What does it mean to have faith in God? The list is endless. We present here some of the more necessary and basic aspects of faith!
Faith in God. What does it mean to have faith in God? The list is endless. We present here some of the more necessary and basic aspects of faith:
– Faith that God is One. There is no other besides Him.
– Faith that God is King. He is our Ruler.
– Faith that God oversees us with Divine Providence.
– Faith that God listens to and accepts our prayers.
– Faith that God is good. Whatever happens to us is for our good.
Faith in Torah and mitzvot. “All Your mitzvot are faith” (Psalms 119:86). Faith also means faith in the Torah; the Written Law and Oral Law. The Talmud teaches: Whoever says that he accepts all of Torah, save one single law that he doesn’t accept as coming from God through Moshe – he is a heretic (Sanhedrin 99a).
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Regarding the incense of the Holy Temple, if honey were put into it, no one would be able to take the sweetness of the fragrance. Why don’t we put honey in? Because the Torah commands us (Leviticus 2:11), “Do not put honey on the altar” (Daily Liturgy). A Breslover Chassid by the name of Reb Yisrael Starpachik would recite the daily prayers with great enthusiasm and intensity.
It once happened that Reb Pinchas of Kublitch, a Sqverer Chassid (then opponents to the Breslover Chassidim), came upon Reb Yisrael as he was reciting the liturgical words which relate the laws of the incense sacrifice. Reb Pinchas was awed as he listened to Reb YIsrael: “Sweetness of the fragrance… The smell would be incredibly wonderful. Then why don’t we allow ourselves to put some honey in? Because the Torah commands us… The Torah commands us… The Torah commands us…” The fervor and inspiration that flowed from Reb Yisrael’s prayers – prayers which he offered with such simplicity and faith in the Torah’s meaning and message – influenced Reb Pinchas to become a Breslover Chassid (Rabbi Nachman Burstein).
There are many things that we might do, devotional practices of all sorts, which would seemingly add to our service to God. Be careful! If these things appear nowhere in the Torah or in the teachings of the Rabbis, putting them into practice would be a mistake. Only the Torah can provide us with the correct parameters for dealing with and facing life. For this reason, we must place great emphasis on simply observing Torah laws. By having faith in Torah and mitzvot we will see the importance of adhering to the Torah, the positive influence it has on our lives, as opposed to those who seek new ways and as a result witness how their ensuing generations fall away from God, Torah and Judaism.
The Talmud teaches: Whoever says that he accepts all of Torah, save one single law that he doesn’t accept as coming from God through Moshe – he is a heretic (Sanhedrin 99a).
The Rebbe said, “How can someone who wants to be a Jew study the works built on the tenets of acknowledged atheists? To develop faith one should study only those works written by the Tzaddikim – Talmud, Midrash, Zohar, etc. – for they are all rooted in the Torah that we received at Sinai through Moshe (Tzaddik #410).
Faith in the Tzaddikim. “And they believed in God and in His servant Moshe” (Exodus 14:31). The Midrash says: “Whoever believes in God is as if he believes in the true shepherd, Moshe, and whoever believes in the true shepherd is as if he believes in God, Creator of the world” (Mekhilta, BeShalakh).
The Talmud teaches: “The Torah is acquired by means of forty-eight qualities. One of these is faith in the Tzaddikim” (Avot 6:6). The vast majority of these qualities focus on one’s diligence and efforts in pursuing Torah study and rectifying bad character traits. However, innocuously placed in the middle of the forty-eight is faith in Tzaddikim. The Tzaddikim are the ones who transmit the Torah to us, so without faith in their teachings we will never be able to acquire the Torah. That being so, of what value is intellectual pursuit and diligent study?
Thus, an integral part of achieving faith in God is having faith in the Tzaddikim. Given our complex and ever-changing world, how can we ever hope to choose what is right, what is correct – in the mundane and in the sacred? For this, we need the Tzaddikim. These righteous individuals – who have risen above the physical restraints and limitations of the human mind – they know. We can rely on them; much in the same was as a child relies on a parent whom he looks up to as all-knowing.
“From me you can begin to get a glimpse of God’s greatness” – Rebbe Nachman
“Most seamen are chassidim” (Kiddushin 82a). “This is because they are in constant danger and are always turning to God” (Rashi, ad. loc.)
A weathered sea captain will not trust a novice to navigate his ship. His training at the helm is something which the beginner cannot hope to match. Yet, occasionally, even seasoned captains need assistance from masters who have even more experience than they. Then again, there are times when even the most experienced of ship-masters encounters waves and turbulence which render him helpless. He then has no choice but to turn to God for help.
Survival in this world is similar to navigating on the sea. Just as it is physically impossible for man to survive in the water and dangerous when sailing upon it, so too, it is impossible to survive in the “sea of knowledge” and dangerous for him to navigate across it without the proper tools. These tools are the advice we receive from the Tzaddikim who guide us on the proper path.
We can relate this to the crossing of the Red Sea. The Jews believed in Moshe, the Tzaddik, and followed him across. The impassable sea was split for them, its waters rising like walls to separate between one tribe and the next. This was symbolic of each being guided through the sea – the “sea of knowledge” – in accordance with his own level of wisdom and understanding. Pharaoh, on the other hand, did not have any belief. Yet he felt that he had the tools with which to cross the sea. He discovered otherwise. Being ill-equipped to handle the turbulent sea, the walls of water came crashing down upon him and his Egyptian army (Likutey Halakhot, Netilat Yadayim Li’Seudah 6:39).
Rebbe Nachman said, “From me you can begin to get a glimpse of God’s greatness” (Tzaddik #284). A Tzaddik is one who has attained Torah and has acquired Ruach haKodesh (the holy spirit). Through our faith in the Tzaddikim, their holiness can descend upon us and help us achieve greatness in spirituality. Even the mere mentioning of their names helps us draw from their holiness (Likutey Halakhot, Netilat Yadayim li’Seudah 4:6).
(taken from the book: Crossing the Narrow Bridge: A Practical Guide to Rebbe Nachman’s Teachings, chapter 5 – Faith, pp. 73-77)
