How do we make sense out of the current war with Gaza in light of emuna? Today's Emuna News analysis shows how this is all part of Hashem's plan for Geula. Shabbat Shalom and blessings for a wonderful Shavuot holiday.

Learning the Ten Commandments in depth is a wonderful preparation for the holiday of Shavuos; today, we have the opportunity to learn them and to learn how the entire order of creation in general and our personal success in life depend on them. 

A group of IDF tank soldiers asked Rabbi Brody for some words of encouragement before engaging in combat during Operation "Guardians of the Walls". May, 11, 2021 - don't miss this 90-second message, Hebrew with English subtitles.

Today is the most opportune day of the year to pray for the success of our children. Don't forget to recite the Shl'a prayer, which you can see or download in Hebrew and English at this link, courtesy of our friends at Artscroll. Chodesh Tov!

It looks like Moshiach is imminent. Three hours ago, seven Hamas rockets fired from Gaza landed in the Jerusalem vicinity. Over 40 rockets have been fired at the south. Here in Ashdod and all points south, schools and all public gatherings are curtailed until further notice. The world, including the US, are lined up against us with Turkey and Iran pledging their support to Hamas. The Arab rabble-rousers on the Temple Mount have just now ignited a fire (above image, courtesy of INN) and that's enough to have the Moslem world yelling for Jihad. Jet aircraft are flying overhead nonstop and no one here knows what will develop in the coming hours. One thing is sure - like I said yesterday, the labor pains of Moshiach have begun. May Hashem help us to weather them.

P.S. It makes one shudder to think that the Israeli Left, to get rid of Bibi, almost sealed a coalition deal the the Islamic Brotherhood Party (Ra'am). Can you imagine requesting permission from them to protect ourselves against the terrorists? Those talks of course have been tabled. Thank You, Hashem, that You run the world.

As I was eating breakfast this morning, something caught my eye. After hanging up laundry on our balcony, my wife left for her Monday-morning Torah class. I knew the basket was empty, but suddenly I saw something moving inside of it. Then, a male dove landed on our balcony railing with a dry twig in its mouth. He descended into the laundry basket where there was already movement. I stood up to get a better look. He and his female were building a nest, perched on top of our little basket of clothes pins within the big basket. he then took off to bring another twig. Wasting no time, he returned and placed it in the nest, but before he departed for another sortie, he gently pecked his female on the beak as if he was kissing her.

Within twenty minutes, they had a nest comfortable enough for her to lay an egg. I wanted so much to document this, but the male was very shy and flew away, The female smiled at the camera as you see in the hastily-snapped photo above.

There is no such thing as seeing something that's meaningless. Hashem communicates to us by way of our environment. King David, who wrote Perek Shira, was a cogent observer of his environment. So was his son, King Solomon, who says, "Go to the ant, sluggard; observe her ways and become wise" (Proverbs 6:6). King Solomon sends the lazy individual to go learn industriousness from an ant.

Here's what I learned from the pair of doves on my balcony:

1. Invest in your nest - invest your time, resources and efforts into what's really important: your soul (and your body insomuch as it houses the soul), your spouse and your children. Don't waste your personal assets on inconsequential endeavors. 
2. Build your nest and raise a family while you're young and full of agility.
3. Make sure that whatever you do contributes to fulfilling your task on earth. If you don't know what that is, read Path to Your Peak.

That loving pair of doves are doing what they're supposed to and we should to. Now is the time to prepare ourselves for receiving the Torah anew on Shavuos (this coming Sunday night and Monday in Israel, with the addition of Tuesday overseas) and making ourselves a little bit better than we were yesterday. Many people have asked me lately, especially in the aftermath of the Meron tragedy, for something not too difficult to take upon themselves. Here's my suggestion: waste five less minutes every day and use them toward either learning Torah or reciting Psalms.

Symbolically, the pair of doves on my balcony had only concern - building their world. We should learn from them and concentrate on building our world, making it a much better place, amen!

Just like childbirth, the closer we get to Moshiach, the more frequent and excruciating the pains become. Is there room for alarm? Is there any consolation?

When you go to a shiva house, you learn all types of things about the deceased person – the biggest thing you learn is that you never really knew the individual or the greatness that was within him. That's why King Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes that it's better to go to visit a shiva house than a nightclub. The difference is that in a nightclub, all you see is glitter, makeup and outer dimensions. In the house of a mourner, there's no glitter and outer dimensions, only inner dimensions. Today's podcast is a tribute to the 45 holy victims of the Meron tragedy last week on Lag B'Omer.

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This is our fourth and final chapter of the Book of Ruth, but we begin with a synopsis of the first three chapters. The Book of Ruth gives an amazing insight into the magnificent and unexpected events that lead up to Moshiach and Geula.

The Lag B'Omer tragedy in Meron last Friday has among other things exposed who is a true leader and who is certainly not. Today's podcast shows how.