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I learned an amazing piece over Shabbos, from the sefer, “Tiv HaEmunah” by Rav Gamliel Rabinotivch. “There is no righteous man on earth who does only good and never sins.” HaRav Avraham Yurvits zt”l says that Shlomo Hamelech is teaching us that if a person never stumbled, he would never identify his lowliness and powerlessness.
So, Hashem occassionally davka causes a person to fall on some level, so that he will recognize his inferiority, thereby causing him to turn to Hashem Yisbarech! This is the only way that we can live with emunah, because the whole concept of emunah is realizing that Hashem is in control!
Some people are on a very high level where they only need minor setbacks, but others need more louder ones. Hashem can’t dwell with a person who is arrogant and thinks that all of his good in life is from his doings alone. If we never had setbacks, we would be arrogant people. Through stumbling, we realize how Hashem is the only one we can rely on and turn to! Everything we have is dependant on Him! This will ultimately cause the Shechinah to rest on him! How amazing?
When you fall, don’t give up or become frusterating with yourself! We are not malachim! We have that opportunity to fall and to get right back up and grow to a much higher level than we were ever at before. Instead of concentrating on your failings, use it as an opportunity to grow closer to Hashem, to attach yourself to Him by realizing that you are nothing, and He is the Creator of the whole world who will help you through. Ain Od Milvado- Nothing else! By fully submitting ourselves to Hashem, we will no longer experience “failures” because we will recognize the Creator in everything that happens in our lives, whether seemingly good or bad. This will lead us to true and pure emunah, and we will become a merkavah for Hashem Yisbarech! We should all be zoche to reach this level of pure and true emunah!
EI, this was a truly wonderful post to read. Thanks!
Wow! Exactly what I needed to hear now. Thanks loads, Emunas.
May I ask a question? Once I realize that it’s all from Hashem and understand that He wants me to rise above it all, what do I do then? How do I get back to the level I was?
Thank you SO much, Emunas. You can’t imagine how timely your words are. I really appreciate it.:)
Thanks, EI, for this vort and for all your others.
emunas Itecha, you have to be careful how you interpret and say
“So, Hashem occassionally davka causes a person to fall on some level, so that he will recognize his inferiority, thereby causing him to turn to Hashem Yisbarech! “
Be careful because is a fine line. There is reference to this in Rav Shalom Arush’s book Garden of Emunah, which we do not hold by. He says dont worry about it if you sin because it was Hashem’s will to let you to do the sin. FALSE!
Never blame Hashem for our errors.
But I liked everything else you said.
EI: What Rav Arush says is not what the vast majority of K’lal Yisroel accepts to be true. There are some cases where a person is put into an impossible position and has to choose between the lesser of two evils (see Kiddushin 40a, I believe). But we assume that when someone sins it is their fault and that they must make up for it. We don’t assume that Hashem forced them to sin, with the possible rare exceptions explicitly mentioned in the Gemara.
Similar idea; I remember once hearing that if a person sins, and then regrets the sin so much that he will actually take upon himself extra and become a better person through it, the sin is viewed as a Mitzvah because that was the factor which brought about the positive change.
(Hope that made sense)
Thanks for sharing.
Saying we don’t accept something is a lack of respect. What you said is in fact what everyone assumes to be true and is not what R’ Avush writes.
I assume most people here have seen a small child learn to walk. While they are doing it they fall down. Well when they do you pick them up and have them try again.
Life is much like that. Sooner or later something you try is going to go wrong and knock you down. The secret is to get back up and learn from it. Most (all?) successful people had a number of failures and setbacks on the way to being successful, the secret is to learn from them and try not to make the same mistakes again.
For example back in the 1980’s Steve Jobs got fired by Apple and spent 10 or 15 years doing other thing before coming back to Apple to become one of the best CEO’s in America.
Sam2, when one says “we don’t accept something” it IS NOT A LACK OF RESPECT. Satmar doesn’t hold by that concept that if one sins we can simply say it was the Abishter’s will. I personally know of an individual who read the Yiddish version of Garden of Emunah, came across that idea and asked a shailah,and was told no.
In fact, in all spheres, Klal yisrael has its own sects who hold by different sheetas and whatever. Its not a lack of respect if belz doesnt hold by something in lubavitch.
Thank you scissors. That is exactly what I mean to say. I meant to write “isn’t”. That was a very bad type to have. Thank you for correcting me.
