Emunah Help?

Saying Parshas Haazinu is a Segula for Emuna. So is Sippurei Tzaddikim. Get more, and deeper, into Torah and Mitzvos. Daven to Hashem for more Emuna.

Speak openly to Hashem; tell Him that you will remain loyal even with all the questions you may have. This is very powerful and can break through barriers of Emuna.

There is no Mitzva to entertain every opposite-of-Emuna thought.

Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh (the sefer)

Although the song is also nice.

Mr123

A book or sefer is a great start but it will only help you so much. Emunah requires thought and reflection. Think about all the good things you have in your life and try to be aware of the daily chassadim Hashem does for you. Try to see the Hashgacha Pratis in your life.

The way to really connect with Hashem and build real emunah though is through Tefillah. Work on your Davening and talk to Hashem like its just the 2 of you.

I would certainly recommend Rav Millers books. Many of my Rabbeim have recommended his book and although I never read through any of his books from cover to cover, I have read bits and pieces over the years. Additionally, I have heard or read many things brought down from him and they really open your eyes to proper Torah Hashkafah.

mr: For a change, I second WIY. Emunah comes through practice. I would add that it is important to remember that while when we daven we talk to God, when we learn that is God talking back (Rav Soloveichik). Try learning sefarim on emunah in particular and Torah in general that discusses emunah. Haazinu is more than a segulah for Emunah, it is Moshe’s own mussar shmooze on Emunah. Many chapters of tehillim are also David’s teachings of Emunah. Try reading these perakim both simply and with mefarshim.

These books helped me: Garden of Emunah by Rabbi Shalom Arush, Chizuk by Rabbi Eliezer Parkoff, Trust Me by Rabbi Eliezer Parkoff, Thoughts for a Jewish Heart by Rav Ezriel Tauber.

I would also recommend Derech Hashem by the Ramchal. In order to really strengthen our emunah, we have to have, or at least try to have, an understanding of Hashem and His goodness, and His relationship to us. I think this is basic and should preceed any other reading. Hatzlacha!

ItcheSrulik:

“Emunah comes through practice.”

What do you mean? How does one practice believing?

For sources, I second interjection’s suggestion of Lawrence Keleman’s Permission to Believe / Permission to Receive.

I enjoyed Soul Searching by R’ Yaakov Astor. His other books look good too.

All the books of R’ Shalom Arush and R’ Lazer Brody are worth reading.

Re: practicing faith, consider the pasuk “Taste and see, the Lord is good; happy is the man who trusts in Him.” (Tehillim 34.) Perhaps this means we should try out trusting in Hashem and then we’ll see how good it is.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov has a number of teachings about strengthening faith in Likutei Eitzos. Google “How can one come to have faith in the things one must believe in?” and the translation of the relevant chapter of the sefer will come right up.

I find Aish-style analyses of history to be pretty convincing evidence of the truth of Judaism. It’s hard to learn about our history and not see Hashem’s hand in it.

OP: It really depends on what is bothering you, what kind of personality and thinker you are, why this is bothering you, your level of education, ect.

Different thinks speak to different people, and oftentimes, things on emunah that don’t speak to a particular person will actually have the effect of creating an even greater crisis in emunah.

For example, I can handily deconstruct and destroy just about everything Lawrence Kellerman writes on emunah, find R. Avigdor Miller’s writings to be polemic and completely unconvincing, and think that R. Arush’s (and R. Lazer Brody’s) books are actually rather laughable. Additionally, I find that the philosophical works of most Rishonim (Moreh Nevuchim, Chovos Halevavos, Abarvanel, ect.) are dealing with questions and are giving answers that are completely irrelevant to my considering my own experiences and education in the contemporary world.

By contrast, I find R. Samson Raphael Hirsch’s ideas to be absolutely compelling, although in large part he mostly ignores the issue of “emunah” (in its usual sense).

Each of these kinds of works were written to speak to certain kinds of people.

You should try to talk with people who are broadly knowledgeable about many areas of knowledge, and they may be able to steer you in the direction of works that are more likely to appeal to your own unique intellect and sensibilities.

