faith and trust – New beginnings: A blog about spirituality, chaplaincy and renewal

Rebbe Nachman’s Advice # 17 – When Silence is the Epitome of Faith

Much of life is the struggle of our sense of control (The introduction to the Breslov Haggadah – free download here – presents a read of the sin of Adam and Eve as a sin presuming humanity has “real” control). We tend to believe we are in control of everything. Each of us struggles with this sense of self. Part of our expression of this control comes from our speech. While it is often important to speak up to protect ourselves, it is not without consequence. We find ourselves regularly in conflict with each other. This is true, even when we are right. Because being right can have unintended consequences.

In this piece from Rebbe Nachman, I find an approach to how we can overcome the sense of control we often struggle with. It comes from the importance of cultivating our ability to be silent.

לז. עַל־יְדֵי מַחְלֹקֶת, עַל־יְדֵי זֶה נוֹפְלִים מַחֲשָׁבוֹת שֶׁל רְשָׁעִים שֶׁהֵם מַחֲשָׁבוֹת שֶׁל כְּפִירוֹת עַל אֲנָשִׁים כְּשֵׁרִים. וְהַתִּקּוּן לָזֶה, שֶׁיִּשְׁתֹּק וְיִמְסֹר הַמִּלְחָמָה לַה’: (לק”א סי’ רנ”א)

Controversy and divisiveness can cause even God-fearing people to start having doubts about their beliefs. The answer is to be silent. And to leave the battle to the Lord (251).

Silence is not merely a passive state of allowing someone to take advantage or to trample over you. Here, Rebbe Nachman is suggesting that silence is a deliberate practice of realizing that very often, even if we think our approach might be the better approach, it is important to practice restraint and it is important to recognize that while we might think we are right, maybe the way we want to approach the situation requires a different, thought out strategy. Faith is recognizing that we don’t really know. Faith is often taking a step back and allowing things to play out instead of trying to force a situation into a certain box.

Spiritual growth is a constant approach of striving forward. To strive forward we need to work on our ability to cultivate connection and peacefulness. We cannot grow if things around us are broken, are divided. Sometimes these breaks are real and sometimes they are perceived to be broken. And sometimes the brokenness comes because we react instead of taking a moment, being in silence, and seeing the situation for its broader implications.

May each of us learn the art of silence as an act of expressing our faith.

Are you struggling with your spiritual growth? Faith? Feeling lost in the midst of the journey of life? Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Rebbe Nachman’s Advice # 16 – Working towards Seeing is Believing

This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tissa, brings us to the story of Israel’s almost cataclysmic choice, the fashioning and worshipping of the Golden Calf, the Egel HaZahav. While there is a debate about whether the idol was to replace Gd or Moses or perhaps even both, there is an interesting, underlying spiritual question regarding the story. There is a famous statement, Seeing is Believing, yet how often is this statement proven false. In the story of the worshipping of the Golden Calf, this idea is proven false, for the Israelites had experienced Gd’s miracles and heard Gd’s “voice” and yet a short time later they fall into this ultimate of violations of faith.

If seeing is believing is not an absolute reality, how come this is a go to statement for so many. Sure, we often use it sarcastically, but within the sarcasm must be a modicum of believing it to be true. Perhaps, we can suggest an approach from Rebbe Nachman. I present two quotes from Likkutei Etzot about making our faith so strong that it is as if we are really seeing it (and See here (Rebbe Nachman’s advice # 10) for a parallel text and my thoughts):

עִקַּר שְׁלֵמוּת הָאֱמוּנָה הוּא, שֶׁיִּתְחַזֵּק בֶּאֱמוּנָה חֲזָקָה כָּל כָּךְ עַד שֶׁתִּהְיֶה בְרוּרָה וְזַכָּה מְאֹד, עַד שֶׁיִּהְיֶה דּוֹמֶה בְּעֵינָיו כְּאִלּוּ רוֹאֶה בְּעֵינָיו מַמָּשׁ הַדָּבָר שֶׁמַּאֲמִין בּוֹ, וְכַמְבֹאָר לְעֵיל (בְּאוֹת ל”ב [צ”ל אוֹת כ”ח]): (לק”א סי’ רל”ד)

