Baruch Hashem I was zoche to spend three weeks in Eretz Yisroel recently and there is so much that I learned that I would like to share with all of you. I will start with this and tell me how you like it. While I was in this program called Eyaht (run through Aish) they spoke a lot about the neshamah and what makes us happy in life. I found this concept so basic yet so inspirational.
They explained that of course we all know that Hashem created Torah and then the world. So the world was created for torah and its mitzvos. Each of our individual neshamos was put into our guf (body) in order to fulfill a purpose. If the fundamental idea is that the world was created for torah then so are we and our tafkedim is aligned with that. Sooo when we do a mitzvah or learn torah we are bringing ourselves closer to our tafkid.
Wow! Okay how does knowing this help me? How does this idea make me happier?
Do you ever get that feeling when you walk the old lady across the street, help your neighbor, or learn parsha that you feel good somewhere but you’re not sure what just happened? Well I do and it took me such a long time to figure out that I was happy because I was feeding my neshamah!! What does that even mean? Well what it means is like we said before. Hashem created us to fulfill his torah and mitzvos and because it is our tachlis it’s the greatest source of happiness we can achieve for ourselves. The same way we feed our body we must feed our soul. And by doing so we are creating the happiest experience for our neshamah and guf!! When I heard this I was amazed!! You mean to say that when I daven I get greater happiness and pleasure than when I go out to eat with my friends!!!??? No way!! I didn’t believe it, but then I tried it!! It was so cool!!
I woke up on a Sunday when I had plenty of time to daven and I really put my all into the davening. I felt so good afterward. I felt so close to Hashem. I was like wow I’m giving myself the most happiness today. Wow! Then I went to my sister’s house and helped her with the kids (another mitzvah). I felt even better. Then I topped of the day with going out to eat with my friends, and don’t get me wrong I had a blast with them. But when I got home that night and before I went to bed and said shemah my heart was not filled with the food that I ate because that had passed. My heart/neshamah felt so good and uplifted because I had done something good for someone else. I had done a mitzvah that day and helped my sister in her time of need. I had connected with Hashem on a personal level and really davened to him and that is what gave me strength to do it again the next day.
Don’t read this article and think this girl is crazy she’d rather daven than go out with her friends who is this kid? I want you to walk away understanding that doing torah and mitzvos is the greatest happiness/pleasure that you can give to yourself. You hold the key to your own happiness. Go out to eat. Have fun! But know that doing torah and mitzvos and following in Hashem’s ways is bringing your tachlis your neshamah to its fullest potential to its purpose and there is nothing greater that you can do for yourself. So next time your mother, father, sister brother needs a favor do it all the while besimcha knowing that you are creating your own happiness in every mitzvah you do.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
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You're so right. I see and feel it all the time. The times when I do spiritually fulfilling acts, I just plain feel amazing. There's nothing like the feeling when the neshama is nourished!!!!
ReplyDeleteWow. This is so true! There's nothing like that special feeling after you did something spiritual and something that has meaning. It's a feeling that lasts.
ReplyDeleteThe taste of food goes away almost as soon as you are done eating but the spiritual taste that's left in your heart stays long after you did the mitvah, and then you'll be on the road to true happiness!
This is so beautiful and true! I like how you metaphorically compared feeding your body with physical food, and feeding your neshama with spiritual food. When I walk out of a speech, I totally feel as if I just stocked my neshama up with soul-food :) And, of course, there's no comparison between the kind of happiness and fulfillment that you get from doing mitzvos, to the satisfaction you gain from doing physically pleasurable things.
ReplyDeleteA very amazing thing is that sometimes you can have physical and spiritual fulfillment together. Like every time you eat a piece of bread, you get to make to brachos, affirming that Hashem is the Master of the universe. And, you also get to fulfill a mitzva deoraysa to bentch, while satiating yourself!
ReplyDeleteGood point, luv613 (and I like your name too!)!
ReplyDeleteThat's a very important concept in Judaism - that everything physical can be elevated to a spiritual level! And when you do elevate a physical act to something spiritual, you feel so good and happy!!
every one-i nead your comments-fast!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt usualy takes me a realy long time 2 daven. so whenever i go 2 shual or school i always rush and then i dont feel so good. i started to daven just a little longer so that i can at least have SOME kavanah while davening but then i was late 4 class.At the begining my teacher excused me but then/now she has started to get a little anoyed at me. so everytime i come late i have to sit a detention-(which i think goes aon some file of the schools) so idk what to do...also now when i come in, this teacher started askingme why it takes me such a long time to daven-i of course would not say in front of everyone that some girls wont daven an d if they do they some ppl. would rush and do it within a few min...but i did say that there are some other girls who has ended late as well...(at first it was only me but now i guess some ppl. are understanding what davening is all about) i dont want to tell e/o what power davening could do b/e i just dont think that they would take in my words...they probably already think that im some realy slow davener coming from some other planet-or at least that is what i would think if i didnt know so much about it....but what we realy do nead is a speaker-to speak to the whole school at large-Chaya Sara we always wanted to ask s/o but we either for got-or like me is such a coward so of course didnt have the courage to do so-but could u or anybody at all?....
im always so happy when we have vacation from school b/e that means that i get to daven longer!!!!!!!!A short story: a few days after camp and b4 school started i got up at around7 so that i could daven long-and i didnt even know how long it was until i was just finshing shima when i heard my mother say to my father "you want liat? oh! well i would give u her but shes davening-4 quite a while actualy...its right now 1pm what should i tell her?she HAS been davening quite early already today....
when we know what we are sayn-even if we r lets say reading the english under the words u have so much more kavanah!!!!!!!!
