The concept of Emunah, or faith, is a central pillar of Jewish belief and practice.

It is the foundation upon which all other aspects of Jewish life and Avodat Hashem are built. Emunah is not a passive belief in Hashem’s existence (because that should be obvious), but an active trust in His guidance, and internalizing this concept to anchor ourselves.

The Torah is very succinct on how Hashem created the world. All the account of Creation on Sefer Bereshit is a huge condensation of what actually transpired until Adam started his life.

According to Jewish thought, every challenge that we face in life is an opportunity for growth and development. Each of them is an essential part of the sparks that fell in the lower worlds. In a simpler sense, when we encounter difficulties, we are tested and given the chance to strengthen our Emunah and connection to God. Through our struggles, we can learn to rely on Hashem’s and guidance and to recognize that everything that happens in our lives is ultimately for our benefit.

Many teachings of Chassidic emphasize the power of positive thinking and the ability to transform challenges into opportunities. By focusing on the positive aspects of any situation, we can change our perception of it and find the good in even the most difficult circumstances. This can lead to a greater sense of inner peace and contentment, even in the face of adversity.

How Reality Manifests

The first thing to realize is that reality manifests from within. Our sages teach that each person is a world (Sanhedrin 37A) and so contains within him/her the entirety of creation. In Etz Chaim (“The Tree Of Life”), the Holy Arizal explains how Hashem Created the world using 10 Sephirot that were imprinted in the many different levels of reality called the Olamot HaEliyonim (“Spiritual Worlds”). The uppermost level we can perceive is called Adam Kadmon (lit. “The Ancient Man”), which is the blueprint of all Creation, and that has no semblance at all to our physical bodies. This is a purely spiritual interface between Hashem, called “Ein Sof” (“without end”), and the lower spiritual worlds.

Rather, Adam Kadmon it’s called like that to teach us that, as we are also called “Adam”/mankind, we retain a measure of its creative powers. This rarified state is, by the way, also related to the highest Sephira of Keter (“Crown”) from where Emunah (faith) emanates.

There’s another very important Kabbalistic principle that, before something happens here in our physical world, it first occurs in the spiritual realms. No matter what it is, whether for good or otherwise, every event has to pass through the “lenses” of the spiritual worlds in order to become manifest here.

And that brings us to the central point of our series: If we are able to consciously improve how the spiritual worlds work, we will then without a doubt be improving our lives and the lives of those we love through our Emunah!. Therefore, realizing we have the potential to change reality with that is, central to bringing down the change we want.

And, as it turns out, this is actually a natural gift we all possess. It doesn’t matter if you never really felt it or think you are “blocked”. It’s just that we never really learned how to make use of it, therefore this power seems very foreign to us!

Emunah: Believing in yourself

Most people in the world believe in God. That’s something as basic as breathing and, in fact, anyone can come to this conclusion either through reasoning or feelings. That’s, without a doubt, one of the levels of Emunah. However, many of our holy Rabbis also teach the second step of Emunah: Believing in yourself!

But it’s true. The first step (or, should we say second?) to acquiring the power to change reality is to be believe in yourself. This might sound silly or unimportant, but it’s nonetheless an essential step to unlocking your true potential and bringing the change you want.

The holy Sefat Emet, Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib from Gur teaches that the Yetzer HaRah (evil inclination) works hard to make a person feel like he’s away from Hashem and that he’s unimportant. This is a very bad thing! Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen MiLublin adds that without thinking your actions are important, it’s impossible to reach any real spiritual level.

You are a holy, important, powerful, intelligent and dear creation of Hashem, no matter what other people think. The fact you are here in the world is proof in and of itself Hashem wants you here and has a special plan just for you.