YeshivaGuy wrote on 25 Sep 2020 17:39:
Ah, the life of a Yid. Complicated. Volatile. And gripping.
Any chizzuk would be great.
Especially a rebuttal to my last point.
Thanks!
Hey Yeshiva Guy you are truly inspiring!
I don't have time to wax on and on (which I tend to do sometimes) but just the gist.
Sometimes life as an orthodox jew can feel intense, with a lot of "demands" and can become overwhelming. But that is just because of the way we try to mix the best way our yetzer hara wants to live and the way Hashem, who definitely knows the truth, instructs us.
It's cliche and we've all heard it. The reason why when we learn Torah it isn't as delicious as the gedolim or seforim say is because we are tasting it with damaged tastebuds. We brutally assault our spiritual tastebuds with materialistic indulgences and then we expect them to still be sensitive to the loftiest levels of spirituality.
The same applies here. We watch movies- exposing ourselves to the antithesis of truth, fantasize and drool over secular society and their modus operandi of self pleasing and indulgence (like animals), and compare it to what we must do, but that's all wrong.
Do we watch cows in a pasture and dream to be one? Do we envy the simplicity of their lives? Are we jealous of the fish in our fishtanks who's greatest concern and duty is to keep checking of the sand at the bottom suddenly became edible? No, we understand the difference. So let's think a little deeper and understand this difference.
We think about how a goy sails through life effortlessly (or so it seems), while we flail and struggle. Oh, how we wish to have it easy too! But it's all wrong. When we sign up for a gym membership, do we complain how now we must sweat and struggle? How we must run every singel day and pick up the same weights, even increasing resistance as time goes on? No, we realized that that is the whole point of the gym. The more we sweat and strain the more reward we reap. And yet on the beach down the block there are loads of people lying on their towels lazily and sunbathing. No struggles for them, no straining, no gasping for air after an intense workout. But we know that they won't have a physique like yours, health like yours, retain their youth and physical stamina as long. Jealous? No. Maybe even a little egotistical. Proud of how you have discipline and purpose. Successes and goals for the future.
Life as a yid may feel hard sometimes, but we know why. We are here at this gym for that purpose, for a daily spiritual resistance workout. Let us appreciate the toil and sweat. Let us serve hashem to the best of our ability. We must constantly remember why we have this gym membership, be מקדש שם שמים daily, and we will eventually reap our tremendous rewards and be נהנה מזיו השכינה, which is the greatest pleasure and enjoyment possible.
.גמר חתימה טובה ושנה טובה ומתוקה
Grant
P.S. I guess I did wax...