Just one week ago, we were all davening and hoping little Leiby would be found.
Just one week ago, many, many people went out to search for missing Leiby.
And then…
…came the news.
We were so saddened, horrified, we didn’t know what to do.
Some of us cried.
Some of us didn’t.
But we all felt the pain.
The voices of those people searching for this missing little boy kept ringing in my ears. “Leiby, Leiby, Leiby”…and then I thought to myself, how far have we all gone?! We are lost!
Hashem is looking for us!
Do we hear His call?
He calls out to us through simchos, by giving us so much goodness, health, families, jobs, food, technology to make life easier, and then do we notice Him and thank Him for all He gives us?
Then He calls out to us through painful times, by sending stories our way that make us cry…and think…and return to Him.
Can we heed the call?
Can we listen to His voice?
Imagine Hashem calling our YOUR name.
You are His precious child and He wants YOU to come back!
“Sara, Sara, Sara”
“Ruchi, Ruchi, Ruchi”
“Chaya, Chaya, Chaya”
“Esther, Esther, Esther”
Where are you?! Come back home to me!!
Hashem is calling out to each and every one of us.
We got the message.
Now it’s time for us to come back.
Today, Shiva Asar B’Tammuz is a fast day. The purpose of a refraining from eating all day is to get you to think-to think about where you are in life and where you want to be and to work on moving forward towards becoming a better person. If a person refrains from eating all day but does not do some teshuva, some repentance, then what was the point in fasting altogether? They just did the external without focusing on the inner purpose of the day.
So today, take a few minutes to think about one practical thing you can do to bring the geula closer.
There’s so much to work on. Let’s start now.
Just one week ago, a story happened that impacted all of us in the most personal way.
Just one week ago, we were all hurting, crying and in pain.
Let’s do something real, today, so that this will be the last painful story we hear.
Also, last year’s post about the three weeks is powerful. You’ll want to read it.
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I didn't fast today for different reasons but as a result, i did feel far from connected to the rest of the Jewish people that were indeed fighting and commemorating what we can relate too especially after the tragic events of last week.
ReplyDeletewe try so hard to be connected to Hashem and hear His calls...But its hard... Y duz He make it so hard???
ReplyDeleteYN-whether or not a person is fasting, the purpose of the day is to get us to repent - it's not about the food (or lack thereof) but the inner thoughts and actions of each person that count.
ReplyDeleteIAS-yes, it's very hard. But remember that the stronger you fight for something and the harder you work on it, the more it creates an everlasting impact on you and it will stick with you for longer. You cannot compare something aquired easily to that which you get after loads and loads of work.
We don't ask for difficulties but when Hashem gives us challenges and it causes us to grow spiritually, that level you get to will last forever and you wont just lose it!!
I hope this helps somewhat.
Thanks Devorah but like we tend to give up when things get really hard.. For example lets say you want to be friends with a specific person and they just keep trying to push u away etc then youre gona give up. isnt it the same wiht Hashem? Like wouldnt we give up?
ReplyDeleteIAS-you are right when it comes to friendships. And in real life it's even harder. When things are difficult you have 2 choices-you can either give up or you can keep trying, keep pushing yourself, keep believing no matter what. Whatever you choose, remember that at the end of the day, you and only you alone will have to deal with the consequences of your decision.
ReplyDeleteIf you give up on a potential friendship, you can move on and look out for other girls. But giving up on Hashem?! What will you have to live with after that?! What will your life be like?
Hashem loves you. He puts each person through things that are tough and we don't understand. But holding on tight to Him no matter what will only make your life more beautiful. Trust me.
I lost my younger brother Shalom a"h almost 6 years ago. I could have turned away from Hashem after that difficult time but then where would I be today? Growing from the pain made me into a more caring and understanding person - and I'm glad I pulled through!!
Whatever happens in your life, know that staying connected to Hashem, the source of all goodness, will make you a happier person.
It's hard but you can do it!
