The following lifted me up many a times and is very apropos in our mutual battle.

A wealthy man who lost all his money came to the Rebbe and said "rebbe, the thing that bothers me the most about this loss is not the money, that hurts, but what hurts the most is that I am no longer capable of davenning, I no longer have the serenity and peace of mind necessary to concentrate on my davenning".

The Rebbe replied with following:
The gemorra says that when Nevuchadnezer saw the tremendous miracle that chanania, meshoel and azaria walked out alive  from the fire, he wanted to sing  shira to Hashem on this great open  miracle, and if the angels wouldn't have slapped him across the face, the songs that would have came out of nevuchadnezer's mouth would have put to shame the shira/songs of Dovid son of Yeshai.
Asked the Rebbe, what did it bother the angels that nevuchadnezer should sing shira to Hashem,
"zol er zingen" "let him sing".

Answered the Rebbe: by slapping Nevuchadnezer across the face, the angel's were saying to him,  its no kuntz- trick to sing to Hashem when witnessing open miracles, let's see you think when it hurts- hence the slap in the face - like Dovid Hamelech continuously did, that's real shira-real singing to Hashem.
Said the Rebbe to the distraught chosid, its no trick to daven when there is no challenge that isn't what they want in himmel, Heaven -real singing to Hashem is when we are in pain yet we continue anyway singing anyway.

Sometime when I struggle,  Yiddishkiet and  davening, learning seems so frigid , sub zero temps - but the truth is that is only  then that its a kuntz to sing shira and that is when its the most beautiful melodious sweet  shira song to the ears of Hashem.

My sweetest beautiful friends (a little Carlbaach for you )
I bless u all to sing constantly in good times and in "struggling" times!

AH! Beautiful!

Gevaldig!

Now with that though I can go to Shabbos.

Oy! are we gonna sing Lechi Neraneno & Nishmas Kol Chai mit di gantse koiches (with all out strength)

Tanlking about Reb Shlomo Carlibach
I Belss You With Shabbos
E.L.

A gita voch mienah tiereh breederlach,

A short one!
In אנא בכח we say  יחיד גאה לעמך פנה זוכרי קדושתיך      litt "the ONE and Only Exalted One, turn to Your nation, whom remember you Holiness"

Utilizing the teachings of GUE maybe we can read this verse backwards
As follows:
"When will we remember Your Holiness Hashem? when only  HASHEM is גאה יחיד -the  Only-ONE!! then we will  able to  remember your Holiness, Hashem.
but if I'm also גאה fuegedabout it! Then I'm on my own! Which is not a very exciting situation to be in

With the prayer of אנא בכח on my lips and in my heart --I beg You Hashem ברכם טהרם וכבבת שמרם
Bless them and Purify Them all and like the pupil of Your eye, Safeguard your holy nation and especially the צאן קדשים "י--- holy sheep" on this holy site.
NB

in recovery we talk about giving the fight up to Hashem,השם ילחם לכם !! here is a good (famous) story from the Dubno Magid that can help us with this concept.

this tired worn out wayfarer carrying his bundles of burdens is trudging along the hot dusty road, the sun burning on his back,  miles from anywhere and maybe mile to anywhere.  all of a sudden the the carriage belonging to Reb Mendele the gvir with his magnificent carriage  comes to a screeching halt and offers a lift to our most grateful wayfarer.  he climbs up sits himself down on the plush bench, but refuses to put down his packages on the seat next to him! rather he continues hold them in his hand and on his shoulders.  Mendele the gvir says to him "my sweetest sweetest  Yiddelleh,  why don't your put down your bundles on the seat next to you?

Answers our traveler "its enough that you are carrying me, i don't want to impose on you any more  to also carry my pekllach/packages" ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

"IDIOT" shouts Reb Mendele "when I carry you, am I not also carrying your pekallach"  ;D ;D ;D ;D 

[b]The Almighty says to each of us "my sweetest sweetest child, when I carry you, am I not also carrying your pekallach"

[b]השלך על השם יהבך ---------cast unto Hashem your burdens !!!!!!

Regarding installing a no-nonsense filter




Question: just like Palti ben Layish put the sword there,  he was able to just as easily remove it? the answer is yes of course he can remove it, but he was making a statement to himself and Michal bas Shaul that we mean business about the barrier between us!!!

The same can be said when a person puts in a no-nonsense filter on their computer we are making a statement "I'm serious about this and I mean BUSINESS" and then I can turn to the Almighty and say "Hashem Hashem , I'm doing mine,  please please do yours and remove the YH from me"!!!

