A very powerful and true point. However, I would like to provide the other side of the coin. My first 2 points are those that can be found in many current hadracha sefarim regarding Teshuva, Elul, Yom Kippur etc. The last is specifically regarding this period.
1.Focusing on sacrifice can distract from our regular avodah, which is most important.
2.Along those lines, grandiose sacrifices are not long lasting. Smaller things, if done with a full heart (such as really pouring one's full heart into Tefillah and the extra Tehillim these days) can have a much more lasting effect.
This is why there is much focus today on Reb Yisrael Salanter's yesod of defining oneself as a Shuv b'teshuva through changing direction.
3.The פרקי דרבי אליעזר (פל"ב) states ולמה נקרא שמו ישמעאל שעתיד הקב"ה לשמוע בקול נאקת העם ממה שעתידין בני ישמעאל לעשות לפיכך נקרא שמו ישמעאל שנאמר ישמע א-ל ויענם. (ובקץ הימין הביא מהרח"ו בשם הפרדר"א בזה"ל ישמעאל על שעתידין ישראל לצעוק צעקות גדולות בימיו וכו'). וע"ע בעל הטורים דברים לא,כט.
The lesson of Yishmael is that the chesed of 'ה to those that cry out to him is beyond human comprehension, and without accessing the 'חסד ה all human actions (even in ruchnius) are powerless. Unfortunately, the Bnei Yishmael utilize this for their nefarious purposes, and to amass their great wealth. But this lesson must be taken to heart these days. We must recognize the tremendous and incomprehensible power of pouring one's heart to ה'.
I feel that the role of self-sacrifice now is mainly to help intensify our Tefillos. A society of בני עשו cannot comprehend what can possibly be gained from יחלה עצמו עליו and would encourage such a person to run to a therapist (yes, sometimes that is necessary), but as Yidden we understand that the power of כי שמע ה’ אל עניך is unparalleled. Perhaps a few sleepless nights is a small price to pay for such an opportunity. (And perhaps the power of such תפלות to the נפש האדם is much deeper than a therapy session.)
These incredibly horrible days are a tremendous opportunity to invest in the כח התפלה. The connection to ‘ה that can be achieved through pouring out one’s heart to Him at such a time is something that may well be irreplaceable. It is sometimes hard to understand how so many of our grandparents rebuilt their lives after incredible trauma, but perhaps we can’t grasp the level of attachment to 'ה they achieved בימי חושך וצלמות.
"Focusing on sacrifice can distract from our regular avodah, which is most important."
very important point!
as well as the second. may i suggest that we push a bit more tho? like when you're ready to stop learning to go to sleep or take a break, push yet another 5-10 minutes. spend a few minutes after the tehilim is over being nosei be'ol. things like that which push the envelope within the avoda itself
hear hear, every married man, get this through your head! (the Rambam says that the husband has an achrayus to stay happy "ויהיה דבורו עמה בנחת ולא יהיה עצב")
"Fasting if you can" - Most healthy people CAN fast. The point is, fasting is no longer recommended by poskim as part of a teshuvoh process. The simple reason, spending the afternoon thinking about food and when you can eat (what the vast majority will do, some self-honesty is required) is somewhat counterproductive.
I also recommended stopping all the mateh akum, the dodgy wellfare claims, the minyan factories, the protection of abusers and all that sort of thing. For some reason rabbonim never discuss these things.
Test, you can only work on yourself. Repeatedly telling others in particular what you think is wrong in the world is pointless and pathetic, true or not. Maybe take up Happy's offer of free meds courtesy of the UK NHS.
whoever is reading this, take heed to the message Hashem is sending us, let's push ourselves beyond our limits, and let's hope to see the words וַיַּ֤רְא הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ אֶֽת־מַ֣עֲשֵׂיהֶ֔ם כִּי־שָׁ֖בוּ מִדַּרְכָּ֣ם הָרָעָ֑ה וַיִּנָּ֣חֶם הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים עַל־הָרָעָ֛ה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר לַעֲשׂוֹת־לָהֶ֖ם וְלֹ֥א עָשָֽׂה (yonah 3:10) come to life speedily!
A very powerful and true point. However, I would like to provide the other side of the coin. My first 2 points are those that can be found in many current hadracha sefarim regarding Teshuva, Elul, Yom Kippur etc. The last is specifically regarding this period.
1.Focusing on sacrifice can distract from our regular avodah, which is most important.
2.Along those lines, grandiose sacrifices are not long lasting. Smaller things, if done with a full heart (such as really pouring one's full heart into Tefillah and the extra Tehillim these days) can have a much more lasting effect.
