Every day for me is a battle for emuna. Every day, the evil inclination (E.I.) is trying to make me forget Hashem—to forget He exists, forget He runs the world and forget He does everything for the very best. One of the most helpful weapons in my arsenal against the E.I. is recalling my emuna moments. Emuna moments are the stories in my life where circumstance played out with such exacting precision and benefit that I was forced to conclude Hashem does indeed run the world. For some examples of emuna moments read the beginning of “The Universal Garden of Emuna” with Rabbi Arush’s three challenges he gave Hashem to prove He runs the world. My hope is that the stories should fill three purposes:
1) Strengthen my emuna
2) Strengthen the emuna of all who read them
3) Serve as an everlasting tribute of thanks to Hashem for His kindnesses in each event
Speeding Ticket
Shortly after I had gotten into the Garden books, my wife and I were pulled over by a state trooper. He walks over and says, “I caught you going 81 in a 65, license and registration please.” My wife hands over her info and the cop walks back to his car. I turned to my wife and said, “Well, I just learned in “The Garden of Emuna” that Hashem is always merciful. If you’re getting this $150 fine and four points, it means we probably deserved $500,000 damages and Hashem is being merciful on us. What else can we do but be grateful? So thank You, Hashem, for this $150 ticket and four points. Thank You for Your mercy and kindness.” The cop walks back to our rolled-down window and says, “Here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to give you a no-seat-belt ticket; it’s $50 and no points. Watch your speed for the rest of your trip, please.” We said thank you to him, and as we drove away said more thank you’s to Hashem. I have been pulled over many, many times before that in my life, and that is the first time we have ever gotten out of the initial ticket in any way! Incidentally, my story runs completely parallel to Rabbi Arush’s advice in “The Garden of Emuna” for what to do when a cop pulls you over! I can personally testify that it works!
Early-Rising Children
My wife and I were visiting her family for a long Yom Tov holiday and my wife was upset because my 1-year-old daughter was stuck in her normal weekday routine of getting up at 6 a.m. This was preventing us from being able to catch up on our sleep and sleep in until later. I was already hooked into emuna but my wife was just pleased with “The Garden of Peace”’s effects on my behavior as a husband. She wasn’t sold yet on Hashem running every detail of our lives. I said to her, “Why don’t you ask Hashem to have Zoe sleep in until later?” She didn’t want to accept that He could do that. So I posed it as a challenge: “What if Zoe sleeps until 7 a.m. tomorrow? Will you then believe Hashem runs everything?” She countered 7:15 and reluctantly agreed. The next day, Zoe didn’t wake up until after 7:30! So that morning I pointed it out to her and she smiles and says, “It was a coincidence, a fluke.” So I countered this time and said, “What if it happens again tomorrow, will you then believe?” She reluctantly agreed. The next day Zoe slept in late again! So finally my wife had to grudgingly admit that Hashem runs the world, at least the details of when my daughter wakes up each morning. (For all you naysayers who think my daughter just coincidentally changed her sleep schedule going forward, the next day, she resumed her 6 a.m. wakeups.)
Midtown Parking
One Tuesday, I had a 12 p.m. appointment to make in midtown Manhattan. I drive a tiny smart car and was looking for free curb parking. Traffic was really congested, and circling around was taking a long time. As it neared 12 p.m., I even considered the muni-meter parking. My E.I. is starting to make me worry about missing my appointment. He’s also making me anxious. I start praying to Hashem, “Please help me find a parking spot. Please help me make my appointment on time.” No dice. It’s 12:03 p.m. now. Now I’m late. Now my E.I. is having a field day. “Ha-ha! Your prayers are worthless! Hashem doesn’t listen to you. Give up and go home.” I’m starting to feel dejected. All of a sudden, I remember: this past Saturday night, I heard Rabbi Arush speak in Monsey about gratitude. One of his actual examples was to say thank you when one can’t find a parking space. I started praying, “Thank You, Hashem, that I can’t find a parking space. Thank You that I’m late to my appointment. I think it’s best I be there on time but if it’s Your will I’m late then it must be for my best, so thank You!” No sooner do I finish uttering these words than I see a muni-meter spot coming up that I previously didn’t think I could squeeze into. This time, I decided to try, and boom! I fit! Here’s the twist: As I’m getting out, the guy parked in front is getting into his car. He turns to me and says, “Hey, you need a muni-ticket? Take mine. I’m done.” His ticket was good until 1:15 p.m., the exact time I would be back to my car after my appointment!
I have parked many, many times at muni-meter pay parking and that has never happened before. Only with emuna. Thank You, Hashem!
To be continued…
By Pinney Wolman
Pinney Wolman is a full-time personal trainer. In his spare time he likes to learn about emuna and help others learn it too. He can be reached at [email protected].
