In spiritual matters, every single person lives in an entirely different world. One person’s world in no way touches the world of any other person. Hence, there is no need to feel envious of the spiritual accomplishments of others.
~ Michtav MaiEliyahu vol.1 p. 126
Everyone loves Neila and that awesome high feeling we have at the end of Yom Kippur. We say “Hashem, please don’t close the gates!”
Nobody wants the gates to close, but did you ever ask, if this is the time of closing the gates, when was the opening of the gates?
You know when they opened? Elul!
That feeling that you have at Neila that you don’t want to lose, you actually have 40 days of Neila, of the gates being opened before they close.
Don’t wait until 5 minutes before they close! They are opened now! Start now!
~ R’ Yaakov Mizrahi
A young boy dressed in a baseball uniform came to the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
“Are you a player?” asked the Rebbe.
“No” said the child, “I was there as a fan, to cheer my team.”
The Rebbe continued “If the score is 7 to 0, can a player on the team that is losing leave, even before the game is over?”
“No, of course not,” the boy said, “he’s still in middle of the game.”
“But a spectator can leave if he wants to, right?” the Rebbe asked.
The boy nodded.
“In life,” the Rebbe looked the boy in the eye, “try not to be a spectator, who can simply get up and walk away when things look like they aren’t going your way: try to be a player, in it until the end, knowing that it’s your responsibility to try to make a difference!”
~ R’ Moshe Weinberger
Everything that is given to you in this world is meant as a test.
Intellect or wealth is a test whose purpose is to determine whether you become arrogant and use these attributes for your own gratification, or whether you utilize them to serve the Almighty.
~ R’ Eliyahu Dessler zt”l
The two words that can really reshape things are “Tzelem Elokim.”
Man is created in the image of Hashem.
That marvelous creation, called human being, is a reflection of the Divine.
Now think about it: If you really believe you’re carrying His image, would you use your mouth to speak in a lowly fashion? Would you dress improperly?
Thinking about those two words, what they tell us about who we are and what we represent, can change the way we see ourselves. Having a sense of self-worth changes how we project ourselves, how we act.
We’ve been invested with so much, we’re carrying such dignity.
We’re too good to act any other way. ~ Rebbetzin Raquel Kirszenbaum
When a person wants to train himself to grow in personality traits, he needs to pay attention to trivial matters.
By growing from each minor life event, you will eventually reach high levels of perfecting your character traits.
~ R’ Simcha Zissel Ziv zt”l
Sometimes life teaches us to say, “I don’t know.” Not every journey is graspable.
Not every detail of your child’s journey will be comprehensible.
“Eini yodei’a mah melamdenu – I don’t know what this teaches us,” Rashi says. The Torah, life itself, show us that sometimes we just don’t understand.
That too is a lesson.
Sometimes, that’s the deepest truest, most Godly lesson of all.
~ R’ YY Jacobson
A person’s obligation in this world is to see the hand of the Almighty in nature. When you see the smallest insect, immediately focus on the Creator who is the cause of all nature. Do the same when you see a mighty lion.
The world is full of opportunities to remind you of the Creator.
~ R’ Yeruchem Levovitz zt”l
When Hashem orders us to do something, he also gives us the strength and ability to accomplish that mission. This doesn’t mean it will be easy. It will sometimes require great effort. Yet our Sages teach us that real efforts are always successful. ~ The Lubavitcher Rebbe zt”l
Keep on deceiving yourself (by saying), “I’m eating l’shem shomayim (for the sake of Heaven). Of course you’re bluffing! The first 10, 15, or 20 times, you don’t mean it. But it’s going to penetrate eventually.
That’s the secret. You have to be a hypocrite in order to become a great man. Act like a somebody; only you know you’re a nobody. Deceive people and after a while it’s going to cause a change in you.
Don’t be too hesitant to act the role of a good person, or a servant of Hashem, because sooner or later it’s going to take.
~ R’ Avigdor Miller zt”l
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