Hi all! 

B’Rshus R’ Yeshivaguy... I’m sorry to interrupt your holy avoda of unearthing all the old threads in the gye archive (I wonder how you find all of them?).

General Grant suggested that I start a new thread to write excerpts from the Sefer zos brisi which I started learning again recently.
I am going to try my hardest to post here once a day.

Personally I find that this type of mussar only helps me to stay clean.
But if I’m in a period of time that I’m acting out frequently I don’t want any piece of it.

Just curious does anyone out there stop because of mussar in a Sefer?
Can you bring yourself to open a Sefer that you know will say harsh things about what you are currently doing?
just to clarify even when acting out if I’m listening to a good shmuess it will have a big impact on me. However I won’t go out of my way to seek out mussar.

The Zohar teaches that when a person overcomes their YH in matters of Kedusha they are given a gift from Shomayim... the ability to daven warm heartfelt tefilos and the ability to experience true spiritual pleasure when standing in front of Hashem. 
May we all be zoche to reach this level & experience this for ourselves.

Hatzlacha to all!
anothershot

Awesome! Looking forward to a daily boost! 

Yesterday's and today's piece are adapted from a shmuess from R Moshe Wolfson. 

Those who have an appreciation for tefillah and invest effort into it understand the great delight of the joy & closeness with Hashem that is the result of a warm davening. There is no earthly pleasure that can compare to the elevation, warmth, & joy one can feel as he daven. There is one catch.... To be granted this experience shmiras habris is a must! 

Stay tuned tomorrow I will share my personal experiences with this..... 

Hatzlacha to all
Anothershot 

I agree. It takes being on a very high level to seek out mussar when you already want to give in so badly. And even then it's even harder to listen to the mussar! But if you learn a little every day, it enters you and slowly changes your attitude and motivates you, and eventually that seeps in and helps you even when you are challenged.
This is what I've found from my experiences. (I think Rav Yisroel Salanter wrote somethisomething similar in Ohr Yisroel. Could it be it was Letter 10? I can't remember.)

Anyway, keep this up! A small chizuk helps a lot.

Daily??

I know that it's been a while since I last posted here but the past 2 weeks were difficult w the kids home all day. I hope Bez"H to start posting here every day. 

Since I mentioned in previous posts how being misgaber over the yh in inyanei kedusha leads to a feeling of joy and warmth from tefillah I wanted to share a personal experience that I had once. 

It was Seder night this past year and my shul like most shuls around the world was closed due to the pandemic. At that point I had a clean streak of around 175 days going & I felt really good about it.
I started davening, regular davening didn't feel anything special and then I got up to shmone esrei...
I got up to אתה בחרתנו מכל העמים And for the 1st time in my life (I'm 30) said the words slowly and actually felt them. I paused and thought over & over again You "ה chose us!
I felt His love and I actually appreciated וקדשתנו במצותיך I truly felt how the מצות make us קדוש!
It was the 1st time in my life (that I recall) that I felt a tremendous joy and connection to Hashem during davening w/o having a major problem in my life.

I hope that I can experience another davening like that and I hope that all the tzadikim on this site can feel joy & closeness to Hashem when they daven no matter where you're holding in this struggle. 

Hatzlacha to all! 
Anothershot

Thank you for sharing.

If your able to internalize the words that we say daily then davening will be on a whole different level.

Returning to the sefer...

The greatest reward for shmiras habris is the gift of emuna shleima, pure and complete faith in Hashem! On the other hand bilbul hamachshava or intellectual confusion is often caused by pgam habris.
In truth every jew is a maamin in Hashem however certain factors especially pgam habris cause his emuna to recede deep inside his neshamah until teshuva and the cleansing of his thought process allow it to resurface.

Good shabbos & hatzlacha to all!
Anothershot

New week new opportunities!

Shmiras habris is a key to greatness. We see this from Yosef Hatzadik that because he withstood the great test of אשת פוטיפר the name Hatzadik was attached to his name forever.

All of us on GYE are working on ourselves and are confronted with challenges in shmiras habris constantly... And winning those battles. Who knows maybe many of us are called Hatzadik in shomayim!!

Just something to think about the next time you are confronted with a nisayon, maybe THIS is your big nisayon that you can overcome and become GREAT from it! 

Hatzlacha to all!
Anothershot 

When Yosef Hatzadik revealed himself to his brothers the passuk says he told them to come close.
Rashi explains that he showed them that he had a bris milah to prove that he was really Yosef. 

The Zohar adds that the brothers were wondering how did yosef merit to become king of mitzrayim. Therefore Yosef showed them his bris meaning because of his shmiras habris he was zoche to malchus. 

Hatzlacha to all! 
Anothershot 

Nice stuff! Keep 'em coming! 

When Yaakov Avinu was giving the brachos he called Reuven וראשית אוני Rashi explains this means Reuven came from the 1st drop of זרע of Yaakov avinu that he never saw קרי before he married!
Yaakov emerged unharmed from his encounters with lavan and eisav and he also prevailed over the angel of eisav. In addition Yaakov is referred to as bechir sheb'Avos the most outstanding of the Avos.

We see how important and crucial shmiras habris is!

Hatzlacha to all!
Anothershot 

Rabbeinu Bachya writes:
It is within a persons power to allow himself to be drawn in one of 2 directions; either after his intellect or after his physical nature ie. lust.
If he will be strong and do battle to conquer his lusts then he will have lifted himself from a physical being to the level of an angel. 

May we all be zoche to the strength we need to do battle and win the battle today! 

Hatzlacha to all! 
Anothershot 

There is a story that has been told about the Alter Rebbe’s chossid Reb Moshe Meisels, who served as a translator for the French in the times of Napoleon whilst secretly being a spy for the Russians. This chossid portrayed how “מוח שליט על הלב” needs to be used as an instinct. One day he was sitting in the French war room when Napoleon rushed in and put his hand over Reb Moshe’s heart and accused Reb Moshe of being a spy. Reb Moshe was able to remain calm, keeping his heart from racing, because he used the teaching of the Alter Rebbe that the mind needs to control the heart on impulse.

We need to try and follow in the way of the chossid Reb Moshe so we can be able to allow our mind to rule of our heart.