Emuna and Emotions

Emuna is the foundation of emotional health. This chapter delves into the connection between emuna and emotions to illustrate the critical role that emuna plays in our everyday lives and in our general well-being.

 

 

 

Sadness is an emotion that directly results from the lack of emuna.

 

An important principle of emuna teaches that HaShem bestows His personal Divine Providence on each creation. HaShem provides each human – His most sophisticated creation – with a unique set of conditions that enable each individual to develop faith and to get to know Him. HaShem tailors each set of conditions to each person; usually, a problem or deficiency is the catalyst designed to stimulate a person’s spiritual development. Some people are afflicted with physical ailments while others suffer financial problems. Some people have grief from their children while others encounter marital difficulties. These tribulations motivate a person to seek HaShem; without them, he or she might never raise their voice in prayer.

 

With emuna, a person never falls into a state of sadness or despair, for emuna teaches that HaShem does everything for our ultimate benefit. As such, one’s difficulties in life are all for the best, to bring a person closer to HaShem. But, without emuna, life presents plenty of reasons to be sad and depressed. Since a state of deficiency and imperfection are ingrained in creation, life is never exactly how we want it to be. Without emuna, a person is liable to be disappointed and saddened dozens of times every day, as soon as things don’t go his or her way.

 

A soldier in an elite unit or a champion athlete uses the rigors of arduous training as a growth opportunity to attain excellence in his or her respective endeavor. A candidate for the Olympic boxing team doesn’t cry when he gets punched in practice; on the contrary, he uses his pain as a learning opportunity to better his performance. In like manner, the person with emuna isn’t saddened by life’s difficulties; he or she uses them as springboards for spiritual growth.

 

As soon as individuals without emuna don’t get their own way, they start blaming themselves or those in their proximity. They fall into sadness. Even if they have a general belief in HaShem, they accuse Him of torturing or persecuting them for no reason.

 

With the spiritual awareness that life’s difficulties are HaShem’s way of bringing a person close to Him; he or she would never fall into a state of sadness or despair. They’d utilize their situation for prayer and teshuva, ultimately getting closer to HaShem and rising above their difficulties.

 

Trials and tribulations make ideal spiritual vessels for getting close to HaShem. They resemble fire – when properly contained and harnessed, fire is a marvelous source of energy that does wonders such as cooking, heating, and healing. Likewise, trials and tribulations provide the spiritual energy that can propel a person closer to HaShem.

 

There’s no comparison between the emotional and spiritual strength of a person that has achieved proximity to HaShem by way of trials and tribulations and a person that’s been accustomed to an easy life. Whereas the former enjoys strong spiritual and emotional inoculation and can successfully weather the most trying situations, the latter succumbs to stress and anxiety at the slightest hardship. That’s why the drug companies are doing billions of dollars of business in the environment of a spoiled generation that lacks emuna.

 

 

Let’s take our train of thought one step further: Sometimes, a person suffers from a bad habit or a lustful drive that’s a direct hindrance in serving HaShem and getting close to Him. In such a case, one has an apparent "right" to be sad. He or she asks, "How can I be happy when I have this craving for certain things that are directly against HaShem’s Will?" One person feels compelled to smoke a cigarette on Shabbat while another craves cheeseburgers. They feel sad and guilty that they can’t overcome their lusts and bodily urges.

 

Here’s news: HaShem made them crave cheeseburgers, cigarettes on Shabbat, or whatever else their body hungers after. Emuna teaches that physical appetites – like everything else in life – come from HaShem. HaShem instills a particular lust or bodily drive in a person to direct that person to his or her needed soul correction. For example, if in a previous life a person failed to observe the commandment to refrain from cooking, eating, or enjoying milk and meat in any way, then in this reincarnation, he or she might be instilled with a strong drive to eat cheeseburgers. Why? Overcoming the drive to eat cheeseburgers – or any other combination of milk and meat – is the very mission of their soul on earth. With emuna, they’re happy for the opportunity to correct that previous mistake!

 

HaShem gives us our faults, drives, and bad habits for our own good, to facilitate the correction of our souls. This is ample reason for rejoicing, not sadness!

 

If a person maintains composure, prays, and performs regular soul-searching, he or she will discover that their apparent deficiencies are not deficiencies at all, but catalysts for personal growth and correction. Without emuna, life’s difficulties and personal flaws are reasons for disorientation and despair. When a person is sad, he or she won’t accomplish anything, much less achieve a soul correction. Only emuna can save them from sadness and despair.

 

 

When we look at the Torah and the glorious annals of the Jewish People, we see how our history’s leading personalities suffered from seemingly insurmountable disadvantages.

 

Moshe (Moses) stuttered and grew up in the house of a non-Jew – Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Moshe never received a formal Jewish education, yet he became the holiest of prophets of all time and HaShem’s chosen messenger to lead the Jewish People out of Egypt.

 

Shimshon (Samson) was lame, yet he became one of history’s mightiest men who cast fear in the hearts of his enemies, even after his death!

 

Dovid HaMelech (King David) was an outcast; his own father and brothers thought that he was an illegitimate child. He was also short. Yet, he overcame the giant Goliath. He was also chosen to replace Shaul HaMelech (King Saul) – a man of perfect attributes – as the king of Israel and HaShem’s anointed.

 

A weak and insignificant woman – Yael, the wife of Hever the Kinnite – saved Israel from the hand of the mighty Sisera.

 

The Maggid of Mezeritch was lame in both legs, yet he became the tzaddik of his generation and the successor of the holy Baal Shem Tov.

 

Abaye – the Talmudic Sage whose name is written on almost every page of the Gemora – was an orphan. His father died before he was born and his mother died in childbirth. Such dire disadvantage didn’t prevent him from becoming one of Israel’s leading wise men of all time.

 

The continuation of the above list is long and exhaustive. Few are the silver-spoon success stories in Jewish history.

 

The above examples teach us that personal disadvantages do not hamper a person’s level of achievement; on the contrary, those who have overcome difficulties have developed a stronger capability to cope and to ultimately realize more of their potential. This concept is clearly understood when we look at a weightlifter – his muscles are the product of extensive exposure to stress and exertion.

 

On a spiritual plane, a person with disadvantages is humble. He or she must appeal to HaShem for assistance in order to overcome their relative disadvantage. By including HaShem in their lives, they make much greater progress than the non-disadvantaged who don’t include HaShem in their lives. As such, the disadvantage is actually an advantage, because it serves as a catalyst to bring a person closer to HaShem.

 

To be continued…