Every time you stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone you become a new person. The person you were yesterday could not accomplish this; you, on the other hand, can.
If you're bored with your life, If you are looking for meaning, if you want to do something drastically new, no need to drop it all and make a career change. All you need to do is push yourself a Little more then you are used to; be a little more patient, a little more loving, a little kinder, have just a tiny bit more self control.
You’ll be surprised how challenging it is to go the extra step. You’ll be surprised how transformative a teeny step can feel.
Just try it, and the person looking back at you in the mirror tonight will be a totally new person.
(12 Tamuz 5740)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Secret of "Kabalat Ol"
You are the kind of guy who, in Yeshivah, would be called a “kabolas Ol’nik”. Your motivated to do the right thing, and to follow Hashem’s instructions as much as possible. Your not in love, or in awe, or overtaken by the beauty of it all.
Some misunderstand you. They pity you; they assume that you put yourself aside for Hashem leaving no room for personal satisfaction and meaning. Some may even suspect that you have a low self esteem; after all you devote yourself to someone other then yourself.
Nothing is farther from the truth. In fact you hold yourself in high regard and you take yourself very seriously. You understand your own significance, your actions acutely make a difference; Hashem does care, really.
So the heart of the guy who’s in love with Hashem is drawn to Hashem with great passion, but that same heart is sometimes filled with doubt: does he really care? If I do my own thing for an hour would it make a big difference? Do my choices have meaning?
You don’t have these doubts. You understand the importance of every aspect of your life. You respect yourself. After all you're a “kabolas Ol’nik”.
(Bi'ha'loscha Atere"s)
Some misunderstand you. They pity you; they assume that you put yourself aside for Hashem leaving no room for personal satisfaction and meaning. Some may even suspect that you have a low self esteem; after all you devote yourself to someone other then yourself.
Nothing is farther from the truth. In fact you hold yourself in high regard and you take yourself very seriously. You understand your own significance, your actions acutely make a difference; Hashem does care, really.
So the heart of the guy who’s in love with Hashem is drawn to Hashem with great passion, but that same heart is sometimes filled with doubt: does he really care? If I do my own thing for an hour would it make a big difference? Do my choices have meaning?
You don’t have these doubts. You understand the importance of every aspect of your life. You respect yourself. After all you're a “kabolas Ol’nik”.
(Bi'ha'loscha Atere"s)
Monday, June 8, 2009
Listen, He's Talking
Did you ever read an introduction that is more powerful then the actual message? Have you ever enjoyed a forward more then the book?
Well, I have. Perhaps the most powerful verse in the story of the Ten Commandments is the introduction: "and Hashem spoke all these words to say". Beacuse all Jews were present at the giving of the Torah and heard it from Hashem fist hand, the words "to say" can't mean "to say to others" as is their usual meaning. Rather, "to say" means to repeat. When we read a verse in the Torah we are repeating Hashem's words. A Jew, reading a book in her living room in the twenty first century, is experiencing the giving of the Torah; she is repeating the words Hashem is saying at that very moment.
Some times the Torah's massage seems simple and mundane; don't kill, don't steel, don't be jealous. But more powerful then the the commandment is the commander; more powerful then the teaching is the teacher. When I study a verse in Torah here he is, the infinite creator of the world, in all his glory communicating with me.
If I listen carefully I'll hear him.
(Torah Or, Yisro)
Well, I have. Perhaps the most powerful verse in the story of the Ten Commandments is the introduction: "and Hashem spoke all these words to say". Beacuse all Jews were present at the giving of the Torah and heard it from Hashem fist hand, the words "to say" can't mean "to say to others" as is their usual meaning. Rather, "to say" means to repeat. When we read a verse in the Torah we are repeating Hashem's words. A Jew, reading a book in her living room in the twenty first century, is experiencing the giving of the Torah; she is repeating the words Hashem is saying at that very moment.
Some times the Torah's massage seems simple and mundane; don't kill, don't steel, don't be jealous. But more powerful then the the commandment is the commander; more powerful then the teaching is the teacher. When I study a verse in Torah here he is, the infinite creator of the world, in all his glory communicating with me.
If I listen carefully I'll hear him.
(Torah Or, Yisro)
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