate that as faith as that word is associated with Western and Xian concepts nowadays, emunah - faith, is not believing in "a god". It's not believing in "a power" greater than oneself. Jewish emunah is believing that there is only one power, there is only G-d, and everything is of Him, from Him, and by Him.

You have to know it, to know really, it is all from Him! The good... the (seemingly) bad, only when we don't have Daat, understanding. Everything in this world works to distract us, we see, we feel, we taste, we touch, a flood of senses to overwhelm us with the world, and distract us from...

Him!!! YUD KEY VAV KEY!!!!

Hashem creator of the universe, His actions, it appears to us as natural! But really, every heart beat, every brain wave, billions upon billions of minute operations of the body, of the world around us, stop and think about it. All the creatures and all this!
"Deep breath just thinking about it". The amazing orchestration of the whole world, the whole universe. We don't have enough computers in existence to track even a city, yet the whole universe dances together. But they are trying build the Tower again! We are very close to them totally causing the hiding of His face!

Hashem Yerachem, may Hashem have mercy on us. We have to strive to hear what Hashem is trying to tell us. The Haftara (melekim 2, 2nd kings) of this past week describes Eliyahu HaNavi encountering Hashem's divine presence. Not the wind, not the thunder, not the fire, the soft still voice. I want to hear the small soft voice like a dove in the morning. Because I'm tired having to listen the hard way! (Through hard life lessons.)

We are very close. All is only shadows of what is real. It's darkest right before dawn. Now I know, it only seems dark. And, as it gets closer, it is about to get very dark! In the first redemption from Egypt we find in Shemos (Exodus) it became very dark as judgment was passed on His children. Judgment starts in the house of the L-rd, His attribute of justice requires that He clean house before lookng at the nations, but the cup of trembling is soon passed to the world (Yirmiyahu).

For 2500+ years we have been trembling, our turn is almost over. We must return to Hashem, wake up from the soaps and the movies and the news. We need to turn to Hashem in prayer, and lead by example! The Righteous of the nations need to join in as well, to become Noahide, comply with the 7 mitzvot of the bnei Noach, the seven commandments to the nations - the sons of Noah. We as a nation of priests and all the nations in unison have to bring ourselves up to the level of saying thank You for everything we have!

We are only guests in this world! We come here with nothing and He in His mercy gives us a mother and a father, brothers and sisters, ones to care for us and raise us. Everything is a free gift from Hashem! There are two types of guests, good ones and bad ones. If we don't say thank you for everything, we're being bad guests! And even more so if we complain and ask for more this and that. Are we spoiled, rotten, selfish, ungrateful guests?

Or will we say Thank You Hashem?

Shevua Tov, a good week, from the Holy City of Jerusalem, Thank You Hashem for granting me the opportunity to live here.

Reb Nati

"Hard Questions" But Simple Answers part 3

Written by R. Nati

The Geula is a process. 'It's an awakening'. It is a step by step thing. We are all placed here to put forth effort, to help bring it. And Hashem forbid not to hold it up!

We all have a private 'geula pratit', an individual redemption. As more and more people experience this it will eventually lead to a very public 'geula klalit', total national redemption. By changing our base nature nefesh b'hemis to a G-dly one nefesh elokees, this is called a 'iruta d'tatah' a stimulation from below, our awakening, we rearrange the spiritual matrix. By doing so we bring the balance to kedusha, the side of Holiness. Thus allowing for more shefa - spiritual energy to be released, allowing for more people to wake up so on and so forth, and it grows exponentially until we reach critical mass, then boom, redemption!

The Midrash tells us that 80% - 4/5ths of the Jews did not leave Mitzrayim (Egypt), they died there. WHY? The reason we are told is that they did not believe in Moshe, the Tzaddik HaDor. Having Emunah in the Chochamim is integral part of our lives, and without it we are blind and deaf. They are in effect our example of Hashem in this world as well as our spiritual eyes and ears, as they are much more in tune with the world of truth than we are. We must trust in them if we are to be worthy of redemption! In this we have no choice!

What was it that the Jews of the first exile were in doubt about? Was it that they didn't believe in Hashem (chas v'shalom)? Or was it that they didn't trust that Hashem had sent a redeemer? We are told it was not because they didn't believe that Moshe could take them out of Mitzrayim. It was that they didn't believe that Moshe could take Mitzrayim out of them! Oh, here is the problem, they were at the 49th gate of Tumah 'spiritual impurity'. They had entered until the gate of the last level and were about to pass the point of no return! But there was an awakening! We are told that Moshe was sent after they had 'sighed' over their situation, and had woken up to the fact that they were in deep trouble. 'They 'cried out', 'Chatzot halilah' 'at midnight' over the distance they had fallen away from Hashem.

And now WE are on the verge of despair over the 'avodah', the work it will take to return to Hashem. But what they did not know was (and this is the EMUNAH PART)!!!', WAS?

We are taught Hashem heard them, 'Ah their waking up', in response to their 'sigh'. We are told that Hashem looked down 'Wow! Check it out, they understand and regret', in response to their 'crying out at chatzot! We are told that Hashem remembered! "MY CHILDREN, I MUST HELP THEM...NOW!" Before it is to late.

Despair is a level that is hard to repair. As long as we do not despair, it is easier to fix the problem. 'Where there is hope the is away, out! That's why Rebbe Nachman tells us there is no such thing as despair in the world at all! "AIN SHUM YeUSH B'OLAM KLAL! At this time it is very important to try and wake up as many people to the idea of geulah as possible. This in turn will cause an awakening. Then we have to instruct them on how to return to Hashem, it is not enough to just tell them, they have to be led!

This is everyone's duty. Here, I am 'walking point'. But I'm following my commander, my rav, who's following his. And our general is Rebbe Nachman. I'm just a link in the chain and am just trying to relate to you the next step on the way. As I'm only just a few steps ahead of someone else, perhaps you also are a few steps ahead of the next fellow. If this helps you, by all means share it those whom you come in contact with, and walk point for the next fellow.

Shalom and Blessings from the Holy City, Jerusalem.

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