What is the Remedy for Dealing with Crises? Is Belief in the Creator Enough?

Anyone who has occasionally read articles or watched videos about marital harmony knows the golden rule - a good relationship doesn't create itself; it is built through effort.

If you've ever been in a study group or outreach center with baalei teshuva at the beginning of their journey, whose burning passion for truth is palpable, there might have been a moment when someone suddenly exclaimed, wide-eyed, "That's lashon hara (negative talk)!" only to have another defend, "What's lashon hara about it?", initiating a discussion about what constitutes lashon hara.

Anyone who has decided that losing weight is a necessity, begrudgingly starts eating more lettuce and carrots instead of a bagel with cream cheese topping at 36% fat. They might also, even more begrudgingly, skip the leftover moussaka from Shabbat.

What’s the conclusion? Nothing in life—whether knowledge, personal development, material or spiritual acquisitions—comes without effort and investment. To achieve anything, one must work for it through learning, physical work, and other necessary paths. As our parents taught us as children, "Nothing in life is free."

As in other areas of life, faith also requires effort. Belief is like a muscle; if you don’t regularly train it, it weakens and deteriorates. To maintain faith, one must dedicate time to studying and reinforcing it. This could be through a regular weekly lecture on faith or through learning from a strengthening book on the topic. Here is a partial list of recommended books for reinforcing faith: 'Nefesh Shimshon - Sha'arei Ha'emunah' by Rabbi Shimshon David Pincus; 'Perekai Machshava - Emunah and Bitachon' by Rabbi Azriel Tauber; from the series 'Man’s Duty in His Universe' — the volumes 'Faith' and 'Trust'; 'Yagel Libi B'Yeshuatecha' by Rabbi Yigal Cohen; 'All Your Waves - From the Life's Crises and Their Solution in Judaism' by Rabbi Lugasi; 'In the Garden of Emunah' by Rabbi Shalom Arush.

Life has moments of difficulty and crisis, personal and communal. The sole way to conquer the waves of crisis is through belief in the Creator, the understanding that nothing is by chance and that everything is determined by a higher justice. Even when it's not always understandable and clear to us, there is divine providence, and ultimately, everything is for a superior and good purpose. The faith that we are watched by personal supervision and that everything occurring in our lives is precise and for our ultimate benefit gives the strength to endure, provides oxygen during hard times, and pushes us forward without falling.

Learning provides tools to face the test of faith when it suddenly comes into our life, akin to a soldier learning combat strategies and training for the hour of battle. When the moment comes, and there is a test of faith, it is then that we must speak to ourselves, recall what we know, and embed it in our hearts. Preliminary learning is a necessary phase, but only at the time of the trial can the faith we have learned and reviewed manifest and come into practice. Just like Avraham Avinu, whom Hashem tested with ten difficult trials, and only after he withstood those tests did Hashem say of him, "Now I know that you fear God" (Genesis 22:12).

The Weekly Challenge

Attend a regular weekly lecture on faith by a rabbi whose teachings resonate with you, or study a strengthening book on this topic.