Have A Problem? Just Try Emunah!

In our previous article, we spoke about how we have more Emunah than we think we do. There is an idea connected to this that is equally important. Sometimes a person can have so much Faith in Hashem yet have such little Faith in himself. He may find himself very worried if he will be successful in his endeavors. Sometimes a person can believe Hashem is in control of everything and at the same time, not realize that Hashem can make him successful even with all his “flaws.” Truly believing in Hashem also means truly believing in yourself. Emunah can make us so much happier in our lives and with ourselves. Let’s see how.

Imagine two identical Jewish people driving down their neighborhood road. They are both religious and well-mannered people. However, one of them has a lot of Emunah and one of them has little Emunah. Imagine they both get into an identical car accident where no one gets hurt and there is only substantial damage to the cars. The person without Emunah gets out of the car angrily and begins to yell at the other driver. He blames the other drivers driving skills or his own bad luck as the reason for the accident. He walks away having a horrible experience. On the other hand, the person with Emunah gets out of the car calmly and begins thanking Hashem that he received atonement for his sins through his car and not through his body. He doesn’t get angry with the other driver because he knows that this accident was meant to be. He sees the other driver as a messenger of Hashem’s will. He tells himself “everything Hashem does is for the best and everything is for a reason” (Brachot 60b). He walks away having a manageable experience. These two reactions were so different. All because one had Emunah and one had very little. Emunah can give us a better handle on our crazy life situations. Rav Nachman of Breslov was known for saying “the world is a very, very narrow bridge. The main thing is not be afraid!” In our lives we may face challenges or situations which seem scary. We don’t know if we will succeed. The path that we have to take may seem very “narrow” and difficult. However, Rav Nachman is telling us that we can make our lives so much better and happier by just having more Faith and not being afraid. Hashem, who created the world and created you, can save you in this hard situation that you’re in now. Without this power of Faith, we have no life. We would live in constant worry and fear of unknown factors potentially causing our failure. Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim Rosen used to say, “Whoever has Faith has no questions; whoever has no Faith never has answers.” To really say we believe in Hashem we must also believe in a couple more truths. One of them is that we are important in Hashem’s eyes. We must tell ourselves “the world was created for me” (Sanhedrin 37a). We must also realize that no matter how far we may be from Hashem, we still have the power to return to Hashem. “Nothing (no sin) stands in the face of repentance” (Yerushalmi Peah 5a). Another important truth that we must believe is that if Hashem wants me to be successful then I will be successful regardless of the factors in the situation. Hashem is the Master of the universe and I must address Him in order to reach my goals.

Believing in Hashem means believing that anything is truly possible. Having Faith in ourselves is easily overlooked and is not easy to have. We must realize that it is inherently part of having Faith in Hashem. The more we learn about Faith, the more self-confidence we will have. It helps a person’s Emunah to speak to his friends and his Rabbi about having Faith. This will encourage them to work on their Emunah and in turn encourage you. Without Emunah, our lives can be difficult and can make us want to run away. With Emunah our lives will become manageable and full of happiness, by knowing that we are fulfilling Hashem’s will by being in our current situation. Rav Nachman used to say, “Whoever has no Faith, his life is not a life!” 

By Rabbi Tomer Zino