(not my own Torah.  Ive seen this on the forum or in Guards Handbooks, with my own little twist  )

NB,

I was gonna say that this vort was "Well Twisted or Twisted Well" but it just doesn't sound right. so I will stick to the regular

nice vort as usual.

The fundamental principle of throwing the "fight" to Hashem, that is one of the fundamentals of this site and the 3rd of the 12 steps? is an open gemorah in Rosh Hashana..
The pasuk says in Tehilim "throw onto Hashem your "yhovchuh" and He will sustain you"
The geomorah says the Rabonan didn't know what the meaning of the word "yhovchuh" was until an arab porter said to one the rabbis "take your 'yhovchuh' and throw it in my camel"

The question is how can it be that the holy sages didn't know the meaning of a simple word in Tehilim and an arab porter did know?
Secondly, what meaning did the arab add to the word when he said "throw your baggage onto my camel"

Answers the Gaon of Vilna: the sages didn't understand how much license we can take to throw our burdens on Hashem. How much do we have to do on our own? When the arab on his own volition asked the rabbi to place his "yhovchuh" which in Hebrew means "what you have to give" on the camel, the rabbi understood that even the minor hishtadlus of saying requesting the service of the porter, he didn't have to do, rather the porter ask him can I take your burdens.

Lesson; the Almighty says the same to each one of us "may I take your baggage Sir/Madam?
All that is left for us to do is.........to let Him Hashem take it !!!!!
Whad ya think? Powerful? Heh :D

Sweetest love to all
Noorah

Noorah BAmram wrote on 26 Jun 2009 04:30:


I once heard from Rav Moshe Wolfson that after Aharon Hakohen lost his 2 oldest sons on possibly the most important day of his life, (the day he started serving as Kohain Kadol), he didn't complain. The posuk says "Vayidom Aharon", Aharon was silent.

On a higher Madreiga was Dovid Hamelech who said "L'Man Yizamerrha Kuvod Vlo Yedom, Hashem Elokai L'olam Odeka". That even in an Ais Tzara (a time of trouble), I will not be silent but on the contrary, I will always thank you.

Good Shabbos,

Pintela Yid

here is one dedicated to all the heilige warriors in the chaburah

??? ???? ????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ????

when can we truly say that Hashem Is our King?

??? ???? ????? ??
when we recognize that all that "happens",  is because Hashem willed it to Happen,  at this very time!!! B'Hashgacha Protis!!

now we can say  

??? ??? ???

Hashem our King!!!!

with niggun please, answer me everybody
? ???, ? ???, ? ????? ????? ???

This has been bothering me a while and I'm sure that holy seforim speak about it. Please my dearest friends help me out here!

We all know that prophecy can only flow if the Prophet is a certain state. One of the conditions is the requirement of Simcha - joy as it says "vhoyoh knagein haminagien ......" Ain hashchina shore eloh mtoch simcha"

How is this compatible with prophecy of eicha?
" Palgey mayim yordah einey al shever bas ami" rivers of tears flow down my cheeks for the brokeness of my nation .....

How is ther even any remote relationship to the Torah concept of Simcha?

I will be gratefull in this world and in the next world  to all who point me in the right direction

With joy that I'm a JEW and love to all the holy chevreh

Noorah

Excellent question!

Behind this question rests the secret of eicha, tisha b'av and all the suffering of the yidden in this long exile. I cannot recall wih calrity which sefer deals with question directly, but I will share a few insights which I believe is the backbone to the answer.

I will quote a few important sources that I think can help us gain proper insight:

1)Amos(3,2) writes, "רק אתכם ידעתי מכל משפחות האדמה על כן אפקד עליכם את כל עוונתיכם" .
English(based on rashi):  I only love you(the Jewish nation), and that is why I remember all your sins and pay retribution for all your sins.
Meaning, through our affliction, we can understand that Hashem loves us so much.

2)Ramban Shaar Gemul: The reason why the Jewish nation suffers so greatly (more than any other nation) is due to their greatness.  On a personal level, Hashem pays retribution to the tzaddikim for every minute sin so that the tzaddik will get an increased olam habah.  So, too, on a national level.  The Jewish nation, being the fact that they are Holy tzaddikim, deserve punishment in this world in order to increase their reward in the next.

