ENCOURAGEMENT FOR HOLDING ON

BH

Dear good friends who all share a common belief in Hashem, His Torah, and His True Tzaddikim.

Shalom. I hope this letter finds everybody happy, healthy and full of Emuna.

The following is a collection of encouragement for holding on to Emuna in life, along with valuing every drop of good that one can do to please and serve Hashem:

1. Life is like walking along a very narrow bridge - meaning, that there are many "casualties" to the left and to the right who have already fallen off this narrow bridge.... and the odds of us "making it" along this narrow bridge are against us 1000-1 (see Likutey Halakhot, Yoreh Deah, Beitzim #4). Yet, the true tzaddikim exhort us and encourage us not to be afraid and not to give up - that the odds against us are only possible if we allow the "mirage" to fool us. YOU MUST PUT ON BLINKERS AND SIMPLY LOOK FORWARD!

2. You need what's called "holy chutzpah" to make it in life. The Torah was given to the Jews simply because they are brazened-faced, namely for holiness. Be tough and don't let the evil side win you over with depression and thoughts/feelings of futility.

3. What can I say? The tests for personal purity are so difficult in life that only with the help, assistance and merit of the True Tzaddikim can one stand up to all of these tests... This is as the Holy Ari teaches that when a Jew sins and thus goes "off the path" he needs the soul of Moses himself to "enter" into him and help elevate him out of the realm of impurity to the realm of holiness... Thus "attachment to the Tzaddikim" is a very necessary ingredient in coming close to Hashem, and He purposely designed the set up of the application and dissemination of His Torah through receiving from the tzaddikim... As can be seen by the fact that Hashem chose to free the Jews out of Egypt specifically through Moses, as opposed to He Himself taking them out alone... This is a very delicate and "controversial" subject, but it is extremely fundamental to Judaism, as Rebbe Nachman himself says, coming close and travelling to the Tzaddikim is something that "one's whole Judaism is dependent upon" (Likutey Moharan #66).

4. The main thing is to express in words your good desires. Even if your actions totally contradict you inner-desires, still, express them to Hashem, since they have the upper hand in life. And in enough time, when the good desires accumulate, you will eventually get back everything you lost out on in your quest to come closer to Hashem (see Likutey Halakhot, Choshen Mishpat, Matanah 5-end).

5. Hashem's Justice is inconceivable. Why am I going through this? What did I do? Where is Hashem? The list of questions goes on and on. Basically, it boils down to the concept of "The righteous man who has it bad, and the wicked has it good". What to do? How to get out of this dilemma? Only Emuna. With pure crystal-clear faith that Hashem is running the show and that He knows exactly what He's doing with us... this itself is what mitigates the difficulties...

6. For the reason why the "crooked-justice' system was sent our way was simply because of a lack on our part of believing in Hashem's justice system that He knows exactly what He's doing with us. And once we re-accept and reconfirm His presence in our lives "walls begin to move"!

7. Thus a presentable "argument" to Hashem can be: "Hashem! I know that You are running my life. I know that You are just and right in everything you do and deal with me. I recognize that You are behind everything happening to me. But, Hashem, it hurts big time. Please help me accept your justice-system with complete emuna."...

8. The greatest Tzaddikim, by lowering themselves into "filth and dirt" are thereby able to elevate and extract the lowest people - those who almost everybody gave up on - from the lowest depths.

9. The evil one will do "everything" to get you to say the 3 magic words: "I GIVE UP". He will turn your life upside down, your family, etc...... all in order that you should finally "give in". This is so since the one thing he cannot touch is your desire and yearning to be a good Jew and come ever closer to Hashem, His Torah and His Tzaddikim. For that he will uproot everything to get you to drop this. But as long as a person doesn't "give in" there is always hope to retrieve everything which is seemingly lost. This is so since the inner desire and yearning of a person is what maintains the entire Creation. It is the essence of everything else...

10.  So, as the halakhah states in finding lost items (HaShavat Aveidah): so long as we can assume the owner of the item has not given up in retrieving the lost item, it is forbidden for the finder to use or partake of the lost item. So too on a spiritual dimension, all the potential good which is seemingly lost due to the tricks and tests of the evil one, can be found and retrieved so long as the person does not give up in attaining and perceiving them (See Likutey Halakhot, Choshen Mishpat, Matanah #5:end).

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As the upcoming High Holidays and Festivals approach ever faster - so do the expenses too!

Those who would like to help poor and needy families here in Jerusalem to get buy with the heavy festival expenses, may do so here in the following ways:

1. through paypal - https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=43L2R4XSC7GL4

2. by mailing a check or money order to: 

 

Meir Elkabas
11 Polansky St.
Jerusalem, Israel
95271

As a token of appreciation for those who can help, please send me back your full Hebrew name (if applicable) so that I can - bli neder - add you in my daily prayer list, which will include sporadic davening by the holy cites of the Holy Land.

Shalom, be well, and may this New Year we all be inscribed in the books of the True Tzaddikim for a good life, peace and true joy, amen.


Sincerely,

Meir Elkabas