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Jewish World Review Oct. 27, 2000 / 28 Tishrei, 5761
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
WHEN G-D was
ready to put the final touch
on creation, He said: "Let us
make man" (Genesis 1:26).
For six days, He alone
had been bringing all of
existence into being, from
the most distant star down
to the tiniest insect. Who
was the "us" in this final creation?
With whom did He
plan to share the task of creating
man?
The answer is, He
shared it with man Himself,
because man was destined
to be unlike any other living
thing in creation. The
angels were created fully
formed; animals, while they
grow in size and strength,
have essentially the same
nature from birth until
death. Only man was created
"unfinished." He is a bundle of
potential G-d given strengths
and weaknesses and it is
his task to "create" his own
ultimate self. Parents,
teachers and others may
help, but each person
must use
his own
best
effort to
strive
toward
his perfection.
Take Inventory: Just as a
builder is given wood and
nails to construct a house,
each of us is given certain
talents and abilities to "create"
the person G-d intends for us to become.
When you know what your
tools are, you begin to
understand where you
should excel. As a great
rabbi once said, "Woe to the
person who doesn't know
his weaknesses. But double
woe to someone who doesn't
know his strengths."
What
are three tools you specifically have been given to finish
the job of "creating yourself"?
Adapted from: "Let Us Make
Man," by Rabbi Abraham J.
Twersky with permission
from C.I.S.
Inner Excellence
JUST ONCE
Many people immediately
shrink from any resolu-tion
that starts, "From now
on, I'm going to..." Why?
Because "from now on"
seems an impossible pledge
to keep. The solution is to
change that daunting phrase
to a much more digestible
notion: "Just this time..." or
"Just for 10 more minutes. ..."
When you free yourself
of the sense of being overwhelmed,
you see that the
step you want to take in not
so difficult. Energized by
your success, you may well
decide to keep pressing forward.
By mastering this "just
once" consciousness, you'll
discover the power to
attempt many things that
had seemed beyond your
reach.
Think of a specific action
you haven't started because
it appeared too difficult to
keep up.
Do it, just once.
Adapted from "Begin Again"
Effective Prayer
PREPARING FOR THAT IMPORTANT MEETING
You've been selected to
sit in the Oval Office and tell
the President exactly what
your community wants
and needs from the government.
You have one hour of
his time, and there's a lot to
cover. So, you meticulously
plan what you'll say.
Each
and every
day when
we daven, pray,
we have
three important
meetings
with a
power
far
above
that of
t h e
President.
We depend
on G-d for
every thing from
our next breath to
our financial success
to our ability to raise
and marry off our children.
Yet, when we walk into the
"meeting" unprepared, we
lose out on the precious
opportunity to plead for
these causes.
Here, so much
more so than in the Oval
Office, planning is essential.
Chazal, our sages, tell us that the
key to developing a higher
level of concentration and
connection to the words we
pray is to be prepared. And it
only takes a minute.
Think of what you want
to request each time you
daven: Does someone need
a refuah, recovery? Is someone childless
or jobless? What do you
want for your own life, your
marriage, your children? If
you stop to verbalize your
requests in your mind
before starting to pray,
and concentrate on a specific
one each time, your prayers
will have a sharper focus
and more power than
Creating ourselves
Chosen Words, a newsletter of spiritual and personal growth, is produced by the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation. Comment by clicking here.
