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Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

Rabbi David Ashear

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The Hidden Hand Behind Every Detail

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/03/02

Hashem's Name is not mentioned even once in the Megillah, yet He is involved in every last detail of it. Hashem, who has the past, present, and future revealed before Him at all times, orchestrates events long before they are needed so that His plan can ultimately come to fruition. The fact that the palace of Achashverosh was relocated to a small city called Shushan Habirah was itself a tremendous hidden miracle. That is where Mordechai lived, and that is where the salvation of the Jewish people was

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Without The Feeling

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/27

The pasuk says that Amalek attacked the Jewish People when they were in רפידים and Chazal tell us the reason Amalek was able to attack was because רפו ידיהם מן התורה – the Jewish People became weakened in Torah. Rabbi Menashe Reizman quoted from the Shem M'Shmuel who said in the name of his father the Avnei Nezer that Amelek attacked around the 29 th day of Iyar, just about a week before the Jewish People received the Torah on Har Sinai. At that time, they were counting Sefirat HaOmer , they knew

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Seeing the Hidden Miracle — The Lesson of Purim

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/26

There is a fundamental difference between the miracle of Purim and the miracles of the other holidays. On the other holidays, the salvation came through open miracles. The rules of nature were overturned for all to see — the sea split, enemies fell, and the hand of Hashem was revealed in a way no one could deny. Purim, however, was very different. Everything unfolded through what appeared to be the natural course of events. Only someone who studies the entire chain of occurrences over those nine

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The Gift Hidden Inside the Opportunity

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/25

The Zohar HaKadosh (Vayikra ק״ד ) teaches that because Hashem is so loving and merciful, when a harsh decree hangs over a person, Hashem sends him a precious gift that can help annul it. That gift often comes in the form of a mitzvah opportunity. The example the Zohar gives is when a poor person comes asking for charity. If the person seizes the opportunity and gives with generosity and a good heart, he draws upon himself a special protection that can ward off the decree. The Midrash in Vayikra

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Words That Give Strength

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/24

There are times in life when a person's struggle is not only the difficulty he is facing, but the loneliness he feels while going through it. A person may believe in Hashem his entire life. He knows the teachings of emunah. He knows that Hashem runs the world — yet inside he is still shaking. Not because he stopped believing, but because the burden feels too heavy to carry alone. At such times, a few words of chizuk can give a person tremendous strength. A man once told me he had been going through

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Created for Eternal Delight

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/23

Our rabbis teach that we were created to perform a mission in this world so that we may enjoy the eternal bliss of the next. The task we are given is to serve Hashem from the exact place and circumstances in which He puts us. Every person receives a different life and a different set of conditions. If he fulfills the role Hashem sent him here to perform within those conditions, he will merit the delights of the World to Come. The Gemara teaches that no human eye has ever seen what the World to Come

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Making a Place for Hashem — Parashat Terumah

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/20

The pasuk says in this week's Parashat Terumah, וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם Hashem commanded the Jewish people to make a Mishkan so that He could rest His Presence among them. Obviously, the Presence of Hashem cannot be contained in a physical building. Perhaps one of the lessons we can learn from here is that if we make a place for Hashem to come into our lives, He will reveal His Presence to us in ways that can transcend nature. How do we make that place? By believing in His

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The Kindness of Trust

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/19

The pasuk tells us that Hashem will always remember the kindness we did for Him when we left Mitzrayim. What was that kindness? לֶכְתֵּךְ אַחֲרַי בַּמִּדְבָּר בְּאֶרֶץ לֹא זְרוּעָה — we followed Hashem into a desert, into a land with no vegetation. In an extraordinary display of bitachon, the Jewish people went with their families, even their young children, into a place where, in the natural order of the world, they could have died of starvation. Yet they trusted fully that Hashem would provide for

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Don’t Forget the Greatest Hishtadlut

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/18

The Gemara says that one of the things that constantly needs chizuk is tefillah. We know in the back of our minds how great tefillah is, but when it is not at the forefront, we may unwittingly fail to take full advantage of it. In Pressburg, where the Ketav Sofer served as the rabbi, a non-Jewish worker once stole the wallet of the head of the city in broad daylight. The official was so outraged that he ordered the entire police force to focus on finding the thief. The worker hid the wallet in the

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The Hidden Greatness of a Difficult Life

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/17

As mentioned previously, one of the reasons Hashem may give a person suffering in this world is to save him from something far worse. Sometimes a person endures such hardship that he cannot imagine anything being worse. It is important to remember that there are endless reasons why a person may have to suffer, even if he is completely righteous. The Chovot HaLevavot in Shaar HaBitachon lists several possibilities and then cautions that we will never be able to determine why any individual is

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Accepting the Pain That Saves Us

