Strike Back

“Hashem is with us in all of our downfalls and He supports us in rising again.  Hashem is with us even in the worst moments, even if we are very distant, He is perpetually ready to receive us. A person stands in the midst of davening and daydreams and suddenly catches himself.  How do his tefillos appear?  Is there any purpose in invigorating the last brachos when the entire tefilla was a summer daydream, filled with foreign thoughts?  But, Hashem does not consider things this way.  Even with the final word, He waits for us to revive ourselves, to return to Him.

The Chofetz Chaim said, If he [the yetzer hora] snatched the bracha of Atah Chonein from you, seize back the bracha of Hashiveinu, and if he snags the bracha of S’lach Lanu from you, once again take back the bracha of Re’ei Na Vianiainu and so on.  Of primary importance is to never give up and just accept our situation, rather we must continue to strike back and grab another proper intention, another good thought, until the last word.” ~ Rav Menachem Azolai as translated by Dov Elias

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Making a Living

“Working for a living is good. G-d wants us to be involved in the material world in order to make it spiritual. What’s not good are the anxieties over making a living.  Don’t let your inner self get involved in your business. That inner self must be preserved for fulfilling your purpose in life.  Making lots of money is not your purpose in life.” ~ Bringing Heaven Down to Earth by Tzvi Freeman

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Who Are You Fooling?

“You cannot fool God; ultimately, you cannot fool others either. The only one you can fool is yourself. And to fool a fool is no great achievement.”~ The Rebbe Maharash, Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn of Lubavitch

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Baruch Hu U’varuch Shemo

Rabbi Elya Lopian once repeated something he had heard from the Alter of Kelm.  He said “It was worthwhile for Hashem to create the world, and to keep it existing for six thousand years, just for one person to recite ‘Baruch hu u’varuch shemo‘ just one time.  However, saying ‘Baruch hu u’varuch shemo’ even a thousand times is less important than responding ‘Amen‘ once, and responding ‘Amen‘ a thousand times is less important than answering ‘Amen, Yehei Shmei Rabba…’ once.” ~ Serenade the King

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Far, Yet Near

“God is both far and near.  How is this?  Rabbi Yehudah bar Shimon said:  From here to the heavens is a journey of 500 years.  We thus see that God is far.

How do we know that He is close?  A person can stand in prayer, meditating in his heart, and God is close enough to hear his prayer.  It is thus written, ‘You hear prayer, all flesh comes to You.’ (Psalms 65:3)” ~ Midrash, Devarim Rabbah 2:6

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Demanding Honor

“If one becomes angry and curses and blames others who have not given him sufficient honor, that itself is proper reason for his not deserving the honor he is demanding.” ~ The Steipler Gaon from Torah Tavlin

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Jewish Law

Jewish law in general and the belief that Hashem does everything for the very best in particular, is designed for everyone.  Hashem doesn’t make demands that we can’t fulfill.” ~ The Garden of Emuna

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Rising to the Next Level

The following is very deep and I think explains why sometimes we are on such a spiritual high and then soon find ourselves on a spiritual low.

“When a person wishes to enter into the service of God – and this applies to everybody, even one who is on the lowest of levels, even on who is literally ‘in the earth,’ he must at all times advance and rise from level to level.  Now, every time a person is about to move from one level to the next, each in his own way, he has to encounter the full force of the kelipot, the husks, all over again.  These are the desires and fantasies and wild thoughts, the distractions and obstacles which are ranged against a person at every moment and try to prevent him from entering the gates of sanctity.

This often leads to great confusion in the minds of honest people who have truly worked hard on themselves.  Suddenly they find all these old desires, confusions and obstacles rising up against them.  They start thinking that they must have fallen from their level because before this they had had rest from all these desires and confusions.  They lay dormant.  Now that they have reappeared, these people come to think they must have fallen down.  But this is no fall.  What is happening is that the time has come for them to advance from one level to the next, each in his own way.  This is why all the desires and confusions and obstacles – all the ‘crookedness in the heart’ – are stirred up against them with fresh force.  Each time this happens you must fortify yourself and refuse to lose heart.  Strengthen yourself against these forces and break then anew.” ~ R’ Nachman of Breslov in Lekutey Moharan

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The Ingrate

“Imagine how you would feel if you gave someone a present, with no obligation to do so, and he complained that you did not give him double the amount.  Wouldn’t you regret having given him anything?  Failure to appreciate what Hashem gives us is behaving in the same exact manner.”  ~ R’ Yaakov Krantz zt”l (Dubner Maggid) from Torah Tavlin

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Difficulties in Life

The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter.  ~Author Unknown

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