Crowned with Emuna

BS'D

The Rambam writes (Hilchot Teshuva 8:2), “The righteous sit with crowns on their heads and enjoy the radiance of the Shechina.” But those crowns? We craft them here, in this world, each time we strengthen our emuna.

Every moment you recognize that Hashem is holding you, guiding you, sustaining you — even when you don’t understand the how or the why — you are polishing your crown in the World to Come. The Kuzari teaches that if Hashem’s supervision were removed even for a second, nothing would remain. Your every breath is a Divine miracle.

The Nefesh HaChaim reminds us to thank Hashem for both the sweet and the bitter, for even the harshest decrees come from eyes that see what we cannot. Hashem sees with perfect vision, beyond the illusion of this world, into the realm of revealed good.

Let this truth soak into your heart. You are not alone. You are seen, guided, and loved.

The tangled branches of the banyan tree once caught my attention, and in them I saw a reflection of the human mind.

Its vast, complex structure mirrors the way our thoughts move—many streams flowing at once, intersecting, overlapping, competing for space. At times, it feels like heavy traffic every time we step out into the world: noisy, crowded, and overwhelming. What an ordeal!
Yet nature offers us a quiet lesson.

Despite its density and complexity, the banyan tree does not remain confined. Its branches rise upward, stretching patiently toward the sky, instinctively drawn to light.

Our mind, too, holds this immense potential. When scattered, it entangles us. When consciously guided, it becomes a force of clarity, creativity, and growth.

Mastery of the mind is not effortless. It demands continuous awareness, discipline, perseverance, and deep commitment. There are no shortcuts—only steady practice and gentle persistence.

But once the journey toward self-realisation begins, there is no turning back.
Obstacles will arise, as they always do. Yet, when you stay on the path, what no longer serves your purpose begins to fall away. And slowly, naturally, you rise—toward light, truth, and inner freedom.

Your journey is yours alone. Never measure your pace against someone else’s steps – no two paths were meant to look the same. Hashem entrusts each soul with a specific piece of the sacred puzzle, a task that only they can fulfill. Every person carries a unique spark, a quality, a strength, a goodness that only they possess.

You were given a fingerprint nobody else has so that you can leave an imprint nobody else can. From the beginning of time until the end of time, there never has been and there never will be someone quite like you. Your circumstances, your personality, your abilities, your challenges are all custom tailored by divine design.

True unity doesn’t come from sameness. Shalom – peace – is not the erasure or dissolution of individuality, but its balanced blend. Like a symphony, peace is created when distinct notes, each with its own sound and purpose, merge toward a shared goal of creating a harmonious melody. Unity is not uniformity, and equality is not conformity. It is the recognition and celebration of difference. When individuality is cherished rather than suppressed, and when that individuality is used to contribute to the whole, something far more beautiful emerges – a seamless harmony that could not otherwise exist.

You were placed in this world to make a difference. Your life carries weight, purpose, and eternal value. When you honor your uniqueness, you honor the mission you were sent here to complete. Focus on your path, embrace what makes you different, and remind yourself often that your presence here matters. You are quite literally one of a kind, and the world needs exactly what only you can offer.

Inspired by the teachings of Rabbi DovBer Pinson

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To love another means to be their mirror when they’ve forgotten their own beauty.

Inspired by the teachings of the Maor VaShamesh, Rabbi Klonimus Kalman Epstein (1753-1823)

On the Third Day There Was Peace

By Tzvi Freeman

First there was One. There was no peace, because there was nothing with which to make peace. There was only One.

Then there was Two. There was diversity. From this point on, an infinite cacophony of conflict extended in all directions and forever.

And on the third day G‑d created peace.

Peace is not homogeneity. Peace does not mean that everyone thinks the same way. Peace is when there is diversity that finds a higher Oneness.

How Can Shifting from Living for Self-Benefit to Living for the Benefit of Others Open a New Perception of Reality?

We live in a state of reason, meaning inside our senses, intellect, and desire where our desire is composed of intellect and emotion, mind and heart. We live and feel reality in such qualities, and what we feel is called “this world.” Within it, we feel as if what we perceive exists: space with its stars and planets, the Earth, its vegetation and humanity upon it. Everything exists in our perception, our sensation.

We need to imagine that there is a boundary to this perception, and that there is another perception that is not based on the force of reception, which we draw toward ourselves, but on the force of bestowal, which we seemingly push away from ourselves—an opposite world.

We should imagine what this opposite world means, that instead of hatred, there is love, and instead of receiving, there is giving, and instead of detachment, there is connection, that we live in such a way. In other words, we live not in terms of what is good for us personally, but in terms of what is good for others, and we perform all of our actions for such a purpose.

