Faith, Providence, and the Jewish Destiny

Rabbi Landau's answers on trusting Hashem, seeing His hand in what happens, and the story of the Jewish people.

• Can my sins really turn into merits?

  By the ordinary rules, a fall is final. Rabbi Landau describes the “glitch” Hashem built into creation that lets the lowest point of a life become its crown.

• Do miracles only happen to special or worthy people?

  Hashem told Avram to count the stars, knowing he never could. Rabbi Landau explains what that impossible instruction teaches about who receives miracles.

• Do my sins define who I am?

  A fall can make a person feel the failure is who he is. Rabbi Landau separates the mud from the one who walks through it.

• Does denying yourself pleasure make you more holy?

  Is self-denial the path to holiness? Rabbi Landau explains whose list of permitted and forbidden actually counts, and why refusing a blessing can be ingratitude.

• Does every person have a mission in life that no one else can fulfill?

  Guilt and endless details can bury a person. Rabbi Landau teaches that finding your own portion in the Torah is what makes everything clear.

• Does “my strength and the power of my hand” apply to spiritual achievements too?

  Most people read the Torah's warning about “my strength” as a warning about money. Rabbi Landau shows how it can hide inside prayer and holiness.

• How can I stay calm when what I need hasn't come yet?

  Nobody panics about money in the bank just because it's closed for the day. Rabbi Landau uses that picture to teach calm while waiting.

• How do I know when to stop praying for something?

  Some prayers flow and some feel like pushing a boulder. Rabbi Landau explains how that difference can tell you whether to keep going.

• How do I stop being jealous of other people's talents?

  If I need to win, your talent threatens me; if we need to win, your talent is oxygen. Rabbi Landau on how a shared King turns rivals into a team.

• If Hashem already decided my future, why should I pray?

  If your match and your livelihood were set before you were born, what is prayer for? Rabbi Landau draws a sharp line between secular manifestation and the Torah’s way.

• If I really trust Hashem, why do I still feel anxious?

  Many believers feel guilty for being afraid. Rabbi Landau shows from Dovid HaMelech that trust in Hashem and trembling can live in the same moment.

• Is being stuck in a hard place a punishment from Hashem?

  The job you resent, the hardship you can't explain: Rabbi Landau on why exile is an assignment, not a sentence, and where Hashem is hiding.

• Is bitachon something I have to work hard at?

  Trying hard to trust can leave a person more anxious than before. Rabbi Landau explains why bitachon is a surrender, not a battle.

• Is it true that Hashem needs every Jew?

  Some hear “Hashem needs every Jew” and object. Rabbi Landau explains why it is true, and why your exact place right now matters.

• Is it wrong to enjoy the good things in life?

  Some people feel that suffering makes them more spiritual. Rabbi Landau explains what the Torah actually asks, and what the real sin around pleasure is.

• Is it wrong to think my prayers are what got me the job, the shidduch, or the healing?

  Prayer is precious, but it can quietly become a new home for ego. Rabbi Landau explains why a blessing is never earned by “my” davening.

• Is ordinary daily life less holy than a life devoted only to spiritual pursuits?

  Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai came out of twelve years of pure Torah and was sent straight back. Rabbi Landau explains what he had to learn about the field, the marketplace and the kitchen.

• Is teshuvah just about covering up the past?

  Hiding a past mistake is not the same as transforming it. Rabbi Landau explains the difference between a covered crack and a crack that shines.

• Should I ask the universe for abundance and success?

  Many people today speak to “the universe” and try to attract abundance. Rabbi Landau points to a single verse to explain where blessing really comes from.

• Should I wait for God to intervene, or take action myself?

  Are you praying as if you are powerless? Rabbi Landau explains the Sages' words “the righteous decree and God fulfills” and what they ask of you.

• What does “there was a king in Jeshurun” teach about unity?

  Why the king comes first in the verse, and why Rabbi Landau sees a shared King as the thing that lets strong people work together.

• What does “Tzadik gozer, v’HaKadosh Baruch Hu mekayem” mean?

  A short saying of the Sages describes the righteous declaring and God fulfilling. Rabbi Landau explains what it reveals about the power God placed inside a person.

• What is the difference between manifesting and fantasizing?

  Hashem opens His hand to satisfy every desire. Rabbi Landau explains what counts as a real desire, and why a daydream is not one.

• What is the difference between praying and complaining to God?

  The Israelites in the desert had manna and daily miracles, yet all they asked for was meat. Rabbi Landau explains what their mistake teaches about how we pray.

• What is the difference between secular manifestation and the Torah’s way?

  One tries to bend the world, the other bends the self. Rabbi Landau draws the line between popular manifestation and prayer according to the Torah.

• What was the Rivnitzer Rebbe known for?

  An elderly tzaddik on a swing with two boys nobody expected him to bother with. Rabbi Landau describes the love for every Jew that Rivnitz carries forward.

• Why am I still here, and what does Hashem want from me?

  The day after an inauguration, every staff member gets a post. Rabbi Landau on what it means that Hashem kept you here today.

• Why are selfish people so unhappy?

  Living for “What can I get?” is like fighting gravity. Rabbi Landau explains why giving doesn't buy blessing but lines a person up with it.

• Why can't I feel Hashem's presence?

  You are surrounded by signals you never feel. Rabbi Landau's Wi-Fi parable explains why Hashem can be everywhere and still go unnoticed.

• Why did God tell Avraham to count the stars if no one can count them?

  An instruction that could never be completed, followed by an endless blessing. Rabbi Landau explains what Hashem was really asking of Avram under the night sky.

• Why did the spies fail if their report was true?

  The spies did not lie about the giants. Rabbi Landau explains the one line that sealed a generation’s fate.

• Why didn't Hashem keep the Jewish people in the desert, learning Torah with everything provided?

  The desert was a holy, protected life of pure learning. So why did Hashem lead the people out of it, and why did the spies cry?

• Why do I feel stuck after I sin, and how do I move on?

  The fall is not what keeps a person down. Rabbi Landau explains the second trap that comes after it, and how to keep walking.

• Why do Jews mention the Exodus from Egypt so many times every day?

  Three times a day may sound like overdoing it. Rabbi Landau explains why each mention of leaving Egypt is a fresh chance to break out of tunnel vision.

• Why do we thank God first thing in the morning, before we know what the day holds?

  Modeh Ani comes before coffee and before we know anything about the day. Rabbi Landau explains why gratitude is meant to come first.

• Why doesn’t Hashem give me everything I ask for?

  If Hashem satisfies the desire of every living thing, why are so many prayers left open? Rabbi Landau’s answer turns on what counts as a desire.

• Why doesn't inspiration change my life?

  A great speech, tears, excitement, and three years later nothing has changed. Rabbi Landau's one question that turns a feeling into a life.

• Why shouldn't I wait for the other person to make the first move?

  Everyone is waiting for someone else to call, apologize or change first. Rabbi Landau explains why the first step has to be yours.

• Why was it a sin for the Israelites to ask for meat in the desert?

  Asking for food hardly sounds like a grave sin. Rabbi Landau explains what made the desert complaint about meat so serious.

• Why was Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai sent back into the cave?

  Twelve years of pure Torah, and Heaven sent him straight back. Rabbi Landau explains what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai had to learn before he could leave the cave.

• Why were the Jewish people scattered among the nations?

  A people sent away for failing, or a people sent out on assignment? Rabbi Landau reads the exile through the prophet's “light for the nations.”

All topics · Questions about Rabbi Landau and Rivnitz