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Lately with all the tragedies going on we keep hearing various ideas about Teshuvah and improving and doing X and stopping to do Y….
However what I think is that change cant be permanent because we were spooked into it, that works short term until the spookiness wears off. We dont want constant bad things to happen to remind us to be good. For real Teshuvah to happen we need an approach, a system to help us get there and make it real.
I have a VERY SIMPLE idea and I think it is very easy to implement.
Be mekabel Bli Neder to learn 15-30 minutes a day every single day from a Mussar or Hashkafa sefer and think about what you learned and try to put what you learn into practice in your life in how you think, act… Thats it! Just try that and automatically you will find yourself growing, changing and feeling differently about Yiddishkiet. You wont need anyone telling you do X and stop Y because Hashem will give you the ideas by learning mussar and Hashkafah.
There are so many amazing sefarim as well as English books to choose from. A really good one is the recent book by Rabbi Shafier Stop Surviving, Start Living (read the reviews on Amazon!)
Personally in the Loshon Kodesh genre I would recommend that people have a daily seder in Pirkei Avos as it basically has everything in there. There is no subject not touched upon. Additionally you are learning Mishnayos which is Torah Shebal Peh and mishnayos is the words Neshama scrambled so learning mishnah in general has a profound cleansing effect on ones soul.
I wish you all Hatzlacha and I will ask that you please take this seriously.
Dont do it for Leiby, or for any other niftar, what I mean is you can certainly have his neshama or anyone elses in mind and learn Leiluy Nishmaso(m), but the reason for learning is not FOR Leiby or anyone else, we learn Torah because its what Hashem wants from us, its what your Neshama wants and needs. Its what we were created for as the mishnah says in Avos.
I’m in
I believe that everyone knows what they need to improve on, and now is an excellent time to take a din v’chesbon of one’s own middos and make a conscious effort to make improvements. It is an excellent idea to do something l’iluy nishmos a young innocent neshoma such as Leiby a”h and l’zhecher nishmas a gadol such as R’ Abuchazerah z”tl, who were both taken in such a tragic manner.
It is great to offer ideas and clue people in to how things can be done. But at the end of the day, everyone really, really knows what they personally need improvement in, and that is the first place they should be looking and working on instead of adding something else, IMHO. That would be a greater mitzvah. Both are really great ways to honor these two neshomos.
I’m in bli neder.
I’m in with a bli neder….anyone have any good books that they can reccomend that are easy to read (oh ya and in English), that AREN’T on the topic of tznius or lashon harah?
Thanks a million WIY for this idea!!!! Whatever I learn is cuz of you.
“Mussar unfortunately has gone out of vogue”.
WIY, really? I don’t feel that way. Ask any post seminary graduate or bochur in yeshiva. Ask any person learning with a chavrusa? Ask anyone that goes to a weekly or daily mussar shuir.
I still feel it is a good idea, but definitely not unpopular.
Great seferomin in English
Garden of Emunah
Inspired soul
anyghing by Rav Avigdor Miller
Indeed. R’Avigdor Miller has a set of 2 seforim (in Hebrew though) called “Shaarei Aroah”. I had a chavrusa on Shabbos learning this sefer. Not only does it teach a person the right derech, but it also gives you an “avdah”, a practical course of action one can easily do. For example, to have more kavanah in bentching etc.
There is also an amazing sefer called “B’lvavi Mishkan Evne” which basically states that all 613 mitzvohs have one purpose only which is kirvas Hashem! For those who want English, I believe there is an abundance B”H of those too.
May we all do the mitzvos with this intention in mind & may we only see good outcomes out of all the improvements we make to bring aliyos to those holy neshamos. May we not need any more tragic reminders to lead us on the right derech & may we be zoche to not have to sit on the floor again this Tisha B’av.
+1
15-30 minutes a day is nice but if even that is too much for you, try at least 10 minutes per day.
There was a man in Brooklyn who had a series of 3 minute sedorim every day. Sometimes a 3 minute seder would last for hours. His idea was that the “yetzer hora” would not bother him for a 3 minute seder; and it worked for him.
Had this thread in mind when I learned on ???.
Thanks, WIY (meant to tell you earlier, but I’ve barely been on here lately)
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