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Home
and Family
KEEP SMILING
by Avrohom Tzvi Schwartz
Your Brother
"Don't hate your brother in your heart..." Sometimes, those
who are closest to us, or most similar to us, most hurt us.
Sometimes, they refuse to cooperate, to help us. Sometimes,
they go off by themselves — excluding us from their
lives. Sometimes, they succeed where we have failed. All this
arouses our resentment. But despite the pain, the heartache,
we must tell ourselves that this is good. For the pain we
feel can be the jackhammer that smashes the rock. Which rock?
The rock that blocks our path to happiness and success. If
there's something we want that we don't have, if there's
something we are waiting for that doesn't come, we must
realize that the reason for the delay lies within us. Life
takes its cue from us. We have to start the ball rolling. But
we can't give that cue, we can't roll that ball, until we
start thinking the right thoughts. Therefore, the pain is a
good pain. It helps us realize our mistake. Still, first, we
need to stop blaming others; we have to stop hating them in
our hearts.
Open Hate
"Don't hate your brother in your heart ..." Instead —
if you must — hate him openly. For when we show our
hate, we signal our distress. We ask for help. And then some
good soul can come to us — make peace, comfort us, and
help us see the truth — help us understand that the
only thing that hurts us is our own mistake.
But to hate our brother in a hidden way, to pretend that we
are friends, when we are enemies, is an acid, a poison. It
burns. It scars. And it destroys much of what is good in our
lives. It is evil, and it kills.
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