The Daat Com Revolution

In Setback or Salvation, I retold the story about a Russian secular Jewish woman who was married to a creep. She developed a connection with a rabbi who was teaching Torah underground, as it was against the law in communist Russia. Eventually, the rabbi and the woman both moved to Israel separately, and the woman grew in her Torah observance.

When she felt ready to marry, she discovered that she would need to obtain a get (bill of Jewish divorce.) This was impossible, as she had left her husband in secret, and neither knew of the other’s whereabouts. Her rabbi decided to go to Russia to track him down.

Upon entering Russia, he was arrested and placed in jail. In the end, his cellmate turned out to be the husband of the woman, the man he came to Russia to find! The rabbi got the get, and shortly after was released and returned to Israel.

This story is truly astounding. Not only is it miraculous from beginning to end, and full of incredible Divine providence, but it is also an exemplary lesson in simple and complete emuna.

When the rabbi was thrown in jail, he certainly could have despaired. Like most normal people out there, he could have viewed this incidence as a serious obstacle, especially considering that the Russian judicial system isn’t exactly a fair one. There’s no “innocent until proven guilty” in communist Russia.

What we need to figure out is: how did this rabbi manage to get such strong emuna and bitachon? To be clear, emuna is the faith that everything Hashem does is for your ultimate best. Bitachon is the trust that you have in Hashem when you don’t understand what He’s doing, or why.

It’s not necessarily the fact that the rabbi was religious. We know tons of people (including myself) that suffer from a severe shortage of emuna when the slightest thing goes against our desires. It’s also not the fact that the rabbi was learned. Obviously, he had to be a very wise man in order to be in charge of the Jewish underground, giving Torah classes, performing weddings, circumcisions, etc., and being the leader of the Jewish community in his area. We also know too many Jews who can recite the entire Talmud backward and forward, yet they are still far from serenity when things go wrong.

So, what was it? What gave this rabbi the strength to realize that him being thrown in jail was not a setback?

In one word, daat. In two words, spiritual awareness. Rav Lazer Brody explains in The Trail to Tranquility that spiritual awareness is what helps us maintain a clear head when we encounter tests in life. It is daat that keeps us from losing our cool and falling into a pit of frustration, anger, and despair.

Daat is the secret to emuna and bitachon!

So how can we get some o’ daat? Elementary, my dears!

We must have gratitude in order to increase our daat! Gratitude is the secret of life! If we are always thanking Hashem for everything in our lives, then when things don’t go the way we would like them to, we will also thank Hashem during those times as well. The repeated exercise of thanking Hashem is the key to internalizing gratitude and increasing our spiritual awareness!

Growing your daat is like growing your muscles. You’ve got to work hard at it and be consistent. Neither your muscles nor your daat will grow if you’re sitting around stuffing your face with noodle kugel, like I’ve been doing all morning. So much for my carb-free diet. Tomorrow, I’m back on. Tomorrow.

There is also another way to increase your spiritual awareness. Since you’re reading this article, it means that you’ve had some exposure to emuna and gratitude. Many people can say that it has improved their lives in drastic ways, and there are those who can say that this knowledge has literally saved their lives.

The secret to keeping the blessings that you have and to receiving more blessings is to share what you were given. That means we all need to do our part and share the wisdom of emuna with others! Let’s call it the Daat Com Revolution!

All the Jewish sources say that the Redemption will come by way of emuna. Each one of us must do our part to bring about the Redemption with mercy. There are millions of people who are struggling, suffering, looking for answers, but don’t know where to find them. That’s where we come in.

Contact staff@breslev.co.il  or go online and order some books from the Gems series, like the pocket sized “Pearls of Gratitude.” Just hand them out! Give them to friends, family, and strangers! Give them to your worst enemy! If you’re embarrassed to do that, donate to Emuna Outreach and we’ll distribute them for you! Imagine what a change you can make in someone’s life for just a few dollars. Then imagine the satisfaction your soul will receive in being the root cause of that change.

Now’s the time! Don’t wait until the Mashiach is already here. It could be any day now! May we all merit to be a part of this amazing spiritual revolution, and may Hashem give each of us every blessing our heart’s desire, Amen!