Emuna Therapy

Live Broadcast Today

By Dr. Zev Ballen

With Hashem's Loving Kindness, we will be broadcasting live today, Wednesday at 5:00pm Israel time from the Chut Shel Chesed Yeshiva, 13 Shmuel Hanavi Street, Jerusalem.

 You can see it right here. The broadcast, as well as our lessons posted from now on - are Mac and iPod compatible. If you tune in too early to the live broadcast link, you'll be sent to the main page of the Breslev Israel website, so try to tune in on time as follows:

10:AM in NY, 7:00 AM in LA and the West Coast, 8:00 AM Denver, 9:00 AM in Mexico and Central Daylight, 3:00 PM in the UK, and 5:00 PM Israel time. If you are not able to watch the lesson live, we will, G-d willing be posting a link to it soon. If you can't see the broadcast, you might need to download a new version of Flash Media player which you can do here. We hope you enjoy the broadcast.

Wishing You Blessings Always,

Dr. Zev Ballen

 

 

Live Broadcast Today

By Dr. Zev Ballen

With Hashem's Loving Kindness, we will be broadcasting live today, Wednesday at 5:00pm Israel time from the Chut Shel Chessed Yeshiva, 13 Shmuel Hanavi Street, Jerusalem. Today's lesson is called Ask Dr. Zev, You can see it right here. The broadcast, as well as our lessons posted from now on - are Mac and iPod compatible. If you tune in too early to the live broadcast link, you'll be sent to the main page of the Breslev Israel website, so try to tune in on time as follows:

10:AM in NY, 7:00 AM in LA and the West Coast, 8:00 AM Denver, 9:00 AM in Mexico and Central Daylight, 3:00 PM in the UK, and 5:00 PM Israel time. If you are not able to watch the lesson live, we will, G-d willing be posting a link to it soon. If you can't see the broadcast, you might need to download a new version of Flash Media player which you can do here. We hope you enjoy the broadcast.

Wishing You Blessings Always,

Dr. Zev Ballen

 

 

Live Broadcast Today

With Hashem's Loving Kindness, we will be broadcasting live today, Wednesday at 5:00pm Israel time from the Chut Shel Chessed Yeshiva, 13 Shmuel Hanavi Street, Jerusalem. Today's lesson is called Empowerment, You can see it right here. The broadcast, as well as our lessons posted from now on - are Mac and iPod compatible. If you tune in too early to the live broadcast link, you'll be sent to the main page of the Breslev Israel website, so try to tune in on time as follows:

10:AM in NY, 7:00 AM in LA and the West Coast, 8:00 AM Denver, 9:00 AM in Mexico and Central Daylight, 3:00 PM in the UK, and 5:00 PM Israel time. If you are not able to watch the lesson live, we will, G-d willing be posting a link to it soon. If you can't see the broadcast, you might need to download a new version of Flash Media player which you can do here. We hope you enjoy the broadcast.

Wishing You Blessings Always,

Dr. Zev Ballen

 

 

My Rebbe's Smile

By Dr. Zev Ballen

My Rebbe's smile is so beautiful and so real; lately I've been wondering about it.  The world is filled with beautiful people with beautiful smiles, but somehow when Rabbi Shalom Arush smiles - you feel something different - it's hard to describe. I've seen the 'confident' smiles of the wealthy and even of those rich in Torah scholarship - but my Rebbe does not smile like they do either.  I don't think I ever saw a real smile until I saw his.
 
What is his secret? What makes Rabbi Shalom so happy?  Does his pleasure come from being a best-selling author? No. He smiled before this.  Is he proud of the Torah institutions that he has built? No. He smiled before this. Is he smiling about his financial success, after years of poverty and debt? No. He smiled before this. Maybe Rabbi Shalom can smile as he does because he is proud of his achievements in learning or because of the beautiful children he has. No. He smiled before all of these. 
 
So what in the world is he smiling about?
 
I think that my Rebbe is smiling because he knows the deepest Truth about life and it just keeps nurturing him and giving him more and more pleasure all the time. He found this Truth when he was poor and unknown.  He realized that G-d is good and that He is the One Reality. Once my Rebbe saw that everything is G-d, it became impossible for him to complain about anything. He saw how much he had, and was grateful for it all.  Life became joyous, calm, sweet and worry-free. There were no more problems. There was only good.  My Rebbe's smile expresses his total and complete centeredness in Truth. When he smiles, he also wants nothing more than to share the Truth with you.  His passion to give can be found in his every intention; thought; movement and word. He has forfeited the illusion of 'self.' He is a limb of Hashem in this world. 
 
Imagine, for fun, how a Holy person would score on a 'cutting edge' 'highly reliable and valid' personality inventory.  The doctors would laugh at him like people laughed at the pure and simple man in Rebbe Nachman's story of The Wise Man and the Simple Man.  There are no psychological categories that can contain holiness.  If a tzaddik took a personality test, G-d forbid, he might appear psychotic, schizoid, isolative, obsessive, or grandiose. Continue reading here...

 

Wishing You Blessing Always,

Dr. Zev Ballen

The Appeal

By Dr. Zev Ballen

My Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom Arush says that one of the most important things that we need to do is to cleanse our hearts from anger. It is easier to hate than to love, so what can we do? Shaindy is someone who feels caught in this dilemma right now. 

She grew up in a religious home where nothing was real. Her father's constant yelling sapped the beauty from their lives, and left only the veneer of Judaism in their home and in their hearts. Nothing that Shaindy did was good enough or fast enough for her father, despite how hard she tried to please him. When she got married, Shaindy felt free for the first time in her life - but now due to circumstances beyond her control, she is once again living in her father's house - only this time with a husband and two children. Why is G-d doing this? What good will come from opening the wounds of her childhood?

