BELIEVE TO RECEIVE – A TORAH & NEUROSCIENCE FRAMEWORK

The Concept

“Believe to Receive” is not about treating the universe like a personal ATM, dispensing goodies at the push of thought-buttons. Nor is it about twisting or manipulating reality to serve our whims. Instead, it rests on the Torah principle that when we align our thoughts, words, and actions with G-d’s will, we create a vessel (k’li) for blessing. Believing, perceiving, and receiving become a single integrated process.

As we stand poised before the concentrated holiness of our year’s holiest season, I find myself reflecting on these ideas. I’ve been deeply inspired by Dr. David Lieberman’s brilliant and insightful works on Torah and psychology. I admire how he distills principles into “formulae” and protocols, giving us tools that are both accessible and actionable. In that spirit, I have been inspired to sketch out a framework of my own – faithful to Torah sources I know and consonant with the spirit of Dr. Lieberman’s work.

The Believe to Receive Cycle

• Believe / Bitachon: An act of trust, rooted in the certainty that G-d runs the world with precision and love. Our task is to fulfill our responsibilities in thought, speech, and deed, while leaving His “business” to Him. Torah has already guided us in interpersonal, business, and spiritual conduct—either forging connection with Hashem or, G-d forbid, severing it.
• Notice and Perceive: Mindful awareness—training the heart and mind to notice Divine Providence (hashgocha pratis) in daily life. Opening our eyes to everyday miracles.
• Channel Your Gifts: By living ethically, morally, and—if Torah observant—according to Hashem’s wisdom, we become visible vessels (keilim) for holiness in the world.
• Choose Acts of Free Will: Real free will is exercised not in trivial matters, but in morally and ethically significant choices. Each choice aligns us with Hashem’s will.
• Make a Kiddush Hashem: Integration—accepting blessings by creating vessels through Torah-aligned behavior. The blessings are not just for us. They inspire us to give further, magnify G-d’s presence, and sanctify His Name in the world.
• Revealed Blessings: Flow openly from their Source, reinforcing our faith and giving us deeper bitachon. The cycle begins anew.

This process is not wishful thinking but active partnership, rooted in the Talmudic principle: haba l’taher, mesayin lo—“One who comes to purify himself is given help from Above” (Yoma 38b). Human initiative invites heavenly amplification.

Alignment as Partnership and Kiddush Hashem

When we live in alignment—believing in Hashem, perceiving His providence, and receiving with gratitude—our success is never self-serving. It becomes a means of revealing His Presence in the world, creating a kiddush Hashem. In Chassidic language, this is His dira b’sachtonim—Hashem’s desired dwelling in the lowest world.

Hashem desires our success when it magnifies His reality on earth. When others see a life of faith, serenity, and integrity bear fruit, they recognize not mere fortune but testimony. As the Torah describes, we are called to be “a light unto the nations” (Yeshayahu 42:6). Every act of aligned living becomes a spark of that light.

The Relationship between Lieberman’s Trilogy and “Believe to Receive”

Three of Dr. David Lieberman’s works I recently read formed a scaffolding for my conceptualization framework:

• How Free Will Works: Free will is not a license to do whatever we want, but the capacity for us to choose G-d’s will over ego and impulse. Each aligned choice expands true freedom and strengthens the soul. This anchors the Bitachon/Believe
• How Bitachon Works: Trust in G-d transforms perception, dissolving fear. With bitachon, life is no longer random or threatening but lovingly orchestrated. This maps to the Perceive
• Never Get Angry Again: Anger stems from ego’s unmet expectations—when reality defies our script. Recognizing G-d’s control dissolves anger, clearing the heart to truly Receive, unclouded by resentment or illusion.

Together, these insights clarify the “Believe and Receive” cycle and our new “protocol”:

trust → perception → aligned free will → kiddush Hashem → revealed blessings → renewed trust.

Isarusa d’l’isata and Isarusa d’le’eila: The Ping-Pong of Inspiration

Chassidus teaches that an isarusa d’lisata (arousal from below) awakens an isarusa d’le’eila (arousal from Above). When we choose trust and action, Hashem responds with renewed inspiration, assistance, and blessing (siyata d’shmaya). That Divine response, in turn, spurs further human effort, setting off a “ping-pong” of ascent.