Faith must be a complete and very clear faith, such that because of his faith it seems to him as if his eyes see the very thing he believes in
Likkutei Etzot Truth and Faith # 36

כְּשֶׁאָדָם חָזָק בֶּאֱמוּנָה מְאֹד, זוֹכֶה אַחַר כָּךְ לָבוֹא אֶל הַשֵּׂכֶל, וְכָל מַה שֶׁמַּחְזִיק אֶת עַצְמוֹ בֶּאֱמוּנָה יוֹתֵר, בָּא אֶל שֵׂכֶל יוֹתֵר. כִּי הַדָּבָר שֶׁהָיָה צָרִיךְ מִתְּחִלָּה לְהַאֲמִין מֵחֲמַת שֶׁלֹּא הֵבִין הַדָּבָר, זוֹכֶה אַחַר כָּךְ לַהֲבִינוֹ בְּשֵׂכֶל עַל־יְדֵי אֱמוּנָתוֹ הַחֲזָקָה. אַךְ אַחַר כָּךְ יֵשׁ לוֹ דְּבָרִים גְּבוֹהִים יוֹתֵר, שֶׁהֵם נִסְתָּרִים מִמֶּנּוּ וְאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לַהֲבִינָם בְּשֵׂכֶל, וַאֲזַי צָרִיךְ לְהִתְחַזֵּק אֶת עַצְמוֹ יוֹתֵר בֶּאֱמוּנָה, לְהַאֲמִין בְּמַה שֶּׁנִּסְתָּר מִמֶּנּוּ עַתָּה וְאֵינוֹ מֵבִין בְּשֵׂכֶל, עַד שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה לְהָבִין גַּם אֵלּוּ הַדְּבָרִים בְּשֵׂכֶל, וְכֵן לְעוֹלָם. אֲבָל לָזֶה צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת הָאֱמוּנָה חֲזָקָה מְאֹד מְאֹד עַד שֶׁתִּתְפַּשֵּׁט הָאֱמוּנָה בְּכָל הָאֵיבָרִים, וְאָז יוּכַל לִזְכּוֹת לָבוֹא אֶל הַשֵּׂכֶל עַל־יְדֵי הָאֱמוּנָה כַּנַּ”ל: (לק”א סי’ צ”א)

If you are very strong in your faith you will eventually reach understanding of what you believe in. The stronger your faith the greater your understanding will be. At the outset you have no option but to have faith because you cannot understand the matter rationally. Through faith you will come to understand it. Except that then there will be new, more exalted levels which are still hidden from you and beyond your ability to understand rationally. Here again you will have to make the effort to believe. You must always have faith in the levels that are hidden from you. In the end you will understand them also. And so the process goes on. The main thing is that your faith must be so strong that it spreads to all your limbs. This faith will bring you to true wisdom (91).
Likkutei Etzot Truth and Faith # 32

Rebbe Nachman is suggesting that our life goal should be the constant work around strengthening our faith. We cannot just go through life and presume we will have the belief and fortitude to overcome moments that challenge us. We have to prepare, we have to work on it. We have to study and reflect on what it means when we say we believe or we have faith in… Is it just words or is it part of our essence? And, from his words, it seems like even when it is something that is seemingly well established, we must continue to work on it.

I can imagine that for the Israelites, it is this latter point which was a problem. They were witness to things that are improbable/impossible. They experienced miracles that the world has never seen. And yet, that wasn’t enough because the experiences needed constant reinforcement. Sure, one could argue that the Torah’s story presumes that they saw regular “miracles” like the manna and the protective clouds around the encampment. Nevertheless, regular “miracles” lose potency over time; they become routine. Once they become routine, the inspiration dissipates.

