Steve:
I just don't read super long posts (except for the first and last lines)

Just said some tehillim...

About your posts - you left ou the most obvious reason for the lack or replies - the fact that you make complete sense, and people take your words to heart and nod...and possibly change their lives because of it!

The posts that get the most replies are often the controversial ones, and the plain and simple wrong ones. Yours tend to make a lot of sense.

Thanx friends for your replies.

see? nice n' short.

CORRECTION: I got the wrong name for tehillim. Her first name is REVA, not Rivka.

So....

PLEASE CONTINUE TO SAY TEHILLIM ASAP FOR REVA AYALA BAS ALIZA, may she have a refuah shelayma b'korov!!

I'm told I was given some misinformation, and she really IS married. I'm also told there's a facebook page about her struggles. I have no idea, I don't do facebook.

Apparently, she is going to need our tefillos for quite some time. So please keep her in mind, b'soch kol choleh yisrael.

Thanx, and Tizku L'Mitzvos!

Steve,

Long or short, keep posting your way to 90!!!

Have a Great Shabbos!

hey, hope you're doing well...have a good shabbos, and thank you for being there for me!

shavua tov , Mr Steve.
have a great week with  a lot of happiness.  ;D ;D ;D

Steve - Keep em coming.  While I don't respond due to my lack of time - your posts inspire me.  You have a share in my success.

The quality of your posts are not measured by the amount of responses.  Instead they are measured by the impact that they have on others.  Only Hashem can measure that impact.  Not only will Hashem measure it, but he will keep track or it and reward you for it in the world to come.

Its interesting, there are times that I feel like you do - ignored.  Sometimes I wonder if people comment more when the post describes struggles and falls than when the post describes success.  I think people are more inclined to want to comment and help someone that is struggling than someone who is experiencing success.  Some see you at day 29 and say, that Steve he has it all figured out - he has this thing beaten, I don't have that much in common with him.

One other thing I notice about myself - I am less inclined to read threads that have 20 or 30 pages.  I feel like there is too much to read there to catch up and get up tp speed.  I am more inclined to read the new posts.

Thanx Steve C. and all of youz guys for your support.

I don't have a lot of time 2day, just stopped by to update my chart & say hello. (postscipt: I guess i had more tike than i thought...)

Don't anyone worry, i'm around & still going strong, BH. Just have been trying to spend more time at work than on the forum. No offense, eh? (and I'm NOT from Canada...)

Just wanna share a thought I learned recently.

The Rebbeinu Yona on Daf 4b in Berachos gives 2 reasons for the Gemmorrah's statement that one who is somech geulah l'tefillah is a Ben Olam Haba. His second reason is that by recognizing that the geulas mitzrayim came BECAUSE the yidden then were botayach b'Hashem, and therefore Hashem redeemed them, so we too mention the Geulah before we daven to attach ourselves to this middah of being botayach B'Hashem like they were, and now we can ask Hashem for our needs cuz we truly believe He can provide them, just like we believe he redeemed our ancestors. A person on that madreiga, who davens with such a kavannah of being botayach B'Hashem, that person is a ben olam habah. Ayin Sham.

What this means to me, if humble little me could be mosif to the great Rabbeinu Yona, is that the yidden then really didn't have enough zechussim to get redeemed in such a miraculous way. We were not climbing out of the 49th level of tumah until after we left, cuz it took 50 baby steps to get back to the taharah to receive the Torah. So at the time of the miracles and plagues we were far from worthy. So how come Hashem took us out in such miraculous ways? Rabbeinu Yona tells us, cuz WE WERE BOTAYACH B'HASHEM, because we trusted an relied on HIM 100%, THEREFORE (cause and effect, people!) He took us out of mitzrayim. That's all we had going for us, really.

When is the first time it says that Hashem heard our cries in Mitzrayim? It was right after a "melech chodosh" began his rule, and the people "cried out to Hashem from the bondage." i once heard a pshat that as long as the old Paroah ruled, the one who made them into slaves, the jews sent delegations trying for a political solution to get him to rescind his earlier decree of slavery. But his successor turned the delegations away, saying "What's this lie that you are free men? You've been slaves since i was born. Get outa here..." Now there was no other solution but Hashem - there were no delegations to put one's trust and hope in. So when the people cried and prayed, it was with ALL their bitachon, cuz they recognized no other eitza.

