PERSONAL GROWTH.
Big words, right? I'm pretty sure that you've all heard a thousand times that personal growth is what Judaism is allllllll about (I know I sure have). But do you ever stop and think what that even means? Sure, it's a great ideal, but if I'm happy and comfortable where I'm at in my Judaism, shouldn't that be enough? Why should I even bother pushing myself if I've found my own niche, my little happy place???
They say that growth is like riding a bike up a hill. The harder you persevere and push yourself, the further up the hill you go. But the second you stop trying, you roll back down-there is no such thing as just "taking a break".
Now, when we are riding up that hill, things can get pretty tough. For those of us who have ever taken biology, we know that the anaerobic respiration occurring in our muscles results in a build up of lactic acid, which is the cause of soreness, muscle aches and cramps (can you believe I only got a B in science??). In English, that basically means that when we are using our muscles a lot and pushing them as much as we can, nasty gooky stuff is made that tries to force your muscles to stop their exertion, by way of making it uncomfortable and difficult-our own bodies act as an obstacle against itself. If we try and take this analogy and translate it into our own lives, (emphasis on the word "try" because I just made that metaphor up myself and I have absolutely no idea whatsoever if it will make sense to anyone but me :P) we see that the "muscle" here is us, its activity is our actions, and the "lactic acid" is our yetzer hara (evil inclination).
The harder we work on ourselves, the greater our inclination to do things we shouldn't-just like the longer and harder a person were to work out, or ride their bicycle or whatever, the more lactic acid he'll build up to deter him from using those muscles. I've heard before that Hashem only gives hardships in direct proportion to our strength and ability to overcome them. In other words, it's kind of like a compliment from Hashem when He gives you a really difficult test-it means that He thinks you are on the madrega (level) at which you can handle and rise above. But it's not so easy to keep going up the hill-in fact, the higher up you get, the steeper it may feel, until it feels as if the hurdles and hardships before you are insurmountable. It's hard to keep your motivation and your perseverance against whichever odds may arise.
So today, I learned something beautiful that was brought down in Sefer Chofetz Chaim (which is what actually sparked this entire post). In Mesechet Shabos (104a) it says that "one who seeks to purify himself is granted heavenly assistance". So, what could this "heavenly assistance" possibly refer to? The Tana D'vei Eliyahu Zuta answers: "If a person strives to be a tzaddik (righteous individual), Hashem will assign an angel to treat him like a tzaddik. If he sincerely strives to be a chassid (extremely righteous individual), Hashem will assign an angel to treat him like a chassid."
These words teach a powerful lesson. It appears that merely having this desire burning like a fire in your belly seems to be enough! OK, not enough, but enough for an ANGEL, an emissary of Hashem Himself to treat you as what you desire to be. This shows that Hashem truly believes in us, He believes in our potential. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I really feel like no ordinary man could look into himself and think "Hmm, I could definitely be a tzaddik", and then go for it and make it happen. The average man will look into himself and say "Who am I, just some regular everyday normal guy. No WAY could I ever get to the madrega of a tzaddik". And then, he just gives up. Because it's impossible, right? So why bother trying?
If Hashem sees this possibility in us based solely on our desire, obviously we should be able to see it in ourselves, too. I mean, come on. He's G-D! He knows what He's doing, and if He says we have potential, clearly we do. All it takes is for us to see that inside ourselves, and have the desire to reveal it. Our potential is already there, but it is up to us to act upon it. It is our responsibility to chip away at the stone and reveal the true beauty of the diamond inside waiting for us to reveal it. That diamond was always there, hidden underneath many layers of shmutz. If we look at it, perceive it as a rock and never chip away at it and clean it off, it will remain just a seemingly worthless rock. But if we take the time and persevere, slowly but surely we will break away the rough exterior and discover the stunning innate beauty that lay hidden all along. So what's the nimshal? Each of us is like a rock. We merely need to recognize our own potential and hold fast through the trials and tribulations that come our way to expose our own inner diamond that lays waiting inside.