Sorry Emunas Itecha. I am not being disrespectful. you should know I hold a lot of respect for Rav Arush also, by the way I am in the middle of re-reading “women’s wisdom” again.
Do you live in Israel? How does one get a personal appointment with him?
Thank you, Emunas Itecha.
If I may add to your beautiful words:
Shlomo HaMelech wrote “Sheva Yipol Tzaddik Vekam” – “A tzaddik falls seven times, and rises” (Mishlei 24:16).
Poshut pshat is a tzaddik moves on even with his many falls. Rav Yitzchak Hutner ZT”L explained it that a tzaddik IS a tzaddik BECAUSE he fell 7 times, and then he got up.
In a letter to a student experiencing hard times, Rav Hutner expressed the idea that achieving gadlus is a process of overcoming and moving on. He explained that while we imagine tzaddikim being born righteous, it is more likely that they STRUGGLED to become great!
Thanks for this GREAT vort, BH
Think of it as a spring (coil) or bow and arrow:
The more tension by applying pressure further away from the target, the further the spring/arrow will go…
wow I just got this email its words of inspiration by Rav Avigdor Miller…very fitting for this thread. THought I’d share.
It’s all with plan and purpose
After the eigel hazahav (Golden Calf), everyone was downcast because they had lost favor in the eyes of Hashem. The general mood was repentance, remorse, and humility. Yet at that time Moshe Rabbeinu put in some of his greatest requests that he ever made of Hashem.
It’s remarkable that these great entreaties of his were not made at a more auspicious time, when they were in favor with Hashem. He could have made them at the receiving of the Torah, when Hashem was so pleased with His people. At that time Moshe Rabbeinu should have put in a request.
But the Chovos Halevavos teaches us that sometimes a sin can help a man become better than a mitzvah. And he explains if somebody because of virtuous deeds, maasim tovim, begins to feel a certain pride, he becomes somewhat puffed up, then he loses status with Hashem because he is now being bereft of that grand quality of humility.
Humility is one of the most glorious attributes of mankind. And even if because of your righteous behavior you are impelled to lose some of your humility, it doesn’t pay. And therefore sometimes, he says, a good deed can do a man harm and a sin sometimes can do him great benefit.
If he feels so downcast because of his sin, he’s so disheartened and he despises himself because of what he did, and he is contrite and he comes with humbleness before Hashem, that is an achievement that can outweigh by far any harm he did by his sin.
(Now don’t go doing sins in the hope that you’ll become humble. Try to become humble while you’re becoming a big lamdan (scholar) or while you’re making a lot of money. When you are riding on the wave of hatzlacha (success), that’s the time you should be humble.) (Tape 579)
Growth with action: Even times of misfortune may present an opportunity for growth. Think of a mistake you made recently and how you might have used it as a springboard to grow in your Middos or service of Hashem
bump
@Lilmod ulelamaid
there is absolutely no reason to bump this. If you would like to refer to this topic just make a new post and add a link to this. It is pointless to bring this back.
Actually, it is pointless to make a new topic – then there are 2 threads on the same subject. (I think the CR rules state that you should not create a new thread if one already exists, although no one really cares about that.)
Why would I do that? I had nothing to add or say on the topic. I just came across it and thought it was something people might like to see, since people seemed to be inspired by it.
Actually, if I had something new to say on an old topic, I would probably create a new thread. I never understand why people post things on threads from five years ago.
lilmod ulelamaid:
+1 for Bumping
+1 for Working with an established thread
+1 for Conserving space
“I never understand why people post things on threads from five years ago.”
lilmod ulelamaid: Sometimes if it’s the longest thread ever, then it’s extra work to have to click another page to get to the most relevant.
On the flipside, if there is already a thread along the lines of my message, or a previous thread intrigues me, working off the old one can both add context to the train of thought and highlight the other opinions already shared.
A long time ago, my art teacher told us to keep a journal of our experiments. Somewhere along the line, we may find a new perspective and use for our work. Work that we otherwise would have forgotten about. It expands our creativity.
No need to spend years reinventing the wheel.
Here it’s a collaboration that we can all turn to, imho.
Thank you
Lightbrite – +10 for always finding something positive to say!
Re the first point on your second post – in this case, I think it was only the first post that I wanted people to see in particular.
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