In other words, we seemingly exist inside a kind of deep-sea-diving suit or a spacesuit. Inside that suit is “mine,” whereas outside of it is another world, one that we do not know. It is a world that we are not allowed to live in while our qualities are the way they currently are.

Instead, what can we do? If we receive in our mind and heart, our intellect and emotion, the conditions of that other world, then we can live in it. Moreover, there is no problem to do so. That is actually what we need to acquire, and we can do so by mutually encouraging and supporting each other to do so.

Ultimately, we exist solely in our mind and heart, our intellect and emotion. That is what was created. However, we can change how we use them. Their use can shift from “for self-benefit” to “for the benefit of others.” By doing so, we neutralize our very self, and we then no longer need this special suit, i.e., we no longer need protection for ourselves.

It is because, if we do not use ourselves for ourselves, but we use ourselves for the benefit of others outside of us, then we do not need to isolate ourselves from them. They cannot harm us. On the contrary, we can use everything that exists outside this special garment for the benefit of all.

We need to increasingly imagine, in various ways, the difference between what exists within our current mind and heart, in our qualities of reception, and what exists above them, where everything is in order to bestow. Gradually, in such a way, we will be able to make the transition from the corporeal world of self-reception to the spiritual world of love and bestowal.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on November 25, 2020

Do Spiritual People Tend to Be Calmer?

Calmness and harmony, as they are usually understood, are actually not good states for a person advancing spiritually. Although the ultimate purpose of creation leads toward harmony, for a person who is already directed toward the higher goal, a state of calmness can evoke an inner aversion. They cannot tolerate stagnation. Therefore, if we wish to spiritually advance, we should not strive for calmness as a goal in itself.

A person must pass through many different states. But the correct aspiration is not toward rest, not toward inner peace as stillness, but toward proper movement toward the goal of creation, a state of adhesion with the upper force of love, bestowal, and connection that created and sustains all life. Such movement constantly renews itself, gives rise to new sensations, and brings ever-deeper fulfillment. Life, in the spiritual sense, is not calm; it is dynamic.

At the same time, the upper force of nature, a force of absolute love and bestowal, is indeed in a state of complete rest. But this rest has nothing to do with inertia or passivity. The upper force is unchanging. It relates to everyone with constant infinite love. In physics, a body that moves in a uniform, straight line—without acceleration or alteration—is considered to be at rest, because no force acts upon it to change its state. This is what is meant by rest in spirituality.

Kabbalists, however, are in the opposite situation. They must constantly change and advance, become filled, and then increase their inner acceleration. Therefore, they do not need rest. In Kabbalah, movement without acceleration is not considered movement at all. A person can come to Kabbalah lessons every day, perform the same actions year after year, and yet make no spiritual progress.

Progress exists only where there is acceleration, i.e., where we constantly push ourselves to renew intention, deepen connection, and increase the speed of our inner development. That is what we must strive for, not calmness, but continuous, accelerating movement toward the life’s final goal: a state of equivalence of form with the upper force of love and bestowal.

Based on the Virtual Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on January 14, 2018.

The Power of Turning to Hashem

Practical guidance for all of us chosen to witness and transform these final moments of galus darkness.

In moments of darkness, you do not need clarity, strength, or answers.

Simply remembering Hashem in the darkness

and turning to Him with what feels overwhelming

is already a great spiritual avodah.

That turning itself matters.

That reaching out itself counts.

That moment of trust alone already brings light into the world.

קָרוֹב ה׳ לְכָל־קֹרְאָיו לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָאֻהוּ בֶאֱמֶת

“Hashem is close to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him with a sincere heart.”

(Tehillim 145:18)

If you’re alive,

you are not too late.

You are not too far.

Turning to Him right now is the best next move you can make.

Tell Him simply:

“Abba… You see what I’m going through.

I don’t have the words, the strength, or the clarity right now.

But I am turning to You.

Please hold me, guide me, and carry me through this.

I place myself, and this moment, in Your Hands.”

Turning to Him is already enough.

Whatever comes next will come from hands that love you.

💡 Today’s Tanya | One Powerful Takeaway

Nothing actually changed when the world was created.

What changed was us.

From Hashem’s perspective,

His unity is exactly as it always was.

Creation is still fully within Him,

utterly dependent and continuously sustained.

The feeling of separation exists only because Divine light is concealed from us and for our sake,

so we can exist, choose, and return willingly.

What feels distant is still being held.

What feels separate was never apart.