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Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

The greatest success possible to achieve in this world is in the area of Torah and mitzvot. Money and physical pleasures can only benefit a person for a limited time. Spirituality, however, will benefit a person forever and ever. The evil inclination tries to deter us and make us think that this world is where it's at. But we must not get fooled by his ploys. If we are growing in Torah and mitzvot, we should be more excited than winning a lottery for a billion dollars. Not everybody has the zechut to be growing in Torah and mitzvot. Although Hashem wants more than anything for every one of His children to be close to Him, it is not a given by any means that a person will attain that connection. Hashem gives us free will to choose where we want to put the emphasis of our lives. The evil inclination strengthens itself upon a person every single day. And if a person does not merit to get help from Hashem, he will fail his mission. The good deeds that we do and the prayers that we make help us get the siyata d’Shamaya that we need for success in this world. It has to be important enough to us to constantly be asking Hashem for help with our spiritual growth as well as with our families. Sometimes one decision can change the entire course of a person's life. If he would have help from Hashem, he would choose correctly. Sometimes the chizuk a person needs is right in front of him, but in order to access it, he needs Heavenly help. I once knew a man who was struggling with certain areas of religion. He had so much potential but just couldn't overcome those struggles. On one occasion, I invited him to a class with a guest rabbi who I knew would be very inspirational and he said he would be there. The guest rabbi gave a fiery speech on every struggle this particular individual was dealing with. It was one of the most inspirational speeches I ever heard. But unfortunately, this man did not show up that day and he missed out on a class that potentially could have altered the course of his entire life. We need zechuyot for success in spirituality. Tefila provides great merits, and so we must ask Hashem for his help for all of our spiritual needs. I read a story told by Rabbi Tzvi Nakar about a man who became fully shomer Torah and mitzvot later on in life, but his wife did not accompany on his journey. At one point they came to the realization that their marriage was in jeopardy, being that neither was willing to budge on their beliefs. One day the man told his wife he really didn't want to break up the family and requested that they go to an Arachim seminar, perhaps she would get inspired there. She agreed to go. The main speech was being given by Rabbi Yosefi. Although the woman was completely secular, that morning she actually asked Hashem for help so she could see the right path. She went to the shiur that night and, as usual, Rabbi Yosefi electrified his audience and managed to stir her neshama . The Rabbi touched on the most sensitive and problematic points that weighed on her heart and she sat and cried during the entire speech. After the speech, she approached the Rabbi and told him she was going to take upon herself to do complete teshuvah . She added that she prayed that day to recognize the truth. The Rabbi asked her when she prayed and, when he heard the time, he was in awe. He told her that morning he woke up with a fever close to 104. He was about to call the organizers of the event and tell them he wasn't going to make it. As he picked up the phone, he heard an inner voice calling, “You can't give this up, you have to go.” He then got up, splashed cold water on his face and, surprisingly, he felt a little better. He gave himself chizuk and said he was going to give the speech. He found out from this woman that it was right after the time of her prayer that he felt this inspiration to go through with the speech despite his high fever. We need siyata d’Shamaya for help in Torah and mitzvot and the best way to get it is to ask Hashem for help.