Emouna beyond doubt: Transforming vertigo into certainty
Have you ever felt that moment of vertigo? That moment when certainties waver, when one wonders if the Creator is truly there, at our side?
A frantic mother once came to see a Sage. Her son, she said, had “lost everything”: his faith, his practice, his points of reference. But what this mother experienced as a tragedy is actually a stage that many go through. The real question is not to know why doubt exists, but to redefine what faith actually is: Emouna.The power of song in the darkness (Midrash Tehillim 118)
To understand how to cross these zones of shadow, let us turn to a profound teaching from the Midrash Tehillim (Mizmor 118). The Midrash describes King David there, not as a triumphant sovereign, but as a man surrounded by doubts and enemies.
The text emphasizes that it is precisely from the depths of distress that the purest Emouna arises. The Midrash explains that when David cries out: “From my distress, I invoked God”, he is not just asking for help; he is transforming his trial into an encounter.
This lesson is universal: faith is not the absence of problems, but the ability to maintain an intimate connection with the Divine, even when the “Palace” seems hidden. Like David, we learn that doubt is not the enemy of faith, but the engine that pushes us to seek a deeper truth.
Knowing rather than believing: The legacy of Maimonides
This search for truth leads us to a fundamental distinction made by the Rambam (Maimonides). In his work, the Mishneh Torah, he does not say that the commandment is to “believe,” but to “know”.
“The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of all wisdom is to know that there exists a first Being.” (Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah 1:1)
For those who seek to connect to the Creator through reason and morality, this is a powerful message: faith is not an abdication of the intellect. On the contrary, it is an inner work. Studying Creation, reflecting on Providence, understanding the structure of the world: this is what “knowing” God is. Emouna must not remain a vague spark; it must become an intellectual and emotional compass.
Faith is your deep identity
Sometimes, we think we have “lost faith.” But the Lubavitcher Rebbe always reassured those who came to see him with these anxieties: “Do not panic. You did not invent Emouna, so you cannot lose it.”
Faith is not an accessory that one wears; it is the very essence of our being. The mystical teaching (Zohar and Tanya) comments on the verse from Genesis: “He breathed into his nostrils a breath of life”. The phrasing is striking: “He who blows, blows from his interiority” (Man de-nafach mi-tocho nafach).
This means that every human being carries within them a particle of the divine essence. You do not believe in God as one believes in an external object; you believe because God is within you. One does not command someone to breathe; it is innate. Your spiritual quest is only the awakening of your true nature.
Abraham: From intuition to certainty
Abraham, the father of monotheism, was not born with infused science. The Midrash (Bereshit Rabba) tells that he began to seek God from the age of three, observing the stars and searching for the “Master of the Palace”.
Abraham’s lesson is that doubt and searching are part of the process. Trials are not there to punish us, but to transform a naive faith into an unshakable conviction (the Da’at), which does not depend on external circumstances.
Conclusion: Living with “Da’at” (Knowledge)
The world around us is noisy. The challenge is to silence the noise to listen to the silent truth of the soul. As Rav Adin Even Israel (Steinsaltz) said, we are never alone; we are always accompanied by the Divine Presence.
Make your faith a living reality. Study, reflect, and bring this knowledge into your heart.
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