Lazer Beams

Breslev Israel's Dr. Zev Ballen

It has been about six years since my cherished friend and colleague, Dr. Zev Ballen began listening to our broadcasts and learned about the life-saving teachings of my beloved Rebbe and spiritual guide Rabbi Shalom Arush. I am proud to tell you that it was not long before Dr. Zev gave up his comfortable New York practice, made aliyah with his family and came to Jerusalem to study full time under Rabbi Arush. 

As a devoted student of Rabbi Arush, Dr. Zev has founded and developed Emuna Therapy, which is a faith-based method of counseling based exclusively on the teachings of Rabbi Arush. In my opinion, Dr. Zev's uniqueness and his phenomenal success is a result of combining his more than three decades of experience as a psychotherapist with his training under Rabbi Arush - the master spiritual doctor of our generation.  

Over the past four decades, Rabbi Arush has helped millions of people including many famous Rabbis themselves, to find their own personal formula for improvement and success in the most important aspects of their lives. I personally do not know of a person, who has earnestly implemented Rabbi Arush's methods who has not seen a major subsequent improvement in his life. Rabbi Arush has taught Dr. Zev many of the spiritual remedies to the ills of our generation -methods that will help you to overcome life-long issues by dealing with them at their spiritual root.

Emuna therapy inspires you and motivates you to develop a strong trusting relationship with G-d. Through learning to access states of Emuna it is possible for you to feel the inspiration, strength and motivation than will enable you to achieve the results that you have always wanted in the most important areas of your life.  

You will begin by being challenged to take stock of where you presently are and to find out what has been blocking you from taking control of your life. Then you will be given the spiritual tools that will jump-start you to break free from limiting beliefs and create the life that you really want for yourself - a life of physical, emotional, marital, and Spiritual fulfillment. In your one-on-one private sessions with Dr. Zev Ballen you will receive all of the inspiration, support, and accountability that you will need to take your life to a higher level of success and fulfillment. Dr. Zev comes to you with my highest recommendation and the full support of Rabbi Shalom Arush.

To schedule your one-on-one private session with Dr. Zev call:

US:  1-718-577-2975

ISRAEL DIRECT:  +972-2-532-3339 X2

For more information about Emuna Therapy and how it can help you visit: www.zevballen.com.

Profane Speech

Dear Rabbi Brody,
I confess: I'm 17, a junior in religious high school, and I swear a lot. Everyone always goes on and on how using the swearing words are wrong. But why are they? I mean all they are, are a couple words that don't really mean anything, and the only reason I like using them is because when you can't find a word strong enough to describe how you feel, usually one of the swearing words does the job. Whatever, thanks a lot. From Barbara in Long Island somewhere

Dear Barbara,

That was courageous of you to tell me. The soul is surrounded by three garments - thoughts, speech, and deeds. When you use foul language, you surround your soul in stench, kind of like walking around with completely dirty underwear. Sounds gross? Foul words make your soul feel gross, and they chase away Hashem's Divine Presence, which means that a person who uses filthy language loses Divine guidance and protection. That's when real trouble in your life starts.

Please try to break the habit. The best way to do that is to avoid anger. Since anger comes from arrogance, the more modest a person is, the more he or she steers clear of anger. Remember also, a person with a cheap tongue is a cheap person. You certainly don't want people calling you "cheap" behind your back, especially since you're a quality young lady.

People who use foul language are basically no better than pigs. Even if you dress them in in fancy clothes, pigs remain pigs. A person's speech is the showcase of a person's soul.

Barbara, do your soul a favor and weed the four-letter words out of your vocabulary. Elul is the time for teshuva, for all of us to decide to be just a little bit better than what we used to be. With blessings, LB

Tonight (Wed.) at the OU Center in Jerusalem

12 Words and 12 Seconds

A Jew starts his morning by saying "Modeh Ani", thanking Hashem for returning his soul and giving him a new day. We say this as soon as we open our eyes, before we even get out of bed...

Yehudit Levy writes:

My brother in law was speaking to a doctor friend of his who had just returned from a medical conference. He told him that they had learned the best way to overcome morning dizziness and low blood pressure was to sit up on the edge of the bed immediately upon waking, legs down, for at least 12 seconds. The doctor was absolutely amazed by this medical fact since he then realized there are exactly 12 words in Modeh Ani....

Dakuwaqa's Dream

We are pleased to share with you a magnificent celebration of creation, the untouched underwater world of Fiji in the south Pacific. The photography and film production are the exquisite work of Nick Hope, and the background melody is by Skanoir Music.

A mere glance at Hashem's magnificent universe is enough to make even an insensitive person cry out in love of Hashem. Our job in Elul is exactly that - to enhance our love of Hashem and to get closer to Him. Once we do so, the High Holidays become a sublime pleasure and not a dread, Heaven forbid. Enjoy!

Broken-Heart Factory

There are two things that I especially don't enjoy seeing - wilted flowers and wilted relationships. You can throw the wilted flowers into the refuse bin, but it's not so easy to dispose of the hurt and heartbreak that go with wilted relationships. People ought to be much more careful with other people's feelings.

This is no joke - hurting another person is a serious transgression of Torah. 

* * * * *

Ellen is 21 and a really great young lady. But she has a problem. She just got jolted for the second time. She's not only hurting - she's devastated. Something must change. Down the road, people suffer all types of problems not realizing that they stem from the trail of broken hearts they left while dating. Read The Broken-Heart Factory in this week's thought-provoking issue of Breslev Israel web magazine.

Also this week, Rav Shalom Arush teaches us the real meaning of teshuva in Elul: Finding our Way. Rivka Levy investigates if people really are willing to do anything to solve their problems in Please Pass the Prozac. In Payot, not Purgatory, Rivka asks if the long sidecurls are for Israeli-born Breslevers only. While we're on the subject of hair, Chaya Ovadia examines the difficulty of women covering their natural-born locks in The Mane Challenge. Dr. Zev Ballen pulls off the mask of "Mister Popular" in The Face. Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach talks about Moshiach in Before the Great Day. Racheli Reckles juggles the challenges of motherhood in My Reality Show. Rabbi Dovid Charlop discusses this week's Torah portion - "Shoftim" - in Partners in Creation. Dovber Halevi probes the blessing Straightening Up that we say every morning..

Here're bright Beam blessings for a beautiful week!

 

Elul: Living the Moment

One of Elul's lessons the we'd be wise to internalize is the importance of living the moment at hand to the fullest. That's what today's 50-minute emuna lesson is all about. We hope you find it beneficial and enjoyable. Blessings for a wonderful new month of Elul!