Emuna Therapy

Breslev Crew Flies To Northeast

May Hashem protect my dear friends on their flight tonight from Tel Aviv Israel to John F. Kennedy airport in New York.  May they bring recovery and comfort to all who need it.

Weekly Live Broadcast

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.

This week's lesson is entitled, "For We Not Me." 

 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:

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.

With Blessings,

Dr. Zev Ballen

 

 

 

 

Emuna Classes Today

Looking for emuna-based (faith-based) advice? I'll be waiting for your questions today. Speak to me anonymously or just call in, listen and learn from the other calls.

Simply dial the appropriate phone conference number below and enter access code: 218660. 

Choose from two classes: 10-11am Israel time or 7-8pm Israel time. Speak to you soon!

With Blessings,

Dr. Zev

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Sponsored by Breslev Israel

*This number is not accessible when calling from outside of Australia.

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*** This is a U.S. dial in number.

****This dial-in number is located in Bahrain.

 

World-Wide Prayer

Beloved friends - this video is well-worth 12 minutes of your time. Have a wonderful Shabbos and a Gmar Chasima Tova for the new year!

Blessings,

Dr. Zev

 

Please forward now: All Jews ready for September 23!

WORLDWIDE PRAYER FOR PEACE, SIMULTANEOUSLY, FROM ALL THE JEWISH PEOPLE !

Sunday, September 23 (17:00 Israel, 16:00 London, 11:00 New York, 8:00 Los Angeles…)

Blessings,

Dr. Zev Ballen

Rebbe

By Dr. Zev Ballen

For a long time, I've known in a vague way, that there is something in me that I was meant to share with others - some type of contribution that I was supposed to make. I could never quite grasp it, articulate it or even believe in it. Now and again I got a flickering image of myself fulfilling my purpose only to dismiss it quickly as impossible - not because I didn't believe in my purpose, but because I didn't believe in myself.  
 
I've had more psychotherapy and psychoanalysis than I care to admit. The theme was always the same - feeling inadequate. All of my therapists were expertly trained to see my 'inadequacy' but none of them saw much more than this.
 
When we were newlyweds, my wife saw my 'passion.' When you marry the right person, that person believes in you. In my case there were years of detours, avoidances, and suppressions of my purpose. But even at my lowest point - my wife believed that there was something meaningful that I was meant to do. 
 
It started with the Garden of Emuna by Rabbi Shalom Arush - the book shook me out of my lethargy. For several hours straight I forgot about my 'inadequacy.' The book filled me with wonder and fresh hope. My 'passion' for something was ignited. 
 
From there, I found Lazer Beams and became a Beams junky. During one of my first binges on the Beams, I spent most of a day and night watching Rabbi Lazer Brody's videos. These videos caught me off guard, and shook me further from my habitual spiritual slumber. I became absorbed in his every word! I experienced the delight of what psychologists call the 'flow state' -  it is an optimum state of feeling fully alive. I was totally engaged in what I was doing with my whole being. I used to watch the videos twice. The first time, I let it play straight through in order to get the flow of the lesson. On the second watching, I paused it frequently in order to take notes. Every word was a pearl.
 
Rabbi Brody's message was strong, clear and quintessentially practical. The greatest lesson that he ever gave and still gives - is himself. Through his personal example, Rabbi Brody taught me how to attach myself to Rav Arush. 
 
I stopped listening to  beautiful speeches from Rabbis, however brilliant,  whose behavior didn't match up to their oratory. Yes - Rabbi Brody also speaks beautifully and is very learned - but what pulled me in more than anything was just him.  Hours passed in the blink of an eye. Intrinsically I knew what I was doing was important for my life. I became less conscious of me. While I watched, I hardly ate, drank or slept. 
 
My wife agreed...after searching high and low for a spiritual guide - this one was a 'keeper!'
 
So that's how I found 'Rebbe,' which is what I call him to this day. There isn't a word in English that can describe what it means to call someone your Rebbe: spiritual father, teacher, mentor, coach, role-model, authority figure, therapist, Rabbi,  - they all fall short.
 
Soon it became clear that it wasn't enough to have a cyber-Rebbe - however wonderful. Although I was feeling better than before, I was still having some dramatic lows.
 
The question was how was I going to begin to live with emuna and not just read about it? Hashem sent me a wonderful teacher with real emuna - but He didn't send me a Rebbe for entertainment alone. Clearly I wasn't going to learn emuna through cyber-space-osmosis. I had to do something more. But what? 
 
The answers didn't come with one flash of lightning. It took time but I realized that G-d wanted me to help my Rebbe - to serve him. 
 
That wasn't going to be easy. He was very sought after; We lived on opposite sides of the world; and he had no idea who I was!  - But a Rebbe can't be a Rebbe without a talmid (a student) - the thought was consoling.
 
I prayed.
 
And G-d took care of everything. His fame and the distance between us turned out to be inconsequential.  
 
When I came to Jerusalem I met Rebbe in person. I started to work for him and to learn from him up close. Soon I saw that as much as I had studied him on film, I was not prepared for what he was like in person. When I sat with him for the first time, I knew that he was ten steps ahead of me. I could see that he understood everything about me in the first few minutes. Yet he was incredibly simple, humble and kind. He held my hand the whole time that we spoke. I can feel it right now - it was a gift for life.
 