Also, IAS-read the most recent poem I put up. You'll see that no matter what, Hashem never gives up on us, He never quits no matter what we do! So that should give you something to think about before you give up on Him!! Realize how much He gives you!
ReplyDeletehey everyone its chaya sara from eretz hakadosh!!!! its amaizing to be here you feel soo connected to hashem and the truth of the world!!! DEVOIRY THANKDSSSSSSSSSSOOOMUCH FOR PUTTING UP SUCH WARM ENCOURAGING WORDS FOR US TO GET CHIZZUK!! YOUR SUCH A GIFT TO THE WORLD!!! WHAT I WROTE RIGHT NOW I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU COULD WRITE IT UP AS A BLOG WHERE YOU COULD WRITE MORE ABOUT WHAT I JUST WROTE...we were all sooooo shooken up by this insane story and i heard something that we could do in a small way and it has powers to help us grow from this whole experience!! its soooo hard to understand what is going on now we def. must realize that hashem wants to get our attention and we need to do something fast!!!!first small very easy thing to do pls. share this idea with others (not copy rited at all!!!!!!!!!!!)
ReplyDeletewe had a spker come to spk to us in eretz yisroel about the awseomeness of MAKING BRACHOS OUT LOUD AND GETTING SOMEONE TO SAY AMEN TO YOUR BRACHAS!! SHE SAID IN THE NAME OF REV MOSHE FIENSTEIN THAT BRACHOS WITH SOMEONE SAYING AMEN TO THE BRACHA=A FULL BRACHA SAVES FROM DEATH!! SHE SAID TO REPEAT IN YOUR HEAD BRACHOS SAVE FROM DEATH:)!! SO WE SHLD WORK ON SAYING OIUR BRACHOS OUT LOUD BEC. THEN WE REALLY CONNECT TO HASHEM IN A REAL WAY AND OPEN UP THE DOORS OF BRACHA!! SHE ALSO SAID THAT A FEW YRS. AGO A BIG TZADDIK I FORGOT HIS NAME CAME IN A DREAM AND SAID TELL EVERYONE THAT MAKING BRACHOS OPENS UP MANY DOORS OF BRACHOS AND EVERYONE SHOULD MAKE SURE TO GET SOMEONE TO SAY AMEN!!! AND TO THINK HASHEM IS TRUE!!! SO THAT IS A SMALL THING THAT YOU COULD REALLY WORK ON TO HELP US ALL GET CLOSER TO HASHEM IN A REAL TANGIBLE WAY!!!! AND SHE SAID THAT EVRY AMEN CREATES A MALACH AND WE DONT WANT TO THROW A MALACH IN THE GARBAGE.. SHE SAID IN HEBREW MALACH LO LEPACH:)!! ISNT THAT CUTE!!
SO IF WE COULD REALLY WORK ON IT THAT COULD BE A GREAT STARTING POINT:)!
ALSO TO SEE THERE IS A WEB SITE ABOUT STARTING AN AHAVAS YISREOL GROUP AND ITS SOOOO AWESOME!! WE ARE DOING IT HERE IN ERERTZ YISROEL AND THE GIRLS ARE JUST LOVING IT.. ITS SOOO WORTH IT TO START SOMETHING U THE BEST STUFF AND WHERE THEY GIVE YOU THE IDEAS OF WHAT TO DO.. YOU HAVE NOO WORK JSUT PRINT IT OUT AYPROJECT.COM PLS PLS GO TO THE SITE AND SEE HOW AWESOME IT IS.. YOU COULD MAKE A HUGE DIFF. IN SAVING US FROM ANY MORE CRAZY STORIES!!!!! DEVOIRY IF YOU COULD CHECK IT OUT AND THEN WRITE A SMALL BLOG ABT IT... BEC I CANT DO IT FROM ERETZ YISROEL OTHERWISE I WOULD!!!
THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!! DEVOIRY YOU ARE THE ROLE MODEL TO ALL OF US OF WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE WITH REAL AHAVAS YISROEL!!!!!