T91 PNC - Hands of Faith (Emunah Extends into All Limbs, 2 segs)

Opening verse: 'And his hands were emunah (faith) until the sun came' (Exodus 17:12 — about Moses' hands during the battle with Amalek). There are several kinds of faith: there is faith that is only in the heart — an internal belief. But the main thing a person needs is to have faith that extends into all the limbs, so that every action the body performs carries the vitality of faith. Faith must not remain locked in the mind but must permeate the entire body.

As the Ari (Rabbi Isaac Luria) writes: one needs to raise his hands at the time of ritual hand-washing (netilat yadayim) up to the level of the head, in order to receive the holiness. This requires faith in the hands — to believe that because one raises his hands to the head's level, he receives the holiness. Without faith, the physical act is nothing. As the verse says: 'All Your commandments are emunah (faith)' (Psalms 119:86) — each mitzvah is a vessel of faith. When a person has faith that extends into his physical actions, from that faith comes intellect (seichel). What he initially needed to believe — as new understanding comes, faith transforms into intellectual grasp. Faith constantly opens doors to deeper understanding.