Like beloveds in a relationship, each positive act invites a flow – sometimes even a flood – of reciprocal kindness. In the spiritual realm, this feedback is not oxytocin but Divine light or “Isarusa d’l’eila.” The Alter Rebbe in Tanya (ch. 12) describes how the beinoni’s (“spiritual intermediate” – neither wicked nor fully righteous) mindful choices, especially in thought, strengthen Divine illumination both in the world and within the self.

Torah and Science Integration

1. Talmudic Principle: “Rabbi Elazar says: From the Torah, from the Prophets, and from the Writings we learn that along the path a person wishes to go, one is led and assisted” (Makkos 10b). Belief and intention guide both perception and destiny.
2. Neuroplasticity: Repeated acts of trust carve new neural circuits. Hebbian learning reminds us: “Neurons that fire together wire together” (Doidge, 2007). By rehearsing bitachon, the brain rewires toward calm and serenity, gratitude, and resilience.
3. Predictive Coding: The brain is a prediction engine, filtering experience through prior expectations. If primed with fear, perception skews toward threat. If primed with emunah and bitachon, perception is tuned to more open and revealed Providence.
4. Logotherapy (Viktor Frankl): Meaning reframes suffering. Frankl’s principle—that one can endure any “how” with a sufficient “why”—parallels bitachon, transforming randomness into purposefulness.
5. The Ba’al Shem Tov: “A person is where his thoughts are.” Repeated intentional thoughts direct consciousness and destiny. Focus, both spiritually and neurologically, literally rewires our reality.

Backyard Neighbors: Paths and Plasticity

Imagine two families living back-to-back. At first, a chain-link fence divides their yards. The children meet, become close friends, and soon a gate is opened.

At first the grass between yards is untouched. But as the children run across daily, a faint trail forms. Weeks later, the grass is worn away, the dirt packed. A permanent path emerges.

So, it is with the brain. Each crossing is like neurons firing. Occasional use leaves only a trace. Repetition – whether virtuous or destructive – etches a lasting trail into our wiring.

Practical Reflection: Which trails are you etching each day? Are they leading toward health, holiness, and connection – or toward ruts, or self-destructive behaviors you’ll later regret?

When the Neighbors Move: Pruning and Teshuva

Years later, the children grow up, one family moves away, and the gate closes. Grass seed is scattered, and with sun and rain the path fades.

Neuroscience calls this synaptic pruning: unused pathways weaken, freeing energy for new growth. Torah calls it teshuva. Rambam (Hilchot Teshuva 2:1) describes the ba’al teshuva gemurah (complete penitent) as one who not only refrains from repeating a sin but avoids the very conditions that led to it in the first place to prevent it and not put himself in the position of the test. Spiritually, this is reseeding the ground so the old path cannot reopen.

Practical Applications

1. Daily Trust Practice (Bitachon): Begin each morning affirming: “Hashem runs the world, and everything He sends today is for my ultimate good.” Or at night, learn five minutes of bitachon.
2. Gratitude Journaling / Verbal Journaling: Record your “4 Gratitudes” daily (see: com/4-gratitudes). This trains your perceptual lens to notice Providence.
3. Small Aligned Actions: Choose one small mitzvah or act of kindness each day as a conscious k’li for blessing. Do this baby step as regularly as you can.
4. Neuroplastic Rehearsal: Use affirmations like: “I am trusting Hashem’s love and support,” “I am open to His blessings,” “I am receiving with gratitude.” Repetition transforms states into traits, and makes the “path for backyard neighbors” quick and easy.
5. Inspiration Ping-Pong: Actively notice the back-and-forth of isarusa d’lisata and isarusa d’le’eila. Recognize how small steps invite larger waves of Divine inspiration.

(In Chassidus, thought, speech, and deed are the soul’s garments. Repeatedly using them for good—or the opposite—creates lasting neural and spiritual reinforcements. “What you think about, you bring about.”)

Conclusion

“Believe and Receive” is both Torah-rooted and neuroscience-supported. It integrates bitachon, free will, perception, and action into a living dialogue between human and Divine. Through isarusa d’lisata and isarusa d’le’eila, every act of belief sparks a rally of Divine response. Through neuroplasticity, every act of trust reshapes the brain to perceive and hold blessing.

Rather than a cosmic vending machine, this is covenantal partnership: human initiative amplified by Divine assistance, woven through daily thought, speech, and deed. Hashem’s will and wisdom played through us—His partners in creation.

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With Gratitude,

Rus Devorah

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