Lazer Beams

Learning Morals from an Ant

If you see an ant, don't stomp on it; observe the little critter - he's carrying a message from Hashem:

Go to the ant, sluggard; see its ways and become wise. (Proverbs 6:6) [Perek Shira, Chapter 6]

Let's view an example of nature's classroom, the divine wisdom within each creation. Look at an anthill. Ants teach us three main lessons - honesty, faith, and diligence. Observe closely, and you'll see why.

Ants are invertebrates - they don't have a spine. Most invertebrates overheat and dehydrate in full sunlight; therefore, most of their activity above ground level is either in early morning, in late evening, or in full shade. If an ant tells a lie, his peers execute him immediately.

In bright sunlight, we don't see any ants crawling around. If we were to cast a shadow over the mound, a leader ant would peek his head out of the main entrance and walk around freely in the shade. Then, he'd return to the edge of the hole to call his buddies to come outside and join him. Meanwhile, if we were to remove the object that cast the shadow, and the emerging ants would not find shade, they'd kill the leader ant for lying to them. Ants don't tolerate the slightest form of dishonesty.

An ant lives for approximately six months, yet a grain and a half of wheat is sufficient food for its entire lifetime. If we were to dig down to the central warehouses of the anthill, we'd find about three hundred grains per ant. Each ant gathers enough food for two hundred years!

An ant never stops working, because he has faith that The Almighty will grant him a lengthy life. An ant never steals nor covets. The moment he takes a bite from a grain, the grain acquires the unique odor of its owner's saliva. No other ant will dare touch the grain of a comrade. So, by observing ants, we learn about honesty, diligence, and faith.

Shouldn't we demand from ourselves the minimal moral standards of an ant?

A Signed Check by Rebbe Eliezer the Great

We've heard quite a bit recently about the dangers the people of Israel face. Rav Shalom Arush told us to turn to Hashem with more emuna and prayer, for there's no other solution than raising our voice to Heaven.

One of the greatest of our Tannaim (Mishnaic sages, 1st - 2nd Century CE) was Rebbe Eliezer the son of Horkonus, or Eliezer the Great. Rebbe Eliezer promises: "Anyone who engrosses himself in Pereq Shira every day - I bear witness that he is destined for the World-to-Come, and is delivered from calamity, and from the Evil Inclination, and from severe judgment, and from the Satan, and from all types of evil and destruction..." (introduction, Perek Shira).

What could be a better signed check than being delivered from all calamity, Evil Inclination, and destruction? Who can give you a better life and homeowner's policy for 10-12 minutes a day?

Emuna Outreach and the Beams are pleased to take away anybody's excuse that they don't have Perek Shira; here are our free downloads, which also include the Tikkun Klali:

Perek Shira in Hebrew

Perek Shira in English

May The Almighty grant you all your heart's wishes for the very best!

The Horse's Song

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 5 of Perek Shira, the Song of Creation.

The Horse says: "Behold, as the eyes of the servants to their master's hand, as the eyes of a maid to her mistress's hand, so are our eyes to Hashem our God until He will favor us." (Psalms 123:2)

I always wondered why the horse sings the above particular passage from the Book of Psalms. I asked the question to a pair of work horses in the Ukraine, and received a remarkable answer.

As you can see for yourself, Svetlana, the mare on the right, is telling me what I need to know. She explained that one can learn the proper way to serve Hashem from a horse, just as a loyal servant serves a benevolent master or a devoted maid serves her mistress. Ludmilla, the mare on the left closer to me, mentioned 4 important points that elaborate on what Svetlana said:

1. A horse never bites the hand that feeds it; if you ever give a horse an apple, some sugar cubes, or a handful of grain, don't be afraid - the horse won't bite. So, when a human goes against Hashem's will, after Hashem feeds him/her and clothes him/her, that human is on a lower spiritual level than a horse.

2. A horse never kicks the person than feeds it or waters it. Denying Hashem and/or His Torah, or complaining about what Hashem does or how He runs the world, is tanatamount to kicking. Once again, such a person is spiritually inferior to a horse.

3. A loyal workhorse never tries to kick off its master's yoke. A human that rebels against the yoke of Torah and Divine service can learn from a horse. Horses don't need analysts and Zoloft; neither do people that happily accept the yoke of Torah and servitude to Hashem. Those who refuse to serve Hashem end up being slaves to their own evil inclinations.

4. Horses become jittery at the site of uncovered flesh. Notice that equestrians always wear riding clothes that include long trousers. An immodest person wearing a midriff or shorts that walks past a horse is risking a nasty bite. Camels and donkeys are even more sensitive to modesty than horses, so don't say you weren't forewarned. If a horse is sensitive to tznius (modesty), we certainly should be.

Above image: Lazer with one of the locals in Yanov, Ukraine, riding down a 200-year-old cobblestone street. If that street could only talk...

Image below: Ukranian hayride with a local peasant of Gypsy descent.

You can learn quite a bit from horses, and from everything else in Hashem's world.