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/16

When a person experiences any kind of suffering, he must understand that it comes only from the great love that Hashem has for him. The Tanach as well as Chazal are filled with statements attesting to this truth. When a person internalizes this and wholeheartedly accepts that Hashem is actually helping him when he has a difficulty, it is a wondrous expression of emunah, which is heavily rewarded in the next world. We must remind ourselves of this again and again, because when a person is hurting, he

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Mishpatim: Verapoh Yerapeh — The True Healer

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/13

The pasuk says in this week's parashah Mishpatim, regarding one who injures another, וְרַפֹּא יְרַפֵּא — verapoh yerapeh. Chazal learn from those words that a doctor was given permission to heal. The Gemara explains that one might have thought that since illness comes from Hashem, perhaps people do not have the right to intervene. The Torah therefore explicitly grants permission. The Torah uses a double expression — verapoh yerapeh. One explanation is that although the visible healer may be the

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When Mercy Is Hidden but Never Absent

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/12

There are people who have to face overwhelming challenges in life. A potentially fatal illness that turns their world upside down. Suddenly, the entire focus of their lives changes. What was once taken for granted is now put into question. Some people have to endure great difficulties when it comes to shidduchim. Rejection, disappointment, and loneliness are just some of the issues they have to confront. Others face the test of infertility. Their dream of raising a family is thrown into doubt, and

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Trust That Grows With Time

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/11

There are people who do the right thing, making a difficult decision guided by the Torah, fully expecting to one day see the good that will come from it. Yet sometimes, not only do they fail to see any immediate benefit, but with time it can even appear as though the decision was a mistake. Years pass, and from our limited vantage point it may look as if the person actually lost by doing what Hashem wanted. But Hashem does not test a person only for a week, a month, or even a year. At times, tests

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The Zechut of Real Bitachon

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/10

When people are in need of a yeshuah and are looking to gain extra zechuyot, they naturally want to know what they can do to earn them. In general, every person knows his own shortcomings, and correcting something that a person is doing wrong is itself a great zechut. In addition, strengthening the belief that Hashem alone is in charge of giving a person what he needs is also a tremendous zechut. The pasuk says, ברוך הגבר אשר יבטח בה׳ והיה ה׳ מבטחו — "Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, and

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Trusting Hashem Where It Matters Most

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/08

The Chovot HaLevavot writes that one of the reasons Hashem created us with the need to eat and drink, and with the need to earn a livelihood to provide for all of our other needs, is because we must pass tests in this world in order to gain Olam Haba. The wisdom of Hashem saw that tests in these areas would reveal whether we are truly servants of Hashem, because these needs are so vital to our very existence and therefore feel so critical in our eyes. Hashem wants us to make efforts in these areas

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The Power of a Simple Word of Praise

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/06

Living Emunah 2891 The Power of a Simple Word of Praise When Yitro heard about how Hashem saved the Jewish people from Mitzrayim, he immediately exclaimed, "Baruch Hashem asher hitzil etchem." Baruch Hashem for saving you. As the pasuk says: וַיֹּאמֶר יִתְרוֹ בָּרוּךְ ה' אֲשֶׁר הִצִּיל אֶתְכֶם מִיַּד מִצְרַיִם וּמִיַּד פַּרְעֹה The Gemara says that the Jewish people were held accountable for not saying "Baruch Hashem" before Yitro did. Although they did sing the Az Yashir, the Be'er Yosef explains

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Salvation Is Always Within Reach

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/05

It is so comforting to know that no matter what situation we are going through, help is always possible. There is nothing beyond Hashem, and salvation can always come in the blink of an eye. Sometimes what is needed is deeper, more heartfelt prayer. Sometimes what is needed is a heroic act. And sometimes it is a combination of both. We do not know what else we need to do to be zocheh to the yeshuah we are waiting for, but Hashem knows. And we are able to ask Him to please place before us the

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Perfect Timing

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/04

Sometimes the salvation of Hashem comes right away, and sometimes the salvation comes at the very last possible moment. A situation may look like it has reached its breaking point. Every option appears exhausted. Every door seems firmly shut. And then, at the last possible second, the salvation arrives. Both kinds of salvations are exhilarating. Hashem is never late when He waits, and He is never random when He acts suddenly. Each form of salvation is perfectly calculated according to the needs of

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Wherever We Are Living

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/02/03

Chazal tell us in Masechet Kallah Rabati that a Heavenly voice proclaims בית של פלוני לפלוני , which means the house that each person is destined to live in is min haShamayim , just like a person's spouse. Sometimes a person tries very hard to buy a certain house or live in a certain location, but things just don't seem to work out for him. It is because min haShamayim that is not the place he is supposed to live. Sometimes a person discovers suddenly that he has to leave his current residence. That

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Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

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