#1069
Channel Your Curiosity
There are two varieties of curiosity: positive and negative.
Work to overcome your curiosity to find out negative gossip about other people.
At the same time, work to increase your intellectual and spiritual curiosity to gain more wisdom for living.
(See Rabbi Pliskin's Gateway to Self Knowledge, pp.186-7)
24 Kislev
He [the God-fearing person] will not fear evil tidings, his heart being firm in his trust in God (Psalms 112:7).
Is a person supposed to take steps to provide for oneself, or should one rely completely on God to take care of everything?
If relying on God is taken to mean doing nothing for oneself, this is certainly not the Divine will. The Torah says that God will bless you in all that you do (Deuteronomy 15:18), which obviously means that God expects us to do for ourselves.
But one's trust in God is all important. Some people have the capacity to do things for themselves, but are unable to put their capabilities into action because of intense anxiety. For example, some students who know their material thoroughly report that their minds go blank when they take an exam. They may fail the course not because they lack the requisite knowledge, but because they panic and are unable to use the knowledge they have. A person who has firm faith and trusts in God is much less likely to become a victim of such paralyzing anxiety.
While there are such things as panic or anxiety attacks that are medical problems and require treatment, there is also a variety of anxiety that is due to feelings of insecurity and apprehension. This kind of anxiety is greatly mitigated by a firm trust in God.
Today I shall ...
... try to develop a firm trust in God, that nothing terrible will happen to me, and then go on to use my God-given abilities.
See more books by Rabbi Abraham Twerski at Artscroll.com
There are two varieties of curiosity: positive and negative.
Work to overcome your curiosity to find out negative gossip about other people.
At the same time, work to increase your intellectual and spiritual curiosity to gain more wisdom for living.
(See Rabbi Pliskin's Gateway to Self Knowledge, pp.186-7)
24 Kislev
In
354 BCE, the prophet Chaggai encouraged the Jews to rebuild the Holy
Temple -- a construction project which had begun 18 years earlier, but
was halted due to political pressure. The Temple would stand for 420
years, before being destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. On this same day,
Chaggai prophesied the downfall of the great Persian empire, which would
ultimately lead to the salvation of the Jews. This is recorded in the
biblical Book of Chaggai, chapter 2.
In
354 BCE, the prophet Chaggai encouraged the Jews to rebuild the Holy
Temple -- a construction project which had begun 18 years earlier, but
was halted due to political pressure. The Temple would stand for 420
years, before being destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. On this same day,
Chaggai prophesied the downfall of the great Persian empire, which would
ultimately lead to the salvation of the Jews. This is recorded in the
biblical Book of Chaggai, chapter 2.
24 Kislev
He [the God-fearing person] will not fear evil tidings, his heart being firm in his trust in God (Psalms 112:7).
Is a person supposed to take steps to provide for oneself, or should one rely completely on God to take care of everything?
If relying on God is taken to mean doing nothing for oneself, this is certainly not the Divine will. The Torah says that God will bless you in all that you do (Deuteronomy 15:18), which obviously means that God expects us to do for ourselves.
But one's trust in God is all important. Some people have the capacity to do things for themselves, but are unable to put their capabilities into action because of intense anxiety. For example, some students who know their material thoroughly report that their minds go blank when they take an exam. They may fail the course not because they lack the requisite knowledge, but because they panic and are unable to use the knowledge they have. A person who has firm faith and trusts in God is much less likely to become a victim of such paralyzing anxiety.
While there are such things as panic or anxiety attacks that are medical problems and require treatment, there is also a variety of anxiety that is due to feelings of insecurity and apprehension. This kind of anxiety is greatly mitigated by a firm trust in God.
Today I shall ...
... try to develop a firm trust in God, that nothing terrible will happen to me, and then go on to use my God-given abilities.
See more books by Rabbi Abraham Twerski at Artscroll.com