This is why there is much focus today on Reb Yisrael Salanter's yesod of defining oneself as a Shuv b'teshuva through changing direction.
3.The פרקי דרבי אליעזר (פל"ב) states ולמה נקרא שמו ישמעאל שעתיד הקב"ה לשמוע בקול נאקת העם ממה שעתידין בני ישמעאל לעשות לפיכך נקרא שמו ישמעאל שנאמר ישמע א-ל ויענם. (ובקץ הימין הביא מהרח"ו בשם הפרדר"א בזה"ל ישמעאל על שעתידין ישראל לצעוק צעקות גדולות בימיו וכו'). וע"ע בעל הטורים דברים לא,כט.
The lesson of Yishmael is that the chesed of 'ה to those that cry out to him is beyond human comprehension, and without accessing the 'חסד ה all human actions (even in ruchnius) are powerless. Unfortunately, the Bnei Yishmael utilize this for their nefarious purposes, and to amass their great wealth. But this lesson must be taken to heart these days. We must recognize the tremendous and incomprehensible power of pouring one's heart to ה'.
I feel that the role of self-sacrifice now is mainly to help intensify our Tefillos. A society of בני עשו cannot comprehend what can possibly be gained from יחלה עצמו עליו and would encourage such a person to run to a therapist (yes, sometimes that is necessary), but as Yidden we understand that the power of כי שמע ה’ אל עניך is unparalleled. Perhaps a few sleepless nights is a small price to pay for such an opportunity. (And perhaps the power of such תפלות to the נפש האדם is much deeper than a therapy session.)
These incredibly horrible days are a tremendous opportunity to invest in the כח התפלה. The connection to ‘ה that can be achieved through pouring out one’s heart to Him at such a time is something that may well be irreplaceable. It is sometimes hard to understand how so many of our grandparents rebuilt their lives after incredible trauma, but perhaps we can’t grasp the level of attachment to 'ה they achieved בימי חושך וצלמות.
"Focusing on sacrifice can distract from our regular avodah, which is most important."
very important point!
as well as the second. may i suggest that we push a bit more tho? like when you're ready to stop learning to go to sleep or take a break, push yet another 5-10 minutes. spend a few minutes after the tehilim is over being nosei be'ol. things like that which push the envelope within the avoda itself
"Focusing on sacrifice can distract from our regular avodah, which is most important."
also that might be the hardest thing to do. to do those inglorious, boring things that is our daily avodas Hashem...
"I feel that the role of self-sacrifice now is mainly to help intensify our Tefillos."
proof from halacha, during an עת צרה acc. to all opinions תפילה is דאורייתא which shows the value of that...
For mothers with children, like myself, the best contribution is staying emotionally healthy.
So if your sacrifice is something that your wife will suffer from, even if only from a change of your mood, you're actually doing an aveira.
hear hear, every married man, get this through your head! (the Rambam says that the husband has an achrayus to stay happy "ויהיה דבורו עמה בנחת ולא יהיה עצב")
"Fasting if you can" - Most healthy people CAN fast. The point is, fasting is no longer recommended by poskim as part of a teshuvoh process. The simple reason, spending the afternoon thinking about food and when you can eat (what the vast majority will do, some self-honesty is required) is somewhat counterproductive.
I also recommended stopping all the mateh akum, the dodgy wellfare claims, the minyan factories, the protection of abusers and all that sort of thing. For some reason rabbonim never discuss these things.
I also recommend that you get some medication. Again, it's free for you: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/where-to-get-urgent-help-for-mental-health/
Test, you can only work on yourself. Repeatedly telling others in particular what you think is wrong in the world is pointless and pathetic, true or not. Maybe take up Happy's offer of free meds courtesy of the UK NHS.
ע' רש"י בראשית א,כה
Bit of a random question for you, why does your user name come up as Test sometimes, and other times as **** ?
כדי לערבב השטן
yes lol and sometimes Test and sometimes test
כדי לערבב השטן
lol
3 accounts? cool. I used to call him שיטה לא נודע למי
of course! this post was mechazek me, thank you.
whoever is reading this, take heed to the message Hashem is sending us, let's push ourselves beyond our limits, and let's hope to see the words וַיַּ֤רְא הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ אֶֽת־מַ֣עֲשֵׂיהֶ֔ם כִּי־שָׁ֖בוּ מִדַּרְכָּ֣ם הָרָעָ֑ה וַיִּנָּ֣חֶם הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים עַל־הָרָעָ֛ה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר לַעֲשׂוֹת־לָהֶ֖ם וְלֹ֥א עָשָֽׂה (yonah 3:10) come to life speedily!
this is our way of being on the front lines! we must fight as strong as they are; their lives are in our collective hands!