And when Hashem's children cry out to him because they recognize He is the ONLY ONE who can save them, Hashem in his mercy RESPONDS to their cries and fullfills their requests for the better.

My good friend HB reminded me that the Tumah of Mitzrayim is just like the Tumah of today - all about znus. You know what that means?

ACHARIS K'REISHIS!!! The battle which we GYE soldiers (and WACs) are fighting is once again against TUMAS MITZRAYIM!! And Hashem saved us once from it, so OBVIOUSLY doing what they did will SAVE US AGAIN!!

(ouch! i really typed that too hard!!  oooooooo...!)

So we must be botayach b'Hashem that HE can redeem us from this addiction, this misery, the depression, this shtus, this MITZRAYIM that each of us is living in. HE IS OUR ONLY SOLUTION!! Not just to end this galus, but our OWN PERSONAL GALUS from HIM, from being Dabuk B'Hashem, from living daily with a close, personal relaytionship with no less than The Master of the Universe.

We will each choose our hishtadlus, 90 day chart, 12-steps, RR, whatever, but In think we must FOCUS on BITACHON, improve our belief that Hashem will save us BECAUSE we trust in him, even though we are far from worthy.

And if we can do that, then He WILL save each of us, redeem us from our personal affliction, and guide us again out of Tumah and into a Taharah like no other, to be able to be mekabel His Torah and to be His Avodim in a manner far beyound what we have ever dreamed possible.

May it be Hashem's will that we all become closer to Him thru emunah and bitachon, and that show us His love and make us succeesful in ridding ourselves from being enslaved by our Yetzer Haros, and allow us, as imperfect as we are, to be His loving Avodim.

And ONLY His.

Amen!

And like Eliezer Eved Avrohom said (and this is what changed him from being "cursed" to being "blessed") - I need to be someone's eved, better to serve Avraham!

Better to serve hashem than our addiction - so let's daven to him and let him know that we need his help, and that we know, trust, and believe that he, and only he, can give it to us!

Well said, Steve!

BEAUTIFUL VORT STEVEN!!!

They say "Hakol bidei shamayim chutz miyiras shamayim" and the chassidishe seforim say that it means that when you ask Ha-shem for anything, He can say yes, He can say no, but when we ask for Yiras Shamayim, He has to help us!!

HEY!! Good Morning!!!

Foist of all, thanx for the replies, and secoind of all, SB it's good to see you here!!

SB - I heard a wonderful explanation of what it REALLY was in the end that took Eliezar out of the klal of "cursed" and into the klal of "blessed", which I'll have to share with you one day (now there's not enough time), but it is very powerful and is WHY the Torah has so much arichus about him in Chaya Sarah - it's the Torah's message to the umas haolam of how to get back on track, even if they come from as seemingly a helpless position as the cursed Canaanim.

Meanwhile, we Yidden have a higher calling, and much more responsibility. Chasdei HaShem Yisborach - I wouldn't trade it for the world!!

Haba - I like your explanation better than the standard that I'd heard, that Yiras Shomayim is entirely up to us. You're trying to turn me into a chassid?

OL - hope you're keeping strong, too. I love your smiles, man.

Steve C., how many days are u up to? 12,684? You're our inspiration.

WWNBF - I also used to read the first page, the last page, and the Monarch Notes in between. Sometimes the middles have some value, too. Like an Oreo or a Ring Ding. Remember to teach your children by example: "Readers are Leaders."

Yiddle - I miss hearing your voice.

BH - I'll try to keep my clarity consistently concise. How's that?

Have a GREAT, SUPER-AWESOME HOLY DAY, MY BRETHREN.

Steve wrote on 18 Jan 2010 17:06:


Do you mean on the call, on the forum, or on gchat, or all of the above?????

Great to be here - this looks like a really nice place to hang out!

I'm looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts...

And super-happy to hear that you're doing well!

Yiddle2 wrote on 18 Jan 2010 17:11:


well, on gChat you sound like a lot of clicks....
on the forum I read, but don't hear anything but the ringing in my ears...
I guess I mean the call.
I'm gonna try to be in on the next one, too. don't know if  qualify as a vet yet, I feel i have a lot to learn still...