Test of Faith: You Must Pray for This Too

In the book "Shomer Emunim" there is a story about one of the great righteous men of the generation who illuminated the world with his righteousness and holiness. At the beginning of his service, he was gripped by confusions of faith, Heaven forbid. The Baal Shem Tov, may his memory be blessed, foresaw this with his holy spirit, and knowing the potential of that righteous man, he traveled specifically to his place, approached him, and said: "You must also pray to Hashem for this..." That is, even for the very essence of faith, we must ask Hashem to merit us with pure faith, strong and unyielding trust in Him. That righteous man said that the Baal Shem Tov saved his soul through this. End of quote.

You Must Pray for Faith Too

Some mistakenly think that those strong in faith will pray, but they do not understand that even those weak in faith must pray for their faith to be strengthened, especially in our days when the only possibility for our existence and not to stumble and collapse is faith alone. As we elaborated at the beginning of the book, how beautiful is the daily cry to Hashem to plant His faith in our hearts, that we may be strong in our faith, like an unmovable peg.

And by deeply contemplating our great leaders of previous generations, how faith and trust were firmly implanted in their hearts, and simplicity with Hashem was their path in all events of their lives, and in spite of them being wise and understanding beyond measure, they nevertheless humbled themselves with Hashem like a beast and like an ignoramus, and thus merited true wisdom and true knowledge, which is precisely to know that a person knows nothing of Hashem's ways. When we contemplate this, we will yearn and hope that this measure of faith and simplicity with Hashem will also be established in our hearts and in the hearts of our offspring forever.

When the esteemed Rabbi Yechezkel Abramsky, may he rest in peace, was in the exile of Siberia, he came with only thin clothes covering his body. Additionally, he had to run barefoot on the snow every morning, all while temperatures sometimes reached forty degrees below zero. Many people froze to death.

The rabbi lifted his eyes to the heavens and said, "Master of the Universe, indeed 'thorns and snares are in the hands of man,' for it is within a person's power to avoid them. But in my current situation, this reasoning is invalid, as these wicked ones do not allow me to warm my body. It appears the duty of protection has returned to You... In that case, I plead: 'Protect me, G-d, for I have sought refuge in You.'"

And behold, the wonder, the rabbi, whose mother used to wrap his body in cotton wool in his childhood due to his weakness, and he would catch cold from any usual breeze, did not become ill even once while there!

The article is taken from the book "Living in Faith". To purchase Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Lugasi's book click here.