When life becomes routine, we lose the inspiration to grow. When we purposefully work on seeing and experiencing the simple inspirations in life, we can maintain and grow in our sense of awe at the wonders of the world. Faith is a constant goal. And if we constantly strive, perhaps we really will have seeing is believing moments. May we merit to have times when we are open to truly seeing the beauty of our path, our journey.

Rebbe Nachman’s Advice # 13 – Having Faith will help stay the course

Today, I find myself coming back to the issue of faith and trust. Whenever we embark on a new journey, a New Beginning, we embark on a path along the route of the unknown. In truth, we do this every day of our lives, even when we believe that today is no different than yesterday. When we start out the day, we have no idea how the day will go, yet, most of us go about the day presuming things will work themselves out. For example, by the middle of the day, a meeting I had scheduled was changed to an earlier time, a plan I had made was rescinded and I accomplished a couple of things I hadn’t expected when I got up later than I had planned. What allowed me to stay calm was the sense that this was all part of the road I was supposed to be on today.

In the following passage from Rebbe Nachman, we see his perspective on how faith allows us to overcome the obstacles placed before us and the pitfalls that can be felt when we recognize that our faith is not 100 percent. And while today I was able to remain calm enough in the midst of changes, many times, I know the experience of how a change can leave us feeling lost, showing that we are struggling to “trust the process.”

לד. אֱמוּנָה הִיא בְּחִינַת כֹּחַ הַגֹּדֶל וְכֹחַ הַצּוֹמֵחַ וְהִיא בְּחִינַת אֲרִיכַת אַפַּיִם. הַיְנוּ, כְּשֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ אֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵימָה, הוּא גֹּדֶל וְצוֹמֵחַ בַּעֲבוֹדָתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ אֲפִלּוּ אִם יַעֲבֹר עָלָיו מָה, כִּי אֵין יוּכַל לְבַלְבְּלוֹ שׁוּם בִּלְבּוּל וּמוֹנֵעַ, רַק הוּא מַאֲרִיךְ אַפּוֹ לִסְבֹּל כָּל מַה שֶּׁיַּעֲבֹר עָלָיו. כִּי כָּל הַבִּלְבּוּלִים וְהַמְּנִיעוֹת מֵעֲבוֹדַת הַשֵּׁם מַה שֶּׁאֵינוֹ מִתְקָרֵב לְיִרְאֵי הַשֵּׁם, הַכֹּל הוּא מֵחֲמַת עַצְבוּת וְעַצְלוּת וּכְבֵדוּת שֶׁבָּא מֵחֲמַת חֶסְרוֹן אֱמוּנָה. כִּי אִם הָיָה לוֹ אֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵימָה בְּהָאֱמֶת כָּרָאוּי, בְּוַדַּאי הָיָה רָץ וּמִזְדָּרֵז מְאֹד לְהִתְקָרֵב לָהֶם. וְכֵן מַה שֶּׁאֵינוֹ מִתְפַּלֵּל כָּרָאוּי, הוּא גַּם כֵּן מֵחֲמַת עַצְבוּת וּכְבֵדוּת שֶׁבָּא מֵחֶסְרוֹן אֱמוּנָה, כִּי בְּוַדַּאי אִם הָיָה לוֹ אֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵימָה, וְהָיָה מַאֲמִין שֶׁהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ עוֹמֵד עָלָיו וְשׁוֹמֵעַ כָּל דִּבּוּר וְדִבּוּר שֶׁיּוֹצֵא מִפִּיו וּמַאֲזִין לְקוֹל תְּפִלָּתוֹ, בְּוַדַּאי הָיָה מִתְפַּלֵּל כָּרָאוּי בְּהִתְלַהֲבוּת וְחֵשֶׁק גָּדוֹל. אַךְ עִקַּר בִּלְבּוּל הַתְּפִלָּה הוּא מֵחֲמַת חֶסְרוֹן אֱמוּנָה. וְכֵן כָּל הַהִתְרַחֲקוּת מִצַּדִּיקִים וִירֵאִים וּמֵעֲבוֹדַת הַשֵּׁם בֶּאֱמֶת, הַכֹּל מֵחֲמַת חֶסְרוֹן אֱמוּנָה, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי זֶה בָּא עָלָיו עַצְבוּת וְעַצְלוּת וּכְבֵדוּת כַּנַּ”ל. אֲבָל כְּשֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ אֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵימָה אֵין יָכוֹל לְמֹנְעוֹ שׁוּם דָּבָר, רַק מַאֲרִיךְ אַפּוֹ לִסְבֹּל הַכֹּל, וְגֹדֶל וְצוֹמֵחַ בַּעֲבוֹדַת ה’ אֵיךְ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה: (לק”א סי’ קנ”ה)