3) 3)Yirmiyahu: (30,17)  ציון היא אין דורש לה
English: No one desires tzion.  If you look at the pesukim in context you will realize this is one of the scariest pesukim.  The goyim say that they can conquer yeushalyim because the Jewish nation have given up hope on yerushalyim, C"V.  The Gemara(succa 41a) comments that we see from here that we must seek, desire and yearn for yerushalyim.  That is why Chazal instituted the lulav outside of the beis hamikdash (on all seven days); to 'remember' the beis hamikdash.  But not just a remembrance- rather as a way to express our yearn and hope for te rebuilding.  For without that, oy gevalt.

4) Chsam Sofer (drashos) : There is nothing more dangerous than giving up hope.  If the Jewish nation would give up hope, they and the beis hamikdash would be gone.  What keeps us going as a nation and what give strength to the beis hamikdash is the fact that we do not give up hope. On Tisha B'av we reaffirm our hope by mourning.  By showing how much we yearn for it, we are keeping it and the Jewish nation alive. And the fact that we continue to mourn is a sign that we have not given hope and a sign that we will endure.

There is more to quote.  But you will need to join me on tisha b'av for greater elaboration. I am just giving a small glimpse.

Tisha b'av is not a day of despair, but rather a day of hope.  It is not a day of saddness as much as a day of reflection  of who we are as a nation. It is a day of realizing the deep connection that Hashem wants with us but cannot express it because of our behavior.  But through all the affliction, we realize how much he loves us.  It is a day to understand what we are lacking and what we can attain.  It is a day of expressing our true bitachon in Hashem.  There is no other day on the Jewish calendar that emphasizes bitachon as much tisha b'av. 

The book of Eicha is the same.  Through all the sorrow, comes joy.  A different kind of joy.  The Orchos Hatzaddkim explains how true simcha is having complete bitachon.  The medresh tells us that the lessons of bitachon can be found in the third perek of eicha.  Every year I read this chapter with great intensity and hope.  One sees how through Yirmiyahu's sorrow became true unbroken bitachon.  One sees how he struggled with the deepest question of the world and came to realize the truth of the world.  He recognized the hand of G-d in all his life. 
 
I think it was the bein Ish Chai (never read it) who wrote a commentary on eicha Explaining how each pasuk can be interpretted for good.  He explains that in future times, we will still retain the book of eicha and it will have a different meaning than the one we are familiar with at present. 

Yirmiyahu was a man of truth and unbroken bitachon.  His tears were real.  His tears were not tears of a child crying over a broken toy.  His tears expressed his deep and correct understanding of the universe and the Jewish nation.  The reason why the seforim tell us that sadness is a sin, is because usually it is an expression of lack of bitachon.  Most people lose focus on life when they get sad.  They can become depressed.  They lose all motivation for torah/mitzvos.  It is an expression of selfishness. Sadness over gashmiyus is wrong.  But sadness over ruchniyus is a joyful expression.  When a person mourns the loss of ruchniyus, he displays his appreciation for the value. This is proper.  This does not lead to a depressed state.  It leads to a hopefull state.  If you read eicha carefully you wil see how much hope there is.  You will read about the optimism through the dark world.     

ANYONE WHO MOURNS THE BEIS HAMIDASK SEES (PRESENT TENSE) IT IN A STATE OF HAPPINESS

Bochar Hashem BYakov.......tetin Emes l'Yakov
Very very very BEAUTIFUL!!!!


U gave us what in english is called a paradigm shift - a total change in outlook and hashkafa!!

Yasher Koach

Man dnofach mdeelie nofach!!!
(Sorry ;Dosent lend itself to translation ;

Noorah, whose heart is in the "east" but he himself is in the west of the west!!
Leebee bmizrach vaani bsof mariv

As usual R' Yaakov's clarity can't be beat. I just want to add a moshol that I heard in the name of Tzadikim.

A child needs to have very painful surgery in order to save his life. But the only doctor capable of doing this major surgery is none other than the childs own father. Obviously the father will do it as much as he wishes he didn't have to.

BUT IMAGINE THE FEELINGS OF THE FATHER WHILE HE'S PERFORMING THE SURGERY AND CUTTING IN TO HIS OWN DEAR CHILD'S FLESH. HIS HEART IS SO FULL OF PURE LOVE - MORE THAN AT ANY OTHER TIME!

This is the "feeling" behind all those harsh words in the prophesy. When the navi gets to feel Hashems love in it's extreme, how can he possibly not be bisimcha?

Noorah,

Thank you so much for verbalizing this most profound question.

Yaakov, your answer is beautiful and uplifting at this heartbreaking time of year. And Battleworn, your moshal is perfect too.

Functioning is so dificult during these days. I feel such a weight of sadness dragging me down. May out Tatte in Himmel take pity on His orphans, and please please come home :'(