BS’D
Avraham Avinu implanted within the Jewish people the concept of emuna. He challenged the pagan beliefs of his time and faithfully proclaimed the belief in One Supreme Authority. We his descendants are gifted with the name Ma’aminim b’nei Ma’aminim – Believers the children of believers.
By definition emuna means faithfulness and loyalty; a commitment to uphold the words of the Torah. This allegiance is not dependent on logical understanding or intellectual rationale. It is a declaration on our behalf to uphold the belief system taught to us by our Holy Torah by virtue of the fact that it is Divine, 100% truthful and just. All of this we inherited from Avraham Avinu.
The preservation of our Torah is credited to the loyal and consistent transmission from father to son throughout the generations. We know that the guiding messages of the Torah are accurate. It must be since without this knowledge we have no spiritual existence; likened to cutting off our spiritual air supply.
In Parshat Reeh (14:1) the Torah clearly states, “Banim atem l’Hashem (You are children of Hashem)”. Hashem will never forsake or abandon His beloved children. We need to consistently reassure ourselves of this vital message at times of difficulty. This is the pathway to strengthen our emuna – fortifying the notion that Hashem’s love is eternal and will never perish.
In good times and in bitter times our emuna ought to flow in our mind and heart and permeate our entire being singing the words Ani Ma’amin – I believe!