I just have a small question why if by learning is so important 4 our neshama-why do we lets say learn and then have tests on it-unlike boys who just learn it out of joy? if i had free time i would most prob. just open up a safer and just -learn!school makes u have tests, tests and even more tests-so u are not doing it out of joy;we are doing it cz we have to...a nbd that just sometimes makes us anoyed of learning and just sick of the subject by the way its taught -or just studding it 2know by heart.....and now being that we do have to know it 4 school-when it comes 2 be vacation im not exactly opening it out of excitment when i have free time-i would now do thgat now usualy whenh we dont have school anymore....
Liat,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I have to tell you that I am so inspired by your sincerity in your avodat Hashem. It is a great level that we should all strive to reach.
So i know that by having a long time to daven you feel you can have more kavannah. I think it's a great idea to have someone speak to your teacher, and to the other girls. If that doesn't work, maybe you can try to wake up a little earlier in the morning and start davening there, and then finish up at school. I know a few people who do that at my school. Also, one thing to remember is that the quality of your tefillos is so much greater than the quantity of your tefillos. Davening is all about building a relationship with your Father!! Hashem doesn't need our lips moving, but it's all about our connection with Him. Therefore, I strongly suggest that you make sure to have intense kavannah by certain parts of your tefillos. (please anyone correct me if I may be wrong) For example, by Shema, you are accepting, and declaring Hashem as our God. This is the essence of our faith! Make sure you concentrate on every word, it's pronunciation, and meaning, and especially the first pasuk of Shema. A good idea would be to ask your rabbi what are the main things in davening that you should say when you are pressured for time. And when you have more free time, like shabbos, or sunday, you can say all of pesukai dizimrah if you want.
Answering your second question about learning, I have to tell you that I can totally understand what you mean when you say that it's stressful for you to be tested on material, while you can be learning it Lishma (for it's own sake). Last year, i had a teacher who assigned us memorization of certain pasukim. A lot of girls got really upset cuz they thought whats the point? (I personally didn't have such a problem with this.) But my teacher told us that you retain material much better, when you keep on reviewing it. and if it weren't for the tests some girls wouldn't bother to study the material they learn in school! (i mean, honestly, what's the point of going to school, learning, but not reviewing it- who will be able to remember the lessons?) So, it makes sense to have to study and work for it. (Obviously, there are limitations but we wont get into that now)
(Also, maybe you should submit this question so that they can make a post abut it so that more people can comment about it, cuz I am not sure if people will still look at this article)
So, I hope this helped you-please let me know what you think!
-Luv613
luv613-
ReplyDeletefirst of all i love that name!
i am concentrating on davening but i dont have AS MUCH kavanah when i am off from school.... i would have waken up earlyer only as it is being that i live pretty far i wake up at 6:45 on anormal day and s/t i would now even wake up earlyer to studdy like lets say 4 in the morning or s/t of the sort i would get up earlyer also to daven but i dont knoew how long my davening would be an now i get to sleep at sometimes even2 in the morning cz of studding-so if i would lets say1time go to sleep at 12 then i would have 2 get up at 2 in the morn. to a sure myself that i have plenty of time to daven(cz it can even take 5 hours and i dont want to take over time!LOL!)i am sayinfg now-a days just want i nead to say-but it stillo is pretty long....
also i 4got to mention-my school doesnt exactly let anyone daven at home....
(when i learn s/t out of enjoyment i focus better and remember it better as well rather than in class u feel so tired of and just want to go home and back to sleep....do u know what i mean?...)(how do i submit this comment? also its only a comment so idk if thats such a good idea being that its not exactly s/t e/o can learn/get inspired from....
Thanks Liat- I like ur name 2!
ReplyDeletewow- u wake up quite early! I assume you travel to school. Would u b able to daven some portion on the bus? or would that not work out for you?
About learning, i know it's much more enjoyable to learn Lishma- maybe you can do that in addition to the learning that you do in school. If you are interested, ask a friend, or someone else you would like, to learn a mussar, hashkafah sefer with you for like 15 minutes a night.
Also, I think it's totally fine to submit your comment- people may be struggling with similiar issues, and your're question may help them too! Hazlacha Rabba!
thanx!do u know what my name means? i am ur blessing-li at bracha!knopf(my last name) in french means button!LOL!
ReplyDeletei dont go on bus i go on a car pool and there is always noise and music so it wouldnt work(besides our school doesnt let us daven at home-we have to daven e/t in school)
how do i subbmit my comment?
i dont know what book is good 4 me i picked up so many but they either were to hard 4 me to understand what they were sayn or i knew the stuff in it already.....thanx 4 answering to my coments!
Liat, you have such a pretty name! and your last name is so cute- you are french?
ReplyDeleteIf you look on the blog, where the most recent blog was posted you will see that you can submit your comment.
I have so many books that I would recommend you- is there any specific topic you would like to learn about?
luv613-
ReplyDeletethanx! no im not from france, and im not french;my last name-knopf in french means button!LOL!my fatyher comes from a lot of places but he was born in brazil-we are yekish. my father came from many other places that i dont even know of but what i do know is that he knows 7/8 languages!LOL! my mothers family comes from a sifardi family-lioke 1 is maroco but shes israeli. My name is israeli to and it means u are my blessing-BUTTON lol!