The Power of Faith: How Belief Can Draw Miracles Into Reality

Faith is the key given by God for all salvations. The Beit Aharon of Karlin taught that faith is a conduit through which we draw down salvation. When we believe that the salvation will come, it will!

The Hebrew word Emunah (faith) has two meanings:

1. To believe – to trust, to place confidence in something.

2. To raise or nurture – as in the verse from Esther, “And he [Mordechai] was the guardian (omen) of Hadassah”, meaning he raised Esther as his own daughter.

It is no coincidence that emunah carries both meanings. When you believe in something, you nurture it, cause it to form, to develop, and draw it toward yourself. A person attracts that which he truly believes in. If he believes salvation will come, it is as if he is “raising” that salvation, giving it life and bringing it closer.

The Ohev Yisrael, quoting Rabbi Yechiel of Zlotchov said that when a person believes and trusts, he draws salvation toward himself.

A Holocaust Survivor’s Faith Saved His Life

One story tells of a Holocaust survivor who constantly spoke words of faith and trust while in the camps. His fellow inmates, surrounded daily by death, grew tired of hearing it. After they were sent to an extermination camp, one man mocked him: “Even here you still believe?” He replied firmly: “Of course.”

One day, his turn came to be herded into the gas chambers. Hundreds were crammed inside when the same man challenged him again: “Will you still say this is all from God and for the good?” Without hesitation, he answered: “Of course.”

At that moment, the Nazi officer came to seal the doors but could not, due to the extreme overcrowding. He opened the doors, grabbed this man, pushed him outside, and shut the chamber again. In that instant, the man escaped and his life was spared.

Fish for Shabbat Through Faith

In the home of Rabbi Mendel of Rimanov, poverty was so great that one Friday, they had no fish for Shabbat. His wife worried greatly but the Rebbe reassured her: “Prepare the dishes; the fish will come.” She followed his words. Soon after, a traveler who was stranded in town for Shabbat knocked on their door, asking to stay with them — and he brought fish with him. By their simple faith in God, they drew down the salvation.

Faith as a Spiritual Conduit

The Rebbe of Zlotshov teaches that faith has the power to draw something from its spiritual source into reality. When a person believes in God with complete faith for a specific matter, that very matter is drawn into being.

This sheds light on Rashi’s comment about Noah. The Torah says that Noah was “believing and not believing” that the Flood would come. This can be understood to mean that Noah feared to believe with complete certainty that the Flood was coming, because a complete, absolute belief can draw the event into reality. In truth, he did believe, but he feared that perfect faith in the Flood’s arrival could be the spiritual cause that would bring it about, and he did not want to be the one to “cause” the destruction.

Jacob’s Faith Could Have Brought Joseph Back

A similar idea appears in the story of Joseph’s sale. After the brothers sold Joseph, they showed Jacob his coat dipped in goat’s blood. Jacob concluded that a wild animal had devoured him:

“They said, ‘We found this. Please examine whether it is your son’s tunic or not.’ He recognized it and said, ‘It is my son’s tunic; a wild animal has eaten him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces’” (Genesis 37:32–33).

The question is asked: Why did the brothers lead Jacob to conclude that an animal had killed Joseph? Why not simply say they did not know where he was?

It is explained that they knew that if they told Jacob that Joseph had merely disappeared, Jacob’s faith could draw him back. A person who truly believes can, in a spiritual sense, give strength in the upper worlds for the salvation to manifest below.

This is the meaning of the verse: “Give strength to God” (Psalms 68:35). God created the world so that human faith and trust on earth can affect the flow of blessing from Heaven.