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Wer
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.
WEINTRAUB JEWELERS
advertising in
9/18
1998
52 Detroit Jewish News
question is quite telling in terms of
the Jewish view of what human beings
should be doing with their lives. (This
question also raises other sensitive
issues, but for now we will deal only
with how it relates to prayer.) Judaism
sees life as a steady stream of opportu-
nities for learning, growing and
changing. This conscious engagement
of those opportunities is known as
tikkun ha-middot, or the constant
refinement of human character and
deed that comes through ever-increas-
ing self awareness. In the vernacular
we call it "working on yourself."
The answer to our original question
stems from this slice of Jewish Weltan-
schauung and is as follows: If I grow
and change throughout the course of
my life; if in terms of my attitudes,
inclinations and actions, I transcend
my former self, then what is best for
me will also change. In other words;
prayer itself is an experiential medium
for effecting personal growth. There-
fore, the fact that I can make requests
during prayer tells me that I ought to
be a different person after prayer than
when I began. What was best for me
when I began my prayers is not neces-
sarily what is best for me when I have
finished.
If this is so, then there is a follow-
up question that must also be asked.
How is it that prayer can effect per-
sonal growth and change?
Consider if you will the annual
phenomenon of New Year's resolu-
tions. I would like to suggest that the
reason these resolutions rarely last is
not because they were unrealistic or
because unforeseen obstacles arose, but
rather because the initial commitment
was only half-hearted. And a half-
hearted commitment is no commit-
ment at all.
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Four out of five people in America say
that God answers their prayers. What
about you? Have you ever prayed and
really meant it? Have you ever spoken
to God or cried out to Him from the
depths of your being? Did he answer
you?
E equals MC squared is a relatively
simple equation. It is also one of the
most penetrating notions to ever occu-
py the human mind. Prayer is also
quite simple. God is here and you can
speak to Him. That's all there is to it.
No tricks, no intermediaries, just talk.
Is there anything more simple or any-
thing more magnificent?
God is the designer and creator of
the universe, the source of all exis-
Gets
.
Result
248-354-6060 ext. 209
tence: the stars that blanket the sky,
the stately snowcapped peaks and the
waves crashing on the rocky coast. All
of this and more. And all of creation
pales to nothingness in the face of its
creator. This creator. This God. You
can speak to him. At this very
moment you are in his presence. You
can learn to feel that. To sense his
presence. You can touch the ultimate.
. But there is a part of us that is
afraid. "What if I speak to Him and I
do feel a presence. Then what will
happen to me?" Or perhaps you feel
sort of, well, weird; awkwardly out of
place. That all makes sense. Look,
you're not used to this. Don't worry
though, God won't bite you. Like any-
thing else prayer will take practice and
patience, but in the end there is noth-
ing more sublime than speaking to
God.
Practical Application:
1. Look at your life in terms of
three spheres of relationships: with
yourself, one with God, and one with
other people. Then, make a list of five
mistakes you have made in each
sphere and rank them from most to
least serious.
2. Take your list with you to syna-
gogue and plan a strategy for the day.
For example, on Yom Kippur night
you will take one of your top three
mistakes through the Teshuva process.
During the morning service, you will
concentrate on the next two, and so
on. Pacing yourself will make this
process easier. And if you don't make
it through your whole list this year,
there is always next year.
3. Keep your list of mistakes in a
private place, but make sure you won't
lose track of it. Try to review this list
for 15 minutes once a month.
4. Remember that teshuva is a
unique mitzvah. With other mitzvot
(commandments) if you are lacking
part of the mitzvah, you lack the
whole thing. An esrog and a lulav are
made up of four species, but if you are
missing one, it is as if you have noth-
ing. With regard to teshuva, every
effort you make and every step you
take brings you closer to where you
want to be.
❑
Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur
Survival Kit is published by
Leviathan Press. The above
excerpts were printed with permis-
sion of author Rabbi Shimon
Apisdorf. To order copies, call
1 (800) LEVIATHAN.
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