How To Build Your Emunah Muscles (5 minutes)

0:00most issues that people have today are people who do believe, or at least are trying to, are issues of Emunah (faith). And Emunah is a very, very difficult thing to have during rough times, during tough times, especially when you don't work on it every day. Emunah is not something that comes naturally to someone. It's very easy for someone to say, that I have emunah in Hashem when things are good. It's very easy to say that, you know, listen, someone's making money, someone has a good relationship, kids are growing up well, everything is great. It's very easy to say that you have emunah in Hashem during good times. The real test of emunah is during difficult times. And that's the problem that most people have, and that's really the test. You know, it's no big deal to say that you have full emunah in Hashem if everything is great. It's a big deal to say you have emunah in Hashem when things are not good. Are you still going to keep the faith? Are you still going to go and pray every day three times a day? Are you still going to do tefillin? Are you still going to eat kosher? Are you still going to not work on Shabbat? Even though there's a potential for a very big deal on Shabbat,

1:22And you don't know if there's any other way for you to pay the rent or the mortgage without having that deal. That's when you know that there's a test of emunah. And that's when you know that Hashem is specifically testing you to see if you think that what you're doing is within your own powers, in your own hands, or it's in His hands. And the problem today is that most people fail the test, not because... They want to fail the test, but because of a lack of knowledge and a lack of emunah (faith) muscles, meaning that if you work on your emunah on a regular basis, then obviously over time, when the time comes for you to be tested, you'll be prepared. Just like if someone trains every day for war, and little by little in the army, they get better and better, and eventually when there's the real war, they're ready for the war. However, someone sitting passively in the back, hiding from the challenges, may only engage sporadically, perhaps trading once a week, without true engagement or growth. When the inevitable challenges or 'wars' arrive, it's often that person who suffers most. This is why, before battle, David HaMelech reminded his soldiers that fear was disqualifying. Without proper spiritual preparation, one is vulnerable when confronted with life's inevitable tests. But someone is just sitting in the back, you know, hiding from it. Maybe he's only training once a week. And then eventually, the war comes. It's usually that person who gets hurt the most. It's usually that person who runs away from battle. And that's actually why David HaMelech used to tell all of his soldiers before they went to war that if anyone had any fear, they weren't allowed to go to battle.

2:47Even if he had fear, fear of the enemy. Now, he had to go to battle. Why? I thought that he's worried about that particular person having fear. You know, in today's age, people would say, "No, do like what any football coach would do. Just encourage the guy and tell him, 'Listen, you know, don't worry, everything's going to be fine. Play hard.'" And that's what logic will tell us. But David HaMelech knew something a little bit different. David HaMelech knew that this is not a game. And he knew that if that soldier has 1% less emunah than he needs to, then it's not just his life that he's risking, he's risking everybody else's life. Because one soldier getting hurt leads to other soldiers getting hurt and so on. So having emunah is something that's very critical for us to have on a daily basis. And the way you develop it on a daily basis is by listening to Shiurei Torah, by praying, and really getting to a point where you're praying with full kavanah. 1% less emunah than he needs to, then it's not just his life that he's risking; he's risking everybody else's life. Because one soldier getting hurt leads to other soldiers getting hurt, and so on. So having emunah is something that's very critical for us to have on a daily basis. And the way you develop it on a daily basis is by listening to shiurei Torah, by praying, and really getting to a point where you're praying with full kavanah.

3:47There's actually a story that I heard about the previous generation. Something really amazing. I mean, it's mamash aleinu. It's just really, I wish for something like that to happen to us on a regular basis. There was one time, there was this one righteous man who was telling a story about his grandfather. And he says, you know, my grandfather, when he was alive, we would have to change his siddur every three months. Three months. Well, you change the Siddur. The Siddur gets worn out every three months. What's wrong with the Siddur every three months? Because now you don't understand. Every three months, all of us, me and my brothers, all of the kids, would have to change the Siddur because after three months, there were so many tears on that Siddur from every one of his tefillot that it wasn't even readable anymore. So, imagine the type of prayer. This is just the previous generation. This is not 500 years ago. This is, let's say, in the last 100 years. This is someone who, every time he's praying, is praying with full kavanah, with full emunah, and he truly believes that Hashem is listening to him 100% to the point where he's approaching Him with an open heart. Imagine if one of our prayers, not every day, one of our prayers per week, was just like that man who experiences it three times a day. Imagine that.

5:16We're not so far off from it if we try.