Lazer Beams

29 Iyar: A Special Day to Pray for our Children

Today (Monday) is the 29th of Iyar according to the Hebrew calendar. Jewish tradition teaches that today is an opportune time to pray that our children grow up in health of body, mind, and soul. The best known prayer that our people have been using for hundreds of years is "A Parent's Prayer" composed by the holy Shl"a, a 17th Century Scholar and Kabbalist who is buried near the Rambam in Tiberias. As a service to our readers, Artscroll.com sent us a PDF with the prayer in Hebrew and English, which you can download here.

We've often said that the most important part of raising happy and successful children is praying for them. The 5 minutes that you take to say the Shl"a's prayer will be one of the best investments you ever made.

Do You Need a Miracle?

My cherished friend emuna-oriented psychotherapist Dr. Zev Ballen heard from Rav Shalom Arush shlit'a how to obtain your miracle.

Rav Shalom Arush's Prayer Before Drinking each Glass of Wine:

English - עברית

Erez's Song

Emuna Outreach and the Beams present this special tribute to Erez Levanon, of saintly and blessed memory, on the occasion of his fifth yahrtzeit, Wednesday night and Thursday, 7 Adar. Erez was a gentle and unblemished tzaddik that loved his God, his rebbe, his people, and his homeland. The voice and music is his, and the photos are of our gorgeous and hallowed Land of Israel. Come walk down the same paths where Erez walked...

For those who don't remember, Erez was brutally ambushed and murdered by Palestinian terrorists when he was in the middle of hitbodedut (personal prayer) in a forest below his home in Bat Ayin.

Rav Erez, cherished brother and true tzaddik, we miss you so badly.

Spiritual Blunt

With Hashem's loving grace, I have tons of nachas (gratification) from my many spiritually adopted kinderlach (children) around the world. Many of them were brought up in observant home, fell off the wagon somewhere along the line for many different reasons, but now are self-made Jews discovering real emuna and finding their own way back to Hashem.

One of my favorite boys is Nuchy in New York. I'm pleased to introduce you to him...

The River's Song

Osyio (Greetings - LB) Rabbi Wolf Brother,

I was so happy to discover your website some months ago and read that our Tsa la Gi (Cherokee - LB) brothers in Tennessee and Texas also hold the opinion that we have Hebrew roots. So much is the same - I follow your teachings about personal prayer in solitude with the Holy One out in nature and I'm moved to tears about the Jewish Perek Shira song of creation. Our meditation, the fringes on our clothes, our language, and our clinging to the One God (in the old way, not the way the white missionaries did to our people) are all signs of our mutual roots. Now that we have DNA testing, there is no doubt.

As a small token of appreciation for the love and respect you have honored our people with, I'm enclosing a film clip of Wayra, a Bolivian Indian who plays the native American flute like we do. To the best of my knowledge, King David also had such a similar flute. May you enjoy it, and may the Holy One bless your journeys in life with smooth and pleasant paths.

Looking forward to the day when the lost tribes will be returned and reunited with mother Israel, your friend and brother, Silver Cloud from Oklahoma

Chef Sam Talks to Hashem

Chef Sam grew up in an observant home, fell "out of the program", and returned to Hashem big-time by way of emuna books and CDs. I'm so very proud of him. Together with Lipa Schmeltzer, Chef Sam has inspired many other Williamsburg and Monsey "expatriates" and helped them become upright observant Jews out of choice and through love, not force. Let's hear what Chef Sam has to say:

Kol Nidrei: Moroccan Version

Everyone knows the Ashkenazi version of Kol Nidrei, the holy prayer of annulling vows which ushers in Yom Kippur. Few have tasted the beauty of Moroccan Jewish prayers; we're therefore delighted to share with you the Moroccan version of Kol Nidrei. 

The contention between Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews is both despicable and ridiculous. We are all beloved brothers. My own family, 15 generations ago, came from Spain and was expelled during the Spanish Inquisition of 1492. Back in Toledo, Spain, our last name was "Barda". Our ancestors fled east to Poland and the Ukraine; our cousins fled south to Morocco. As such, the Moroccan Barda family is actually our 15th cousins. I pray for the day when we'll all love each other like true brothers. Yom Kippur Eve is a good day to start. Gmar Chatima Tova!