There’s no such thing as defeat.
There’s always another chance. To believe in defeat is to believe that there is something, a certain point in time that did not come from Above.
Know that G‑d doesn’t have failures. If things appear to worsen, it is only as part of them getting better. We fall down only in order to bounce back even higher. ~ R’ Tzvi Freeman
Rav Yonason Eibschitz explains why we say ‘Hashem sefosai tiftach – G-d open my lips’ right before shemona esrei. He explains that when man stands before the Master of the Universe, one’s vocal cords should freeze in paralysis, out of fear. We therefore offer a special prayer that G-d should grant us the fortitude to open our lips in prayer. ~ Praying with Fire
“A secret is very much like a balloon. If tightly knotted, it will contain all the air blown into it. However, the slightest pinhole will allow everything to escape. A secret revealed to one person is as good as revealed to the whole world. A wise man once said ‘If someone tells you a secret with the warning not to tell anybody, you should never entrust him with anything you want to remain a secret.’” ~ The Pirkei Avos Treasury
“It is more important, in my opinion, for a Jew to be ‘Glatt Yosher’ (straight and upright) in one’s dealings with other people, than to be ‘Glatt Kosher’ in what he eats!” ~ R’ Joseph Breuer zt”l (Torah Tavlin)
“To attain the level of emuna that everything is for the best, we must learn that our path in life has been predetermined by Hashem.
We come to this world to perform a mission and to achieve a tikkun. The fact that every occurrence in our lives is the result of Divine Providence – Hashem’s personal intervention and guidance – we can always be happy with our lot, whether things go smoothly or otherwise.” ~ The Garden of Emuna
“Any Jew alive on the face of this planet today is a walking miracle. Our mere existence today is wondrous, plucked from the fire at the last moment again and again, with no natural explanation that will suffice.
Each of us alive today is a child of martyrs and miracles.” ~ R’ Tzvi Freeman
“Each moment that a person refrains from speaking the forbidden, he merits a hidden light that no angel can fathom.” – The Vilna Gaon quoted by the Chofetz Chaim
“The reason that it is permissible for a poor man to bring a smaller korbon than a wealthy man, is that his poverty itself is an atonement, and through it he is already cleansed of his sin.” ~ Techeles Mordechai from Torah Tavlin
“People walk around sad because they don’t know what to do with their future. You have this minute, right now! What are you doing with it?
The difference between sadness and joy is very simple: sadness always tells you, ‘Oy vey! What are you going to do in ten minutes? What will you do ten years from now?’
If you are really filled with joy for one minute, then you will also know what to do the next minute.” ~ R’ Shlomo Carlebach zt”l
“If a person realizes that not one of the created things can help him, except with the permission of the Creator, may He be exalted, he will turn his heart away from fear of them or hope in them, and will trust in the Creator alone, as it says: ‘Trust not in rulers, in a human being, in whom there is no deliverance’ (Tehillim 146:3)” ~ Chovos Halevovos
