#1070
Increase Your Alacrity
The opposite of procrastination and laziness is when you take care of things right away and with speed.
Think of some things that you have been pushing off taking care of. Now commit yourself to do at least one of those things as soon as you can.
After you do this, let this serve as a role model for you to increase your general level of alacrity.
(For a series of probing questions on this topic, see Rabbi Pliskin's "Gateway to Self Knowledge,"See Rabbi Pliskin's Gateway to Self Knowledge, pp. 108-9)
25 Kislev
They established these eight days of Chanukah to give thanks and praise to Your great Name(Siddur).
Jewish history is replete with miracles that transcend the miracle of the Menorah. Why is the latter so prominently celebrated while the others are relegated to relative obscurity?
Perhaps the reason is that most other miracles were Divinely initiated; i.e. God intervened to suspend the laws of nature in order to save His people from calamity.
The miracle of the Menorah was something different. Having defeated the Seleucid Greek invaders, the triumphant Jews entered the Sanctuary. There they found that they could light the Menorah for only one day, due to a lack of undefiled oil. Further, they had no chance of replenishing the supply for eight days. They did light the Menorah anyway, reasoning that it was best to do what was within their ability to do and to postpone worrying about the next day until such worry was appropriate. This decision elicited a Divine response and the Menorah stayed lit for that day and for seven more.
This miracle was thus initiated by the Jews themselves, and the incident was set down as a teaching for all future generations: concentrate your efforts on what you can do, and do it! Leave the rest to God.
While even our best and most sincere efforts do not necessarily bring about miracles, the teaching is nevertheless valid. Even the likelihood of failure in the future should not discourage us from any constructive action that we can take now.
Today I shall ...
... focus my attention on what it is that I can do now, and do it to the best of my ability.
See more books by Rabbi Abraham Twerski at Artscroll.com
The opposite of procrastination and laziness is when you take care of things right away and with speed.
Think of some things that you have been pushing off taking care of. Now commit yourself to do at least one of those things as soon as you can.
After you do this, let this serve as a role model for you to increase your general level of alacrity.
(For a series of probing questions on this topic, see Rabbi Pliskin's "Gateway to Self Knowledge,"See Rabbi Pliskin's Gateway to Self Knowledge, pp. 108-9)
25 Kislev
In
165 BCE, the Maccabees defeated the Greek army and rededicated the Holy
Temple in Jerusalem. Finding only one jar of pure oil, they lit the
Menorah, which miraculously burned for eight days. Also on this day --
1,100 years earlier -- Moses and the Jewish people completed
construction of the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary that accompanied
them during 40 years of wandering in the desert. The Tabernacle was not
dedicated, however, for another three months; tradition says that the
day of Kislev 25 was then "compensated" centuries later -- when the
miracle of Chanukah occurred and the Temple was rededicated. Today, Jews
around the world light a Chanukah menorah, to commemorate the miracle
of the oil, and its message that continues to illuminate our lives
today.
In
165 BCE, the Maccabees defeated the Greek army and rededicated the Holy
Temple in Jerusalem. Finding only one jar of pure oil, they lit the
Menorah, which miraculously burned for eight days. Also on this day --
1,100 years earlier -- Moses and the Jewish people completed
construction of the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary that accompanied
them during 40 years of wandering in the desert. The Tabernacle was not
dedicated, however, for another three months; tradition says that the
day of Kislev 25 was then "compensated" centuries later -- when the
miracle of Chanukah occurred and the Temple was rededicated. Today, Jews
around the world light a Chanukah menorah, to commemorate the miracle
of the oil, and its message that continues to illuminate our lives
today.
25 Kislev
They established these eight days of Chanukah to give thanks and praise to Your great Name(Siddur).
Jewish history is replete with miracles that transcend the miracle of the Menorah. Why is the latter so prominently celebrated while the others are relegated to relative obscurity?
Perhaps the reason is that most other miracles were Divinely initiated; i.e. God intervened to suspend the laws of nature in order to save His people from calamity.
The miracle of the Menorah was something different. Having defeated the Seleucid Greek invaders, the triumphant Jews entered the Sanctuary. There they found that they could light the Menorah for only one day, due to a lack of undefiled oil. Further, they had no chance of replenishing the supply for eight days. They did light the Menorah anyway, reasoning that it was best to do what was within their ability to do and to postpone worrying about the next day until such worry was appropriate. This decision elicited a Divine response and the Menorah stayed lit for that day and for seven more.
This miracle was thus initiated by the Jews themselves, and the incident was set down as a teaching for all future generations: concentrate your efforts on what you can do, and do it! Leave the rest to God.
While even our best and most sincere efforts do not necessarily bring about miracles, the teaching is nevertheless valid. Even the likelihood of failure in the future should not discourage us from any constructive action that we can take now.
Today I shall ...
... focus my attention on what it is that I can do now, and do it to the best of my ability.
See more books by Rabbi Abraham Twerski at Artscroll.com
