Develop the habit of seeing other people as they see themselves.
All anger, all hatred, all quarrels arise because a person views the situation from his own perspective, and fails to see himself from the viewpoint of the other person.
~ R’ Eliyahu Dessler zt”l
A Jew must be as careful of his actions in life just as a person playing chess thinks carefully before his next move.
Weigh what you’re planning to do to see if you might end up regretting your move.
~ R’ Simcha Bunim of P’shischah zt”l
The Ben Ish Chai suggests that when you have a new idea regarding how to earn money and you foresee yourself becoming wealthy, the Torah warns, make a fence around your mind. Do what you need to do to attain the wealth, but don’t fantasize about it because the imagination itself may cause you to lose your potential wealth.
This is because it was destined on Rosh Hashana for you to earn a lot of money, but you are enjoying it with your imagination! That pleasure might take the place of the actual wealth that could have been yours.
The pasuk tells us that a tzaddik falls seven times, then gets up. It doesn’t say “if” he falls, he’ll get up, but that he will certainly fall – and then get up.
Find me someone who achieved something worthwhile – in the Torah, in Chazal, in life – who didn’t fall first, time after time. But he always got up one more time than he fell.
You want to live free of anxiety? Be responsible. Clean up the dead weight of the past, accept the falls, now move on.
Focus on the good – in ourselves, in our spouses, in our children – and move forward. ~ Dr. David Lieberman
What does it mean to live in Paradise?
If I know that everything is good, even if sometimes it doesn’t look so good, that’s paradise.
~ R’ Shlomo Carlebach zt”l
When one relies on Hashem, not only are his needs met, but he is blessed as it says “Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, God will be his security.”
~ Midrash Hagadol
When a person thinks about what happened until now; that is the Yetzer Hara.
When a person focuses on the present and the future; that is the Yetzer Tov.
~ The Kesav Sofer
The Mesilas Yesharim states based on the gemara in Berachos, that to the extent that one is fearful, that is how much he is a sinner. Meaning, if you want to know how far away you are from Hashem, look at how nervous you are. How scared are you?
A person who has bitachon in Hashem understands that Hashem is in complete control.
~ R’ Yisroel Majeski
Pain is a must.
Suffering is self-inflicting.
Suffering is when you choose to be a victim of your pain.
It’s when you don’t want to let it go.
~ Rebbetzin Raquel Kirszenbaum
Everything that exists in your world is about connecting to your Creator.
Everything is one of three:
1. A connection to be grasped.
2. A disconnection to be avoided.
3. Or neutral ground awaiting you to transform it into a connection.
But if something was not part of your purpose, it would not exist in your world.
~ R’ Tzvi Freeman