Faith contains the power of growth. A person with perfect faith will grow and develop in his devotion to God no matter what he may have to go through. Regardless of the obstacles or difficulties he may encounter, nothing will throw him off course. He will accept whatever he experiences with patience. People who are put off by the obstacles and difficulties which confront them when they try to serve God have a certain lack of faith. They are left with a feeling of heaviness and depression, a lack of enthusiasm. Why is it that people don’t make real efforts to draw closer to those who lead lives of piety and justice? If they really had faith they would run to them as fast as they could. Why do people not pray properly? If they had genuine faith, they would really believe that God stands over them while they are praying and hears every word that emerges from their lips. Then they would pray with tremendous fire and yearning. But instead they are listless and depressed. It is because they lack this real faith. That is why they are far from the Tzaddikim, from the pious and just, and from true devotion to God. When a person has genuine faith nothing can stand in his way. No matter what happens he will grow in the service of God (155).

What is interesting about this passage is that in addition to offering the contrast between the one who has genuine faith to stay the course even when led astray vs. the one who gets overwhelmed and overcome by the obstacles placed in front of him/her, Rebbe Nachman also discusses what real faith would look. If we had genuine faith, we would be more comfortable surrounding ourselves with others who have genuine faith. If we really believed, we would never allow prayer to be something perfunctory. Being truly faithful will allow us to always strive and grow in our spirituality.

Touching on this latter point, I think there is a depth to this statement. When we are frustrated, angry, depressed, sad, how do we react? Do we allow it to take us down, drive us away from our desired path? Do we give up easily? Let’s be real. The answer to all of these questions will be yes at times. It is the rare individual that can always step over the obstacles without losing a step. Most of us struggle with times we get tripped up. Yet, even in those moments, if we can find our pathways for continued spiritual work, whether in prayer, in being in the company of others who are living a faith driven life, or with some other spiritual practice, then we can allow that faith to lead us back to the path we are working towards traversing.

May each of us cultivate this genuine faith in all of the spiritual work we do in our lives.

Rebbe Nachman’s Advice # 10 – Personal faith and the conflict of religion vs/ spirituality

In the modern world, the practice of a religion and the journey for increased spirituality are often at odds. Many times it is because we create false dichotomies between the two as a means of explaining away the ways of people. It is an example of how I often will say don’t a religion by the people who practice it. Religion can and should be a pathway for spiritual growth and hopefully spiritual growth will come along to help show people the beauty of time-honored ritual. Yes, our modern world doesn’t always jive with ancient ritual and yet so often we see the reintroduction of these ancient rituals as finding a “new” method for better self-care and help. My favorite of these which I often quote is when we read about the importance of a Sabbath, as if its a new notion of setting aside a day a week for “rest.”

All of the above relates to this idea of Rebbe Nachman on faith. For Rebbe Nachman, and in reality for anyone actively pursuing the spiritual, our growth and journey is built on faith, the trust of the unknown. As Rebbe Nachman posits:

כח. אֱמוּנָה אֵין שַׁיָּךְ אֶלָּא בְּדָבָר שֶׁאֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ טַעַם. וְאַף עַל פִּי כֵן אֵצֶל הַמַּאֲמִין הַדָּבָר גָּלוּי, כְּאִלּוּ רוֹאֶה בְּעֵינָיו אֶת הַדָּבָר שֶׁמַּאֲמִין בּוֹ מֵחֲמַת גֹּדֶל אֱמוּנָתוֹ הַשְּׁלֵמָה: (לק”א סי’ ס”ב אות ה’)

We only speak of faith when the one who believes does not know why he believes. But even so, for the believer himself the thing he believes in is perfectly clear and obvious to him — as if he saw it with his own eyes. This is because his faith is so strong (62:5).

