Parashat Balak: Putting Emunah into Practice

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

In this week's parasha , Balak tried every which way to get Bilaam to curse the Jewish people. But as Bilaam repeatedly told him, “Whatever Hashem wants is going to happen and nobody could do otherwise.” People make all different kinds of efforts to accomplish many different things. We must always keep in mind that only what Hashem wants is going to happen. Fortunately for us, what Hashem wants is always the best for us. So we can always feel calm knowing that we're in His hands. We tell ourselves, again and again, that Hashem is always in charge and He's always choosing best, but somehow, when things don't go the way that we want, we still get upset and we still get nervous. If we really believed what we say, there would never be a reason to get frazzled no matter what's happening. There are people who are able to put into practice the emunah that they learn. One individual with real emunah can change an entire situation from a potential disaster to one of joy and spiritual elevation. A friend of mine, who practices emunah daily, told me he recently received a phone call at 7:30 in the morning from the hotel which was supposed to host the marriage of his son that night. The manager explained that a hot water tank had burst, and they had to evacuate the hotel. There was no way they would be able to accommodate the wedding there that night. The man immediately put into perspective that Hashem runs the world, and this was orchestrated by Him. He replied very calmly saying that it's okay and he understood. The manager was floored. He couldn't believe this man was so calm. The man told him, he knows Hashem is in charge and his child will get married in the best place for him and his kallah . This took so much stress off the manager and he told the man, “Don't worry, we're going to find you the best hall as quickly as we can.” In the meantime, this man calmly called his mechutan to tell him the news. He spoke softly, with a calmness in his voice, telling the mechutan everything was going to be perfect just as Hashem wants it. The mechutan responded in kind. He was also calm about it. An hour later, the hotel manager called back saying he found a kosher hotel in another city that would be perfect for them. The man happily accepted, and then they had to tell the ladies in the family the news. They spoke softly with complete emunah and told the ladies, as well as the bride and the groom, that it was going to be the best wedding ever, the way Hashem wants it to be. They were a little shocked at the news but they all accepted it with emunah. They sprang into action, calling everyone telling them of the change in venue. The day then went by like a chatan and kallah are supposed to spend it. Everyone was happy and excited. This man's emunah was contagious and everybody felt it and everyone was inspired by it. Baruch Hashem, they had the most beautiful wedding that night. It was a much nicer hall, and there was so much siyata d’Shamaya . When my friend called to tell me what happened, he said he was so happy that he actually practiced the emunah that he had been learning every day for the past ten years. There wasn't a moment that he got nervous. He felt the entire time that he was in Hashem's hands and it showed. Look how the emunah of one person can change an entire situation. We know Hashem is in control and we know He does everything for our best. If we can put our knowledge into practice, we will see amazing things happening. Shabbat Shalom.