Big words, right? I'm pretty sure that you've all heard a thousand times that personal growth is what Judaism is allllllll about (I know I sure have). But do you ever stop and think what that even means? Sure, it's a great ideal, but if I'm happy and comfortable where I'm at in my Judaism, shouldn't that be enough? Why should I even bother pushing myself if I've found my own niche, my little happy place???
They say that growth is like riding a bike up a hill. The harder you persevere and push yourself, the further up the hill you go. But the second you stop trying, you roll back down-there is no such thing as just "taking a break".
Now, when we are riding up that hill, things can get pretty tough. For those of us who have ever taken biology, we know that the anaerobic respiration occurring in our muscles results in a build up of lactic acid, which is the cause of soreness, muscle aches and cramps (can you believe I only got a B in science??). In English, that basically means that when we are using our muscles a lot and pushing them as much as we can, nasty gooky stuff is made that tries to force your muscles to stop their exertion, by way of making it uncomfortable and difficult-our own bodies act as an obstacle against itself. If we try and take this analogy and translate it into our own lives, (emphasis on the word "try" because I just made that metaphor up myself and I have absolutely no idea whatsoever if it will make sense to anyone but me :P) we see that the "muscle" here is us, its activity is our actions, and the "lactic acid" is our yetzer hara (evil inclination).
The harder we work on ourselves, the greater our inclination to do things we shouldn't-just like the longer and harder a person were to work out, or ride their bicycle or whatever, the more lactic acid he'll build up to deter him from using those muscles. I've heard before that Hashem only gives hardships in direct proportion to our strength and ability to overcome them. In other words, it's kind of like a compliment from Hashem when He gives you a really difficult test-it means that He thinks you are on the madrega (level) at which you can handle and rise above. But it's not so easy to keep going up the hill-in fact, the higher up you get, the steeper it may feel, until it feels as if the hurdles and hardships before you are insurmountable. It's hard to keep your motivation and your perseverance against whichever odds may arise.
So today, I learned something beautiful that was brought down in Sefer Chofetz Chaim (which is what actually sparked this entire post). In Mesechet Shabos (104a) it says that "one who seeks to purify himself is granted heavenly assistance". So, what could this "heavenly assistance" possibly refer to? The Tana D'vei Eliyahu Zuta answers: "If a person strives to be a tzaddik (righteous individual), Hashem will assign an angel to treat him like a tzaddik. If he sincerely strives to be a chassid (extremely righteous individual), Hashem will assign an angel to treat him like a chassid."
These words teach a powerful lesson. It appears that merely having this desire burning like a fire in your belly seems to be enough! OK, not enough, but enough for an ANGEL, an emissary of Hashem Himself to treat you as what you desire to be. This shows that Hashem truly believes in us, He believes in our potential. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I really feel like no ordinary man could look into himself and think "Hmm, I could definitely be a tzaddik", and then go for it and make it happen. The average man will look into himself and say "Who am I, just some regular everyday normal guy. No WAY could I ever get to the madrega of a tzaddik". And then, he just gives up. Because it's impossible, right? So why bother trying?
If Hashem sees this possibility in us based solely on our desire, obviously we should be able to see it in ourselves, too. I mean, come on. He's G-D! He knows what He's doing, and if He says we have potential, clearly we do. All it takes is for us to see that inside ourselves, and have the desire to reveal it. Our potential is already there, but it is up to us to act upon it. It is our responsibility to chip away at the stone and reveal the true beauty of the diamond inside waiting for us to reveal it. That diamond was always there, hidden underneath many layers of shmutz. If we look at it, perceive it as a rock and never chip away at it and clean it off, it will remain just a seemingly worthless rock. But if we take the time and persevere, slowly but surely we will break away the rough exterior and discover the stunning innate beauty that lay hidden all along. So what's the nimshal? Each of us is like a rock. We merely need to recognize our own potential and hold fast through the trials and tribulations that come our way to expose our own inner diamond that lays waiting inside.