Dear Father,

I want to introduce myself. I am your daughter, Shaindel. I have come back, maybe for the last time to be with you in the house of my youth. It is very painful for me here, but I'm learning that everything that Hashem does is for my absolute good. So I've asked myself. What possible good is there to hearing you yell and criticize everyone in this house? What good is it that I am acting like you toward my own children? What good is it for me to be feeling so angry and so frightened?

I want to share with you what I have learned from speaking to Hashem. It's very important for me to be here now. There are lots of skeletons in my closet. Of all your children, I was the most worried about not hurting you. We were all off the derech (not observant) but I hid it well. Now I'm the angriest of your children. Father, I'm just like you. I want to destroy. I want to ruin. I didn't realize this until recently. I was hiding it from myself - but that's not what Hashem wants. I need to stop hiding. Hashem doesn't want me to make aliyah now and continue to hide from my problems in Israel. Hashem knows that without you in my life, I would not work on myself. I would not uproot my anger and fix it once and for all.

Father, why do you hate for no reason? My husband's a good man. He believed in me when I didn't believe in myself and married me. He's helped me re-connect to being Jewish. Continue reading...

Have a great week!

Dr. Zev Ballen

Jump Start Your Week

Here's my prescription for a great week: Listen to seven minutes of my cherished friend Rav Dror Moshe Coussoto - I guarantee he'll get your juices flowing. 

Have a blessed week,

Dr. Zev

 

Meet Mrs. Rivka Levy

Mrs. Rivka Levy is a highly impressive person.  Not only is she bright and well-educated in the teachings of Rabbi Shalom Arush and Rebbe Nachman of Breslev, but she is an exceedingly kind person.

Rivka is one of  Breslev Israel's most respected senior writers. She has also just written a marvelous new book of her own on how to achieve real and lasting happiness based upon the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslev. We pray it will be available soon.

Rivka's huband, Reuven Levy is also multi-talented. Reuven is an attorney with his own practice and a Torah Scholar who teaches the Talmud at the Kollel of Rabbi Shalom Arush.

One of her Rivka's many community services is a weekly lecture for women on emuna-based parenting. Her lectures, which are based on the teachings of Rabbi  Shalom Arush, are both practical and fun. The lectures are given in English on Monday mornings from 9am - 10am in Yad Binyamin.  This coming week's lecture is called Bad Culture.

In addition to everything she does, Rivka Levy is a sensitive and gifted spiritual guide and counselor.

You can call Rivka directly for further information about any of her activities. She comes to you with my highest recommendation.  Her mobile number is: 054-848-1027.

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You can download this week's Parshas Nasso newsletter which includes a question and answer column on Emuna Therapy right here: Download CSC NL Week 25 Nasso (1)

Have a wonderful Shabbos Nasso,

Dr. Zev Ballen

 

New: Emuna Therapy Column

The Chut Shel Chesed Yeshiva, of Rabbi Arush, has requested a weekly column on Emuna Therapy to be included in their weekly Parsha Newsletter. This is a new forum and opportunity for us to learn from each other about topics that most of us live with -- This column is for you. It is your forum to express yourself and receive answers to your questions in the areas of marriage, parenting and individual issues. This week's column, is entitled: Humility: The Foundation of Emuna-Parenting. You can download it here:  Download CSC NL Week 22 Behar.  Have a wonderful Shabbos Behar.  

Wishing You Blessings Always,  

Dr. Zev Ballen

 

Take This Key

By Dr. Zev Ballen

Rachel's son, Mark, was unable to support himself and his wife while he was studying for Rabbinical ordination. They moved in with Rachel and her husband. Rachel responded outwardly with chesed (kindness). She shopped and cooked and cleaned for the young couple. She cleaned their dirty dishes. She did their laundry and picked up after them. Rachel even paid their bills and made sure that they had money in their pockets. This continued for several years.

Having consumed all of the books and CD's of Rabbi Arush, Rachel never once uttered a word of criticism or rebuke to her guests. Finally they had one fight. The couple moved out and it has been years since Rachel has spoken with them.

Rachel was still refusing to speak with her son when she sought my "help". She wanted someone to listen to her anger and pain but she refused to work on herself. She would only speak about "them." She felt justified in her anger and hoped that I would accept her right to stay angry. She ceremonially exempted herself from the fulfillment of her primary purpose in this world which is to get along with other people. The problem was not that Rachel lacked kindness and generosity. She had more of these qualities than most people. The problem was that she had not been honest. She had not been willing to admit that it is wrong to harbor resentments toward her son and his wife. Yes, Rachel "acted" like a perfect saint. She never once made a complaint or criticism of her guests. Internally, however, Rachel judged them to be lazy. She felt superior to them. She felt entitled to be honored by them and secretly wanted to control them. Rachel wanted them to seek her advice. Inwardly, Rachel was furious at her son though she never made a peep. You can see the whole article right here.

Wishing you Blessings Always,

Dr. Zev Ballen

One Spark of Light

My Beautiful Friends - The two main teachings of Rebbe Nachman are that sadness is the worst sin that there is and that we should never ever give up! But when life overwhelms us and  everything that we try doesn't work what are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to find even a spark of Light when the darkness that we're in is so deep? If you missed last week's video, here it is, with new enhanced video-quality, thanks to our great technical staff at Breslev Israel. I hope you'll enjoy it!

 

With Blessings Always,

 

Dr. Zev Ballen