Would you like to read Perek Shira or perhaps begin reciting it? What, you don't have a copy? Thanks to Emuna Outreach, you no longer have to be without Perek Shira and Tikkun HaKlali. Here's a surprise gift download:

Free English Yalkut (Tikkun Klali/Perek Shira) download here .

Free Hebrew Yalkut (Tikkun Klali/Perek Shira) download here .

Courtesy of the Beams and Emuna Outreach. You can thank Hashem and Nachman Emuna:

The River's Song

Despair meets Emuna

Despair met Emuna (Faith) while waiting in line the Ashdod post office. Despair was mailing off a stack of protest letters, while Faith was mailing a stack of Perek Shira booklets. Here's the gist of their conversation:

Emuna(with a big smile): Shalom, Despair! How are you feeling?

Despair: Don't ask. We've been sold down the river by our own "leaders". Every inch of Israel has a Syrian , iranian or Hizbulla missile aimed at it. Nothing's going right. Nobody cares. It's all over – pretty soon, no more anything…

Emuna: Stop talking like that silly! Hashem can cancel the entire evil decree in another minute.

Despair: I don't want to hear about Hashem. He's forgotten us completely.

Emuna: Hashem doesn't forget an ameba, much less a human. Hashem loves each and every one of his creations. He calls Israel the "Holy Land" and calls us the "chosen people". If Hashem worries about the needs of every little worm and mosquito, he certainly concerns himself with the plight of his chosen children in the Holy Land.

Despair: Oh yeh, then what's Hashem doing about the massive missile armaments of our hostile neighbors? What's He doing about the government, the corruption, the economic situation?… He doesn't care about us any more…

Emuna: The very first tenet of our faith is that Hashem is the Creator and ruler of the world, who did, does, and will do every action. All those things you're angry with are nothing but scalpels in Hashem's loving hands, and all for our ultimate good. Sometimes, a doctor has to make an incision in the patient's flesh to save the patient, but that certainly doesn't mean that the doctor doesn't care about the patient; on the contrary! The doctor is the epitome of compassion; he deals in healing people!

Despair: Hashem's not interested in healing us. I haven't seen him make any house calls lately.

Emuna: That's because you don't open your eyes. He's massaging your heart and operating your brain this very second. He's even creating the microorganisms that are helping digest the food in your belly this very minute. Hashem's not only interested in helping and healing each and every one of us, He created us in order to bestow his compassion and lovingkindness on us! What looks to you like an impending disaster will turn out to be the redemption of our people. Hizbulla and Hamas are only small parts in a big puzzle that's designed to prepare us for a life of bliss in the Eretz Yisrael of Moshiach and Beit Hamikdash. Before every birth comes excruciating labor pains. We just have to pray that Hashem gives us the strength and wisdom to hang on to our faith, no matter what!

Despair: I've got no desire nor strength to pray. I'm burnt out. Besides, I don't belong to a synagogue and don't know how to pray.

Emuna: You don't need to "know how", and you don't need a synagogue. Find some quiet place and begin talking to Hashem like you would a loving parent. Ask Hashem to teach you how to pray, to put the right words in your mouth. You'll accomplish a lot more talking to Hashem than you will passing out your protest leaflets. Give it a try – Hashem's waiting for you.

Despair (sneaks a peek at the pretty embossed pamphlets in Emuna's shopping bag): Hey, what are those pamphlets? The pictures of the sunsets and the animals are really eye-catching.

Emuna: These are "Perek Shira" pamphlets. Perek Shira is the ancient prayer telling how all of creation sings its daily song to Hashem. It's really soothing for the soul, and invokes Divine mercy and blessings.

Despair: Can I have one of those?

Emuna: My pleasure. Try reciting Perek Shira – it will open up a whole new life for you…

Postal Clerk (to Emuna): It's your turn, ma'am.

Despair (out the door, waving behind him, while throwing the packet of protest letters in a nearby waste can): See ya, Emuna. I'm gonna give this a try!

Emuna (waves back at Despair): G-d bless, chabibi! (turning to Postal Clerk): Can you give me a bulk airmail rate for 1500 pamphlets to America? By the way, sir - do you say Perek Shira? Here (gives the clerk a pamphlet); say this every day for 40 days straight, and you'll probably see some miracles in your life.

Postal Clerk: Like a raise in salary, a new apartment, and a new baby maybe?

Emuna: Our father in Heaven is a zillionaire; for Him, all that stuff is small change. He just wants to hear your voice...

**********

Hashem is waiting to hear your voice, too. If you're not saying Perek Shira already, now's a good time to start.

Deer are very spiritual. They sing to Hashem (see Perek Shira), ..."I will sing of Your might, and rejoice towards morning in Your kindness, for You have been a stronghold to me, and a refuge in the day of my distress (Psalms 59:17)," for Hashem constantly saves the deer from the ferocious wolves and bears of the forest. By no random coincidence, Eretz Yisroel is called "Eretz HaTzvi", or "land of the deer". Our power is in our prayer, not in our biceps.