Category Archives: Aish.com Articles

By delving into the main characters of the Purim story, we can discover some hidden attributes that are still embedded into our psyche, projecting positive and negative influence on our actions.

Haman, the evil antagonist of the Purim story, was steeped in wealth and power. He experienced material bliss to the highest degree and used his money to buy his way up to the highest ranks in the palace of King Achashverosh. He was second in command and in charge of the royal servants. Nonetheless he was still not satisfied with life as the Book of Esther writes, “Yet all this means nothing to me as long as I see that Jew Mordechai sitting at the King’s gate and refusing to bow down to me.” It means nothing… This is the voice of the ingrate, discontent with life and drowning in a pool of self-entitlement with lack of appreciation for life’s gifts.

The Haman in us comes out when we are dissatisfied with what life serves us, chasing after our cravings to no end.

The Haman in us comes out when we are dissatisfied with what life serves us, wanting more and continuously chasing after our cravings to no end. We sense the undertone of Haman’s displeasure in life at the beginning of the Torah when God asks Adam after he has eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, “HaMin ha’etz hazeh (from this tree (you ate)?” Hinted in this question God essentially is asking Adam if Haman was behind his defiant behavior; and he was.

Adam had at his disposal every tree in the garden, yet he still ate from the one tree that was forbidden to him. Why? The voice of Haman caused Adam to desire and focus on that which he didn’t have, not on all that he did have. The voice of Haman whispers to us ‘that is not enough, there is so much more out there.’ How to rid ourselves of our Haman? Invite him for dinner and then hang him! Meaning, get to know your Haman, recognize his tactics, prepare for the battle and then defeat him on his own turf.

Esther did exactly that. She submerged herself in contemplative prayer and enjoined the nation to invoke Divine mercy. Esther is derived from the root word hester (concealment). We each have hidden within us the ability to go against the temptations that are presented before us and fight against them. However, when that side of us gets sleepy, a Haman may come along and shake us up. The goal is to wake up the hidden strength and reveal to ourselves that we can refuse to bow down to Haman’s idols. There is an Esther deep down that can combat the Haman when she truly chooses to do so.

In the merit of Esther’s self-sacrifice on behalf of her nation she was worthy of being invited to the King’s chambers without prior invitation. Achashverosh took one look at Esther and was mesmerized by her amazing spiritual aura. She was glowing from the immense love and concern she had for the Jewish people. This is the power of unconditional altruistic love; it has the power to spiritually dress us in royal garb and become beloved by all.

Mordechai is the inspiring personality behind Esther. Mordechai embodied the image of a simple humble Jew who wished only to follow God’s mandates. He was optimistic and believed that although the picture appeared gloomy, everything could change. He never gave up hope.

In the Book of Esther it is written that Mordechai wailed as he walked up and down the streets of Shushan. His scream emanated from a place of goodness, that Godly spark of benevolent care of another. A cry out for another person’s pain and suffering originates from deep within, from a place of wanting to impart goodness to the world. When we tap into this part we become Godly and impart Divine light onto ourselves and those around us. This lies at the heart of a genuinely virtuous leader; the desire to share goodness and see that their needs are met.

Purim brings with it the profound opportunity to take off our masks and reveal our true selves to ourselves. We have within us the great power to overturn what may appear as a hopeless ending to a miraculous outcome. We inherited the ability to fight our way back by such leaders as Mordechai and Esther.

Haman is a distraction intended to gain our attention and awaken our courage to stand up against him. Let’s get to know our personal Mordechai and Esther and follow their lead. By doing so, the Hamans will fall by the wayside and be hung on their own gallows.

For original article click here

Loosely translated as faith in God, emuna is considered the cornerstone of Jewish belief and practice. What does the term emuna mean? How does this affect my life? When are we as Jews required to have or practice this emuna?

Unfortunately, many people assume that emuna refers to blind faith. However, this is not the case. In the Aleinu prayer recited at or near the end of every prayer service, we proclaim: “And you shall know today, and take to heart, that God is the only God…” We are instructed to ‘know’ that God exists. Blind leaps of faith have nothing to do with knowledge; they are expressions of what one wishes to be true, not what is in fact necessarily true.

Emuna begins in the mind as intellectual Emuna, formed after hard rational work and inquiry. Ultimate contemplation of the world and how it could not be created other than by an infinite Being will help us achieve this intellectual faith.

Knowing in our minds that our Creator is there is the first step. However, in time and with repeated practice, emuna can melt into the heart. After we readily acknowledge that God is part of our life and never leaves, we can work on developing loyalty to God with that knowledge and slowly begin to feel it internally. Rather than pure intellectual belief, emuna should be defined as the act of being faithful or loyal. It is the basic requirement of any healthy relationship and demands constant reinforcement.

With time and dedication we can strive toward living a life permeated by emuna. Emuna is developed throughout a lifetime and needs to be repeatedly contemplated. Loyalty to God becomes essential when life throws us a sharp curve ball which may cause us to lose balance and doubt that things truly are for the best.

Yet at these painful times, it is also more difficult to exercise our emuna muscles. It becomes most challenging when reality presents hardships that conflict with our ability to intellectually understand. The loss of harmony between that which we know in our minds to be true – God is taking care of us as part of His nation – yet do not enjoy or cannot see the logic in, is what provides us with our free will.

Through the means of free will, we choose whether to remain loyal to the word of God in spite of the pain, or to shun the word of God because of its seeming illogicality. Emuna is understanding that we cannot understand the totality of God’s knowledge, but recognizing and accepting that everything serves a purpose despite this.

Once we know logically that God is always with us, and we have started practicing this loyalty regularly, we can now engage in everyday life with trust in Him. This feeling of trust gives us a gift of security knowing that we are in perfect hands as we are being individually directed and handled by God Himself. Therefore, we can enjoy the feeling that we are being led through life by means of a personal guide, and that there is meaning and purpose to every event that occurs.

Emuna comes with practice of the mind and action. Utilizing life’s encounters as a prospect to seeing God in my life increases our awareness of His constant presence. We can use challenges as catalysts to come closer to our Creator since we extract meaning and grow from the experience.

For example, when traveling by bus to Jerusalem we can sit back, relax and enjoy the view. We can be free from worry, knowing that the driver is professional and knows how and where to drive. If we did not trust the driver’s skill, or we thought we could drive a bus better than him,, we may sit on edge the entire ride, questioning his navigation skills and driving abilities. In contrast, with emuna we can calmly sit on the bus, enjoy the scenery and await our final destination.

Sitting in bumper to bumper car traffic is boot camp for strengthening our emuna muscles. Some thoughts to ponder might include:

Click here to receive Aish.com’s free weekly email.

• I must be delayed for a good reason;
• maybe it is slippery ahead and needed to slow down or possibly;
• I need time to recollect my thoughts before continuing to drive.

The bottom line – there is purpose to my slowing down and it is all good for me even if I cannot readily see it.

Having someone cut the line while waiting for a cashier is another opportunity to exercise my emuna muscles. Perhaps this is a chance to refine my personality by allowing the other person to go in front without feeling bitter?

Emuna is looking beyond the limited now and knowing that we may not fully grasp the meaning of what is happening. We think we know what is best for us, but emuna means have faith that only God really knows. Nonetheless, we also have faith that one day we too will know.

The original article from aish.com