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Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

Rabbi David Ashear

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Parashat Va’era: The Lesson of the Makkot

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/01/16

In this week's parasha, Va'era , we read about seven of the makot which Hashem brought upon the Mitzrim . The Ramban says one of the lessons we are supposed to learn from the makot is that in the same way it was obvious that Hashem was behind those open miracles, it's also supposed to be obvious that Hashem is controlling the world through nature as well. If a person's roof is leaking, it is Hashem who caused it to happen. If a person's car got dented, it was Hashem who made it happen. If a person

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Our Job

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/01/15

Our parnasa is only b'yad Hashem, nobody can take away money that Hashem wants us to have. הרבה שלוחים למקום – Hashem has many ways of giving us parnasa . Our job is to deal in business the way Hashem wants us to – honestly, keeping our word, and being upright. He decides how much we make and where it comes from and we do our part by doing business according to halacha . A man we'll call Yosef told me, he started listening to emunah classes a couple of years ago and he has become a completely

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Parashat Shemot

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/01/09

The pasuk says in this week's parashat Shemot, וַתֵּתַצַּב אֲחֹתוֹ מֵרָחֹק לְדֵעָה מַה־יֵּעָשֶׂה -לוֹ Simply, this refers to Miriam, Moshe's older sister, who was standing by watching what would happen to him when he was put into the Nile River. Rabbi Menashe Reizman quoted the Midrash which explains that this pasuk is referring to the Shechinah, standing there watching from afar. The Midrash proves from other pesukim how every word in that pasuk is a reference to the Shechinah. The Maharsha,

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The Endless Power of Being Mezakeh the Rabim

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/01/08

Besides for the eternal merits that mitzvot give us, there are also segulot within them that bring blessing in this world as well. When someone is in need of a yeshua, one of the greatest approaches is to become extra careful with a specific mitzvah to increase his merits through it. The Chovot HaLevavot, in Shaar Ahavat Hashem, writes that when a person helps others grow in Torah and mitzvot, his merits become endless, because they are multiplied according to the merits of all those he helped

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A Test That Opens the Gates of Greatness

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/01/06

There are moments in a person's life when Hashem is calling upon him to elevate himself to true greatness. At times, Hashem will give a person an extremely difficult test, one that requires him to summon every ounce of inner strength to withstand it. Some people fail the test and never realize the tremendous potential that lay within them. Others seize the moment, rise to the challenge, and are catapulted to heights they could never have reached otherwise. The sefer Even Sapir brings a powerful

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Yeshuat Hashem כְּהֶרֶף עַיִן

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/01/05

When a person has been waiting for a shidduch, or for parnassah, or for refu'ah shelema, the hardest part is not the difficulty itself, but the fear that maybe it will never come. Years have passed, doors seem to be closed, and the person begins to think: if nothing has happened yet, who says it ever will? That way of thinking might make sense if Hashem needed time to gradually bring a salvation. But we know that Hashem brings the yeshu'ah כְּהֶרֶף עַיִן , in the blink of an eye. An older single may

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When Hashem Closes Our Eyes to Lead Us

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/01/02

This week's parashah, Vayechi, is known as a parashah setumah —a closed parashah—because there is no space in the Torah between the end of Vayigash and the beginning of Vayechi. Rashi explains that one reason for this is that the eyes and hearts of the Jewish people became "closed" when Yaakov Avinu passed away, from the pain and pressure of the bondage. The mefarshim ask a powerful question. Rashi himself writes elsewhere that the actual slavery in Mitzrayim did not begin until after the last of

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The Power of Gratitude That Opens All Blessings

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2026/01/01

One of the ways we bring down all the segulot that come from Birkat HaMazon is by saying it with true feelings of hakarat tov. When a person feels genuine appreciation, the power of his words becomes infinitely greater. When Rabbi Aharon of Belz was younger, he used to stay by a certain butcher. The butcher took such good care of the Rabbi, fulfilling his every request with great joy. Years later, the butcher's daughter suddenly became gravely ill, and the doctors were losing hope. Messages were

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The Greatest Opportunity Hidden in Difficulty

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2025/12/31

If a person is going through difficulties, the natural reaction is to ask, "Why me? What did I do to deserve this?" He then feels bad about the situation and remains in that state until it goes away. However, if he reacts that way, he is losing out on a golden opportunity. The purpose of this world is to utilize every circumstance that Hashem places a person into to its fullest, and thereby gain eternal life. The Chafetz Chaim writes that the main goodness a person will receive in the future depends

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Asarah B’Tevet: A Place for Hashem to Rest

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2025/12/30

On Asarah B'Tevet Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Yerushalayim, the beginning of the process that eventually led to the destruction of the First Beit HaMikdash. On this fast day, part of our avodah is introspection—looking inward and correcting the very issues that caused that destruction in the first place. The Gemara in Masechet Yoma teaches that the First Beit HaMikdash was destroyed because the people were steeped in the three cardinal aveirot. Yet the Gemara in Masechet Nedarim tells us something