What amazed me most was that in one short meeting, my Rebbe could see that special 'something' in me that neither I nor my therapists could grasp. From the moment he met me, that chronic flickering image of my life's purpose was crystal clear to him. My Rebbe saw my purpose and that I didn't believe in it.
 
In private, my Rebbe is a man of few words - yes he is busy - but it's also his nature to be concise. He is extremely warm and reliable but refuses to coddle: 'Zev, I wish you believed in yourself the way I believe in you'; 'Zev, I know that you still don't believe in yourself'; 'Zev - cut it out -  I won't allow you to doubt yourself!' Continue here...

With Blessings,

Dr. Zev Ballen
 

The Very First Words

By Dr. Zev Ballen

Rabbi Lazer Brody, who for years has been a steadfastly loyal pupil of Rav Shalom Arush, told me that though many people know that Rav Arush is a tzaddik, they still don't know what level of tzaddik he is - his spiritual powers are simply awesome.
 
The following two stories prove it.
 
I heard from Rav Dror Moshe Cassuto that there was a large gathering of people, here in Israel, several years ago. Thousands of people came to participate and hear a panel of distinguished Rabbis speak. 
 
The organizer of this event had the merit to drive Rabbi Dovid Stern from Bnei Brak to the gathering. Rabbi Dovid Stern is the son of one of the thirty-six hidden tzaddikim of our generation.  On the way, in the car, the organizer of the event remarked to Rabbi Dovid Stern,  

that there is someone who makes CD's, his name is Shalom Arush.  He said, 'I simply cannot stand to hear that man's voice.' 
 
Rabbi Dovid looked the man squarely in the eyes and said: 'You obviously don't know who you are speaking about. Rabbi Shalom Arush has achieved something than no human being has achieved since the creation of the world.' 
 
If you have any doubt about it - read this:
 
My chavrusa (study partner) told me this story. He heard it from Rav Dror.
 
There was a man living here in Israel. He was a non-religious Jew whose wife divorced him. The man was given a terrible judgment in court. He had to pay almost his whole salary to his ex-wife every month. As time went on, he became more and more depressed.  It was bad enough to lose his family, but to work like a dog for the rest of his life and have nothing for himself - that was too much to bear. He decided he would end his life. 
 
He took his car out on the highway. He put his foot all the way down on the accelerator and thought that eventually he would crash into something - then his suffering would be over. 
 
The car raced up to 90mph...then 100mph...then 115mph - When all of a sudden, the young man saw one of Rabbi Shalom Arush's CD's sitting next to him.  One of Rabbi Shalom Arush's students had given it to him at an intersection. He had never listened to it. 
 
Seconds away from disaster, his hand inexplicably reached for the CD. He thought that if he listened to it as he was leaving this world at least he would go out listening to something holy. He was hoping that this would help him in the next world. He shoved the disk into the player and hit the button a few times. By now he was flying at 120 mph. He didn't care about listening to the disk from the beginning. It started someone in the middle. 
 
The very first words that he heard Rabbi Shalom say were: "WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF?" Continue here...

Have a Blessed week!

Dr. Zev Ballen

The Best Of Both

                                          Rabbi Shalom Arush

I received the following question:

Dr. Ballen,

It seems that people who have been religious from birth have certain ingredients that they can pass down to their children that bale teshuva (people who choose to be religious) don't have. Do you agree that as bale teshuva we are missing something, and if so, is it possible to still acquire it?

I'm looking forward to your answer.

Julie

******************************************************************

Julie,

A bal teshuva is missing nothing. He was created to be exactly what Hashem wanted him to be. Hashem created two groups: The frum from birth (FFB's) and the bale teshuva (BT's).  There is no reason for us to envy the FFB's, on the contrary - we need each other!

BT's can learn from FFB's about how to be Jewish while FFB's learn from BT's an even deeper lesson - why to be Jewish in the first place!...

You can see the remainder of my answer to Julie in this weeks Shabbos Newsletter courtesy of Breslev Israel and the Chut Shel Chesed Yeshiva of Rabbi Shalom Arush:  Download CSC NL Week 33 Devarim - Shabbat Chazon.

Have a wonderful Family Shabbos,

Dr. Zev Ballen

 

Live Broadcast Today: Why Murder?

By Dr. Zev Ballen

We live in a generation of senseless hatred and violence. With Tisha B'Av coming in just three days, join me for a discussion of the causes and the solution to our current dilemma, according to the holy teachings of my beloved Rebbe and spiritual guide, Rabbi Shalom Arush. 

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

 

 

 

Ask Dr. Zev

By Dr. Zev Ballen

I confess that it was me who planned this lesson, but it was not me who delivered it - Hashem spoke through me and I hardly remember what I said. I couldn't do this again if I tried.

I am forever grateful to Hashem for the seminal teachings of my beloved Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom Arush. Based on Rabbi Arush's teachings, even a simple person can transcend his natural abilities by millions of light years. Now it's my gift to you - all I ask is that you share this with your friends.

 

My Rebbe's Message

This is the story of my beloved Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom Arush, and the awesome wonders that G-d is enabling him to accomplish in the world. The ‘Chut Shel Chessed’ (a ‘Thread of Kindness’) Torah Institutions are spreading my Rebbe's message of peace, love and closeness to G-D to all of mankind.

Sit back and enjoy this one - it's really special. 

Don't forget to print out your copy of our weekly English Newsletter for the Shabbos table. Enjoy!  Download CSC NL Week 32 Matot-Masei (1). 

Chosesh Tov and Good Shabbos, 

Dr. Zev Ballen