Two ways you could write your life:
“I am so small, and I make such stupid messes that even if the Creator of this magnificent universe had some plan for me, by now He must have given up. So I do too.”
Or:
“I am so small, and I make such stupid messes, yet nevertheless the Creator of this magnificent universe will not let go of His belief in me.”
“And so neither will I.”
~ The Lubavitcher Rebbe as quoted by R’ Tzvi Freeman
A person acquires wealth and then the wealth acquires the person. ~ Keser Chochmah
All worries are forbidden, except when one worries about his worrying. ~ R’ Yisroel Salanter zt”l
If a person constantly focuses on the future in his present moments, he entirely loses out on his present moments. When the future finally becomes the present, he will continue to focus on the future of that future. Hence he never has a present. ~ The Alter of Nervardok
A God-fearing person who slept alone in the wilderness was asked “Aren’t you afraid of wild animals? How can you sleep out here?”
He replied, “I would be embarrassed if the Almighty were to see that I was afraid of anything else besides Him.” ~ Chovos Halvovos
Do you think Hashem gave us impossible commandments? Commandments that humans cannot be expected to fulfill? A person need only make the decision that he will not transgress this mitzvah, and he will be granted Heavenly assistance. He will find that it is quite within his power to guard his tongue, and he will, indeed, be successful! ~ The Chafetz Chaim
Some people give up hope on concentrating during prayers because they feel there is so much to say and they find it hard to concentrate for so long. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov offered the following advice:
Make up your mind to concentrate on just a few pages. This in itself is not difficult. After reciting those pages, once again make up your mind to pray just a few more pages with concentration.
By using this technique you will be able to concentrate during the entire service. ~ Hishtapchus Hanefesh as quoted by R’ Zelig Pliskin
The Arizal stated the following regarding the first night of Shavuos:
“Know that one who does not sleep at all this night, but instead spends all his time learning Torah, is guaranteed that he will live out the year and no harm will befall him.”
I have said this before and will say it again. This guarantee by the Arizal should not be taken lightly. Who knows what the coming year has in store for us? Who wouldn’t love to have such a guarantee?! But remember, in order to get this guarantee, a person has to spend “all his time learning Torah,” – which probably means without taking a break and talking to friends. We are all capable of this. If you try to do this, Hashem will assist you and make it happen. Haztlocha!
Normally, when we count down to something, it is all about reaching the goal. With Sefiras Haomer, however, it is not just about reaching that goal of Matan Torah, but rather the work we put in to getting to that point. The count itself is part of the goal, which explains why we count up.
