The Emuna Potato

I want to share my small miracle with you, because I want you to be strengthened, and grow in your emuna! 

It all started when I was grating potatoes to make a traditional Shabbat dish, potato kugel, and as I was working, I said, “for the honor of Shabbat!”  This automatically elevated my ordinary potatoes to the status of holy!  Suddenly I realized that I was one potato short!  My first thought was, “Oh, no!  You were just at the market!  Couldn’t you have thought out your list better?”..then suddenly , I reached for that big red button in my thoughts, the kind of button they used to have on the old game shows, and I pushed it fast!  I call it the “null and void” button, and you must push it really fast to beat the other contestant, the Evil Inclination, and remove the negative thought from your mind!  I hit that button, alright!  It made a loud buzz in my head! 

I then made a conscious effort to have the emuna that Hashem wanted me to have the potato I needed! I starting thanking Hashem for the potato I needed! I had no doubts- I was 100% sure that Hashem wanted to give me that potato!  I kept saying “thank You Hashem, Thank You Hashem”, and I was smiling, really smiling, as I thanked Him! I looked in the bin where I keep potatoes, and I did not see any stray ones- did I give up hope?  NO WAY!  My emuna got even stronger! I giggled a bit, and said, “Thank you Hashem, thank you so much for my potato!!”  I looked in the bottom bin, although the potatoes are never stored there- and there it was!…the most beautiful , fat, smiling potato, just waiting to become a part of my holy Shabbat kugel!!!!!

You could call it a small miracle, a silly miracle, but, as Rabbi Arush teaches us in the GEM, “Believe in Your Power”, we must know that when we pray, we are not praying to try to convince Hashem to give, we are praying, to create the vessel for Him to fill, as HE ALREADY WANTS TO GIVE!!!  Hashem wanted me to have that potato I needed!  He wanted my family to enjoy potato kugel on Shabbat!

Rabbi Arush explains further, that a person who does not believe in himself, cannot believe in Hashem. Hashem can do anything, and so can everyone!  Hashem wants you to succeed!  It is His power that you are using, anyway!  If you don’t believe that you can, then in fact, you are saying that you don’t believe Hashem can! By believing that there was a potato in my bin, I strengthened my connection and belief in Hashem!  I strengthened the knowledge that Hashem loves me so much, and He wants to give me everything! 

It is important to clarify that you must believe that what you are doing, what you want to accomplish, is Hashem’s will!  When you believe that, you will succeed! I know that Hashem wanted me to be able to prepare the foods that my children love on Shabbat…. No room for doubt- I was with Hashem , and He was with me! 

Now I want to share what I call the fundamentals of emuna thinking. It is all based on choosing your thoughts…..so simple, right? Rabbi Nachman explains that we can only have one thought at a time, and we can actually pick it!  Rabbi Nachman also explains that our imagination is ruled by the Evil Inclination…not so simple!!!  We sell a book on our website, called “It’s All in your Mind”, by Rav Ovadia Yosef”s (May his memory be for a Blessing) daughter in law, Sara Yosef.   She explains that the Gemara teaches “The way a person wants to go, is the way in which he is led”.  The Maharsha explains that we are led by the angels, or spiritual forces, that we ourselves create with our very own thoughts, words, and actions!  We create good angels with good thoughts, words, and actions, and we create bad angels with negative thoughts, words, and actions!  Hashem has allowed us to have so much more to do with the direction of our lives than we might have realized!!!  This is where that big red game show button comes in.  Every time a negative thought comes to mind- hit the big red button!  Say out loud, “This thought is null and void!”.  This is how we prevent our brain from accepting the negative thought!   Next, you must try to come up with a positive replacement thought!

It is a lifetime of work, but we must rely on Hashem’s infinite mercy and kindness, to help us develop this powerful spiritual tool.  I believe in you!