TIDE, I obviously don’t agree with all you said, but I agree that Rav Hirsch’s teachings are really compelling. His sefer Horeb: A Philosophy of Jewish Laws and Observances should be required reading for all Jews. It’s written in a beautiful and stirring style that I’ve never seen anywhere else. The introduction to the translation by R’ Isadore Grunfeld is really good too.

If you continue keeping the Torah and trying to believe in Hashem as hard as you can, eventually you’ll end up believing.

I agree with you. Not sure what that has to do with Pascal’s Wager, though. In any case, my point was that “believing in Hashem” likely consists of very different things for very different people. I personally prefer to focus my energies on understanding and following halacha rather than on theological speculation about something as amorphous as “belief in Hashem.” That may work for some, but it certainly does not for all. Each one of us is wired at least a little bit differently, and each needs to find the approach that enables them to move forward as a productive human being and Jew.

gaw- at first. That’s to help you until you do. It worked for me when I was twelve. Then I started listening to shiurim and that led to real emunah. Note I mentioned simpletoremember.com earlier.

When I was twelve I actually didn’t read Pascals wager itself, I just myself figured that if the Torah is indeed true than I’ll get punished for doing aveiros. If it isn’t than I’ve lost nothing much. The potential loss is so much greater than the guaranteed gain that it’s just not worth it. Ask any investor whether they would invest in something where the potential loss is much greater than the potential gain. Only a gambler would do it.

I consider my own level of Emunah firm but having heard some of Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi’s lectures on the fabulous complexity and reliabilty clearly evident in Creation (similar to some of Rav Miller’s dissertations) has bolstered my Emunah even more. Consider it the very real Yetzer Hora trying to trip you up.

Lightbrite – I would definitely say the same thing. Although not necessarily in exactly the same way that he did.

It is important to distinguish between different types of “influential Rabbis”. Some of the people he mentioned are not Gedolim.They are simply knowledgeable people who wrote good books that many people like. You don’t have to agree with everything they say.

When it comes to Gedolim, you can’t disagree with them, but you can certainly say that what they are saying doesn’t “speak to you” especially when it comes to the type of topic being discussed here.

However, in all cases, one must be careful of Loshon Hora. It is assur to criticize a book or a speaker.

Personally, I have certainly found that many speakers do not “speak to me”.

“It is interesting that TIDE feels comfortable saying that not every influential rabbi necessarily speaks to him/her.”

It has happened to me that I read a particular book at one stage of life and felt very turned off by it, but when I read it years later after I had acquired a different perspective on life, I found I really liked it.

So something may not speak to you now, but at a different stage of life, you may find that it does.

Who is a Gadol? That is a very good question. There may be some people about whom it’s unclear if they are considered Gedolim or not, but with most people, I think it is pretty clear.

What makes it confusing is the way people throw terms around. I am using the term Gadol here to refer to the Gedolei Hador – the true Gedolim – those people for whom our respect must be absolute and we can’t possibly disagree with. And yes, we do have people like that today – people such as Rav Chaim Kanievsky, Shlita, and Rav Shteinman, Shlita.

However, some people use the term Gadol more loosely, according to its literal meaning which is “Great”. They use it to refer to any “adam gadol”/great person.

Rav Avigdor Miller, zatsal, for example, was an “adam gadol”, a Talmid Chacham and a Tzadik, but he was not a gadol hador. It seems to me that it would be okay for someone to disagree with him, albeit respectfully. However, they should take into account that he was much greater than them and they may not know enough to really disagree with him, and t/f they should exercise caution when doing so.

Rabbi Arush and Rabbi Keleman are very knowledgeable people and tremendous educators and writers. I think they are considered to be Talmidei Chachamim, but I do not think they are considered to be in the same league as Rav Avigdor Miller, zatsal, and I don’t think they would be considered as authoritative a source as him.

“Thanks for your input. You’re like CR’s Queen of Lashon Hara Rulings :)”

We have to always be very careful about LH. But online, we have to be SUPER-careful. Any word of LH online is immediately accessible to thousands of people AND it stays there forever for everyone in the world to read. It’s pretty scary!

There are few things for which one can chas v’shalom lose his cheilik in Olam Haba permanently. One of them is being a “baal loshon Hora”. I heard that someone who posts L”H is in this category.