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No One Ever Gets Away With Anything

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2025/12/29

If a man is betrayed by someone he trusted, the pain can be overwhelming. Imagine he is told about a great business opportunity, and with complete trust he invests most of his life savings. Later, he discovers that it was all a lie. He was cheated. The money is gone, with no way to recover it. Beyond the financial loss, the deeper pain sets in. How could such injustice take place? It seems as if the thieves live happily ever after, while the innocent, unassuming person is left to suffer for nothing

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Parashat Vayigash: Our Time to Shine

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2025/12/26

A baal emunah is able to stay calm and composed no matter what type of adversity he is facing. The reason is because he knows for a fact that Hashem was the cause of it, and it is for his best. This attitude is much harder to have when it appears that he is in the difficult position due to other people. There, the yetzer hara tries to convince him that if it wasn't for that other person, he would not be in the position that he is in now. Yosef HaTzaddik, who was a master ma'amin, exemplified the

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Who Are We Really Trying to Please?

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2025/12/25

There was a man who prided himself on being extremely careful with a particular stringency in halachah. One morning, he realized that in order to keep that stringency exactly the way he wanted, he would have to compromise in another area of halachah. At first, he hesitated. Something didn't sit right. But then he reassured himself that what he was doing was correct and well-intentioned. Later that day, he related what he had done to a rabbi. The rabbi listened carefully and then asked him a simple

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Speaking to the Sender, Not the Messengers

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2025/12/24

When a person is in need of a yeshuah, whether big or small, he must remember one simple truth: Hashem can bring it in an instant, and He has unlimited ways of doing so. Our job is not to pressure the messengers, argue with the intermediaries, or become consumed with how it will happen. Our job is to speak to the Sender. Very often, it is our spiritual hishtadlut that opens doors that once seemed firmly locked. A man related that he was part of a kollel with several learning tracks. Each track had a

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Internalizing the Miracle

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2025/12/22

Rabbi Menashe Reizman shared a beautiful idea from the Or HaChaim that we can take with us as the days of Chanukah come to an end. One of the central components of lighting the Nerot Chanukah is pirsumei nisa—publicizing the miracle. But this raises a question. The miracle that the oil lasted for eight days is common knowledge among Jews. Why, then, is there such an emphasis on publicizing it? Usually, the need to publicize something is when the message is not yet well known. The Ramban, at the end

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The Perfect Measure of Hishtadlut

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2025/12/19

Living Emunah 2867 The Perfect Measure of Hishtadlut The Midrash at the beginning of this week's parashah says: אַשְׁרֵי הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר שָׂם ה' מִבְטַחוֹ "Fortunate is the man who places his trust in Hashem." This refers to Yosef, who wholeheartedly trusted in Hashem. The Midrash continues: וְלֹא פָנָה אֶל רְהָבִים — "and he did not turn to the arrogant," which also refers to Yosef, who did not rely on the Sar HaMashkim for help when he was in jail. Yet it also says that because Yosef told the Sar

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Giving Honor Where Honor Truly Belongs

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2025/12/18

In Parashat Vayera, the angels told Lot, מַשְׁחִיתִים אֲנַחְנוּ אֶת הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה — "We are going to destroy this city." And then in the very same pasuk they said, וַיְשַׁלְּחֵנוּ ה' לְשַׁחֲתָהּ — "Hashem sent us to destroy it." At first glance it sounds repetitive. Rabbeinu Bachya explains that the angels initially made a serious mistake. They were supposed to say that Hashem was destroying the city, but instead they said they were going to do it. They were taking credit for something that was

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A Moment That Changes a Lifetime

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2025/12/16

When the Chashmonaim entered the Beit HaMikdash, they had every reason to despair. It was in shambles, and it seemed like all of the oil had already been defiled. And then, one moment of extra effort changed history. They discovered one jug of pure oil. That single moment of discovery brought about eight days of light, which in turn produced thousands of years of spiritual illumination for Am Yisrael. Furthermore, they knew they had only enough oil for one day. They could have easily said, what is

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The Light That Endures Through the Darkness

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2025/12/15

As we mourn the tragic loss of sixteen pure neshamot who were killed in Sydney, Australia, we are reminded once again that in every generation they rise up against us. We are reminded that we are still in galut, yearning for the coming of the Mashiach, when we will no longer experience terror or sadness. Those who were murdered al kidush Hashem are now in the highest realms of Gan Eden, basking in the radiance of the Shechinah. Their friends and families, however, are left reeling from the tragedy,

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Tests that Open the Gates of Blessing

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear ·

2025/12/11

There are times when Hashem wants to bestow a blessing upon a person, but in order to do so, the person first needs to acquire extra merits. Therefore, Hashem sends him a test in the very area in which He wants to bless him. By overcoming that test, the person earns far more than anything he would gain by failing it and taking the immediate, fleeting benefit. A rabbi told me that one of his congregants recently received a paycheck that was two thousand dollars more than it was supposed to be. At

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