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Home
and Family
Keep Smiling
Short inspirational pieces by Avrohom Tzvi Schwartz, Kiryat
Sefer, author of A Handful of Light, Hearts on Fire
and his latest, Be Happy and Succeed.
A pre-Elul message.
Repairs and Maintenance
An engine needs repairs and maintenance. It needs repairs
when it breaks down. It needs maintenance even when it works.
Such maintenance helps it run at peak levels. Also, it
prevents it from breaking down.
To enjoy Hashem's blessing, to connect with Him, we likewise
need repairs and maintenance.
When we lose contact with Hashem, we need a repair job to
reconnect us. The problem is, though, that our breakdown
comes from `forgetting' Hashem. How, then, do we suddenly
`remember' Him? If we do not sense the dark around us, can we
search for the light? Hashem, however, provides us with an
answer -- He sends us troubles, worries, as a wake-up call.
To this call we must respond with an emergency repair. This
repair is prayer -- sincere, heartfelt, tearful prayer.
Then, after our crisis, we need to maintain our connection.
What can we use? Prayer is good for emergencies, but we
cannot give our whole day to it.
We should, therefore, look to Torah study as our solution.
Such study may shoot our thoughts to the highest spiritual
levels -- higher even than prayer can. And for those times
when we cannot learn, nor pray, we should look to good deeds,
kind words, as our silver cord to Hashem.
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