raisinSoul

raisinSoul

because my soul is not a raisin 
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Mar 19

ten steps to greatness, #4

by Rav Avigdor Miller
the fourth step:
Encourage someone every day. "Hashem encourages the humble."
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Mar 18

ten steps to greatness, #3

by Rav Avigdor Miller
the third step:
Every day do one act of kindness that no one knows about, in secrecy. Have intention beforehand that you are doing this in order to fulfil your program to greatness. The practice of doing acts of kindliness - Gemilut Hasadim - is one of the three most important functions in the world.
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Mar 17

ten steps to greatness, #2

by Rav Avigdor Miller
the second step:
Spend a few seconds each day in a private place and say to: "I love you Ha-Shem". You will be fulfilling a positive commandment from the Torah. This will kindle a fire in your heart and will have a powerful effect on your character. Your exteriority bestirs your interiority. Ha-Shem is listening. He loves you much more than you love him.
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Mar 16

ten steps to greatness, #1

by Rav Avigdor Miller
the first step:
Spend at least 30 seconds each day thinking about Olam Haba (the World to Come) and that we are in this world only as a preparation for the world to come.
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Feb 23

choose wisely and then pray

Rav Tzadok HaKohen (Tzidkas HaTzadik 39) cautions that when ever we do anything, and it is going well, it may seem that we are being helped from up above. But we should be careful not to jump to the conclusion that our success is proof that this is a good thing that we are doing. As the Gemara Makkos teaches, whatever choice an individual makes he will be assisted in fulfilling that choice. The advice that Rav Tzadok suggests is praying for heavenly mercy which has the power to realign the intention of our choices. Specifically, he teaches that we should say the verse, Please God, create in me a pure heart (Tehilim 51:12) before making any life decision or taking any action. By inclining our heart towards truth we recreate the source of our reality.

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Feb 10

sing your prayers

If someone knows that he is not able to have proper intentions during prayer, he should choose a tune to sing (with the prayers) and (thereby pray) with the proper intentions. (This should not be done) during those places in prayer that one cannot fulfill his obligations without the proper intentions, like Shma Yisroel and Baruch Shem Kavod and the first blessing of Shmoneh Esray. It matters not if this advice is followed often or not, the most important thing is that the heart has proper intentions.

Chelkas Yehoshuah

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Feb 2

9 Tips to Achieving Joy

by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

1. I think appreciatively and gratefully. What five things am I grateful for now?

2. I speak and act joyfully and kindly. (When you speak and act joyfully and kindly, your brain produces the biochemicals that create joyful feelings.)

3. I assume there is a benefit. What’s good about this? (Develop the skill of reframing. Finding positive ways of viewing events, situations, and circumstances).

4. I strive for meaningful goals. What’s my goal for now? (Being clear about your priorities is the first step to accomplishing and achieving goals. Take a step forward.)

5. I see myself being the way I wish to be. How do I want to be? (As you picture yourself speaking and acting in ways consistent with your highest and wisest self, you create your ideal self).

6. I focus on solutions. What outcome am I looking for? (If a problem arises, first clarify the problem. Then ask, “What can I do now to solve it?)

7. I let challenges develop my character. “This too will develop my character.” (Look at difficulties as Divinely-sent opportunities to upgrade who you are. What quality can you develop now with a challenge that you faced or are facing now?)

8. I consistently access positive states. My awesome brain stores my best states. What state do I want for right now? (When you give names to your favorite and best moments, you will find them easier to access. Just tell your brain to access the specific state you want to experience now.)

9. I smile and wave at mirrors. They always smile and wave back at me. (Research has shown that smiling to yourself in a mirror creates positive chemicals in your body. If you have a mirror handy, test your mirror to see if it will smile and wave to you when you smile and wave to it. This works even if you smile without a mirror.

Read these principles or recite them from memory a number of times a day. Reading them joyfully will create a few moments of joy whenever you wish. The more frequently and enthusiastically you review these ideas, the greater the imprint on your brain. Ultimately, that will mean many more moments of happiness and joy.

(excerpted from the newly-released Life is Now: Creating Moments of Joy, Courage, Kindness, and Serenity by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin, Artscroll)

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Jan 24

a good morning to Israel

 

It's brought down in the Maor Vashemesh (by Rabbi Kalonymos Kalman Halevi Epstein) in parshas Shlach to say Tzafra Tova Li Bnei Yisroel after Momdeh Ani.  The Biala Rebbe, shlita, explains that just as we find that a bad word leaves an impression, so to there is a power in the Jews to make a good impression by saying good words like "a good morning to the Jews".  And obviously, even if we do not feel (this impression), these things make an impression.  And since that there is an obligation to increase love between Jews, therefore there is an extra reason and obligation to say this (phrase).
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Jan 21

a matone fahr mein Tatty

Parshas Bo
Kedushas Levi

"And you shall say it is a Passover offering to Hashem" (Shmos 12:27)
that is to say, when you want to bring an offering now, in this bitter exile, when we don't have (actual physical) offerings (to make), then the verse says "you shall say a Pesach offering to HaShem", (פה סח - the mouth speaks) you will speak in Torah and in prayer with a clear mind, and it will be only for Hashem.

It's brought down in the Biala siddur (from Reb Nosson Dovid of Shidlovtza, grandson of the Yid HaKodesh, father of the Divrei Binah), that a person should remember every morning to freely give his Torah learning and prayers to the Creator: Behold, I give all my Torah, Tefilah, Miztvos, and good deads that I do, as a gift to the Life of all worlds, Blessed is His Name.

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Dec 29

learning Kedushas Levi before praying

The Biala Rebbe writes (תש"ן שבט כ"א דהילולא ליומא) that the Sanzer Rebbe answered a questioner saying that before davening he should learn from the sefer Kedushas Levi. The Sanzer Rebbe did not explain himself but it is obvious that his reasoning is that the Kedushas Levi clarifies the greatness and importance of a Jew's avodas HaShem and what they effect with their service.
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