Notice the two points in the above lines. First, is the admission of faith being something we cannot “know.” It is something non-intellectual. This doesn’t mean our faith is purely an emotional state. Rather, it is a reflection on how we cannot presume faith as intellectual, as sitting in the mind. At the same time, we also learn from this passage that our faith must be as it is “known.” Our mission is to build our internal faith into something unknown but known. It needs to remain faith, but be so clear as to be as if we know.

As it relates to the struggle of bridging religion and spirituality, too often the challenge is that religion is that which is more of a communal nature while spirituality has a stronger individualistic bent. The bridge is faith. Faith can be cultivated by the rituals and practices we take on as individuals and as a community. At the same time, faith is something that is purely individualistic, for only we can see our beliefs. The spirituality aspect is supporting the individuality that we can imbue the communal ritual with.

Today, may we continue to work to cultivate and enhance our personal faith/spirituality while also finding the ways to bring that spirituality into our communal, religiously inspired rituals.

Rebbe Nachman’s Advice # 5 – Growing our Faith beyond the intellect

As we continue to explore some key points of faith as per Rebbe Nachman, this short piece is fundamental to his thought as well as a good reflection on the ideal engagement with faith.

יד. אֲפִלּוּ מִי שֶׁזּוֹכֶה לְהַמְשִׁיךְ אֵיזֶה שֵׂכֶל דִּקְדֻשָּׁה, צָרִיךְ לְהַמְשִׁיךְ אֱמוּנָה לְתוֹךְ הַשֵּׂכֶל, כִּי אֵין לִסְמֹךְ עַל הַשֵּׂכֶל בְּעַצְמוֹ: (לק”א סי’ כ”ד אות ו’)

Even a person who attains a certain level of religious insight and understanding must take good care to ensure that the perception he has is suffused with faith. Intellect alone is not something to rely upon (24:6).

For faith to have an impact on our lives, it cannot just reside in our minds. Faith needs to find its place in our heart, in the depth of who we are. How many of us struggle with faith not because we don’t have it but because we work too hard to try to understand the world. We are educated to think, debate, hypothesize, experiment and sometimes we forget the simple beauty of just seeing what is right there in front of us. Rebbe Nachman warns that the more we learn, the more we think we know, the more we must also work to strengthen the tie to the emotional feeling that is faith. I believe it is from that feeling that is faith we draw on the strength to withstand traumas and crises.

But this is no easy task. It is hard work to get to this place. How do we do that without intellectualizing our faith? Perhaps this is the power and beauty that we can find in prayer. Through prayer, we approach the world from a place of recognizing lack and looking to Gd to show us how to fill up what is missing. Prayer as a regular practice goes beyond knowledge. While it is important to have a deep understanding of the words we are saying, the deeper investment of energy in tefillah, prayer, is in allowing each time we pray to be a new experience, leaving the intellectual to the side and approaching it from the emotional.

May each of us find and cultivate our individual reservoir of faith as we also work to learn and increase our knowledge and understanding of the world.

Faith at the crossroads

In thinking about faith and trust and coming to moments of choosing a path, the following idea came to mind this morning:

Faith is doing one’s due diligence and trusting the path ahead will lead where it is meant to lead.

As we think about this, let us contemplate the following questions.

Which path will you choose?
Will you be able to walk the path with the belief that the way will lead to your goals? What will you do with the path you chose?
How will the path you end up on lead you to the goals you have set before you?

May our day find us reflecting on and discovering the trust in our decisions to lead us to our goals and dreams.

For more information about New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC, and how we can support you on the journey through the waves of life, please check out: https://achaplainsnewjourney.wordpress.com/about/