Growing through falling

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  • #599327

    I learned an amazing piece over Shabbos, from the sefer, “Tiv HaEmunah” by Rav Gamliel Rabinotivch. “There is no righteous man on earth who does only good and never sins.” HaRav Avraham Yurvits zt”l says that Shlomo Hamelech is teaching us that if a person never stumbled, he would never identify his lowliness and powerlessness.

    So, Hashem occassionally davka causes a person to fall on some level, so that he will recognize his inferiority, thereby causing him to turn to Hashem Yisbarech! This is the only way that we can live with emunah, because the whole concept of emunah is realizing that Hashem is in control!

    Some people are on a very high level where they only need minor setbacks, but others need more louder ones. Hashem can’t dwell with a person who is arrogant and thinks that all of his good in life is from his doings alone. If we never had setbacks, we would be arrogant people. Through stumbling, we realize how Hashem is the only one we can rely on and turn to! Everything we have is dependant on Him! This will ultimately cause the Shechinah to rest on him! How amazing?

    When you fall, don’t give up or become frusterating with yourself! We are not malachim! We have that opportunity to fall and to get right back up and grow to a much higher level than we were ever at before. Instead of concentrating on your failings, use it as an opportunity to grow closer to Hashem, to attach yourself to Him by realizing that you are nothing, and He is the Creator of the whole world who will help you through. Ain Od Milvado- Nothing else! By fully submitting ourselves to Hashem, we will no longer experience “failures” because we will recognize the Creator in everything that happens in our lives, whether seemingly good or bad. This will lead us to true and pure emunah, and we will become a merkavah for Hashem Yisbarech! We should all be zoche to reach this level of pure and true emunah!

    #1194769
    MiddlePath
    Participant

    EI, this was a truly wonderful post to read. Thanks!

    #1194770

    Your welcome. I gained so much from it, so I thought others might also. Doesn’t hurt to try right?

    #1194771
    observanteen
    Member

    Wow! Exactly what I needed to hear now. Thanks loads, Emunas.

    May I ask a question? Once I realize that it’s all from Hashem and understand that He wants me to rise above it all, what do I do then? How do I get back to the level I was?

    #1194772

    Observanteen- thats a great question! Personally, when I realize that I have fallen somehow, I kind yell at my own yetzer hara out loud. I say, “I am going to fight, and I am going to win!” It sounds silly, and it may feel silly doing it, but it really helps me. Once you realize in your heart that you have fallen, you have to use all the strength that you have inside of you, and DAVEN to Hashem to receive the strength you need, to rise above it. Without Hashem’s help, you won’t succeed. Thats the whole point. You have to make the effort, and keep Hashem in front of your eyes the whole time.

    Also realize, this takes such great strength, that when you do rise again, you WILL be on an even GREATER level than you were before. “How do I get back to the level I was?” You wont. You will be even higher :-). Why? Because you were faced with a challenge and had some kind of yerida that you never experienced before, so you reached out to Hashem, held His hand, and are stronger and greater than you were before without the nisayon. Every nisayon makes us greater and greater as long as you see Hashem in it and don’t allow yourself to give into the yetzer hara once you realize that it is a test. Every nisayon is a stepping stone, like another diamond to put into a bracelet and make it even more beautiful and holy. It may appear to be an ugly rock when your going through it, but once you pass the test, you will see the rock turn into the most beautiful diamond!

    #1194774
    observanteen
    Member

    Thank you SO much, Emunas. You can’t imagine how timely your words are. I really appreciate it.:)

    #1194775

    observanteen- My pleasure! Really! 🙂

    #1194776
    am yisrael chai
    Participant

    Thanks, EI, for this vort and for all your others.

    #1194777

    emunas Itecha, you have to be careful how you interpret and say

    “So, Hashem occassionally davka causes a person to fall on some level, so that he will recognize his inferiority, thereby causing him to turn to Hashem Yisbarech! “

    Be careful because is a fine line. There is reference to this in Rav Shalom Arush’s book Garden of Emunah, which we do not hold by. He says dont worry about it if you sin because it was Hashem’s will to let you to do the sin. FALSE!

    Never blame Hashem for our errors.

    But I liked everything else you said.

    #1194778

    Arwsf- “Be careful because is a fine line. There is reference to this in Rav Shalom Arush’s book Garden of Emunah, which we do not hold by. He says dont worry about it if you sin because it was Hashem’s will to let you to do the sin. FALSE!

    Never blame Hashem for our errors.”

    What do you mean by, “which WE do not hold by?” Who is “We”? And are you saying that what R’ Arush says isn’t the emes?

    #1194779
    Sam2
    Participant

    EI: What Rav Arush says is not what the vast majority of K’lal Yisroel accepts to be true. There are some cases where a person is put into an impossible position and has to choose between the lesser of two evils (see Kiddushin 40a, I believe). But we assume that when someone sins it is their fault and that they must make up for it. We don’t assume that Hashem forced them to sin, with the possible rare exceptions explicitly mentioned in the Gemara.

    #1194780
    kapusta
    Participant

    Similar idea; I remember once hearing that if a person sins, and then regrets the sin so much that he will actually take upon himself extra and become a better person through it, the sin is viewed as a Mitzvah because that was the factor which brought about the positive change.

    (Hope that made sense)

    Thanks for sharing.

    *kapusta*

    #1194781

    Sam2- Being that Rav Arush is my Rav,I have to say that I follow him. It doesn’t mean that there is no place for teshuva and that Hashem MADE you sin. I think the idea is more that when you do sin in whatever way, which you will do because you are human and not a malach, that you have to use it as a way to get closer to Hashem and grow.

    There are many ideas in avodas Hashem and yiddeshkeit. Even though not everyone agrees on everything, there should still be respect, especially when it comes to great Tzaddikim.

    #1194782
    Sam2
    Participant

    Saying we don’t accept something is a lack of respect. What you said is in fact what everyone assumes to be true and is not what R’ Avush writes.

    #1194783
    ZachKessin
    Member

    I assume most people here have seen a small child learn to walk. While they are doing it they fall down. Well when they do you pick them up and have them try again.

    Life is much like that. Sooner or later something you try is going to go wrong and knock you down. The secret is to get back up and learn from it. Most (all?) successful people had a number of failures and setbacks on the way to being successful, the secret is to learn from them and try not to make the same mistakes again.

    For example back in the 1980’s Steve Jobs got fired by Apple and spent 10 or 15 years doing other thing before coming back to Apple to become one of the best CEO’s in America.

    #1194784

    Sam2, when one says “we don’t accept something” it IS NOT A LACK OF RESPECT. Satmar doesn’t hold by that concept that if one sins we can simply say it was the Abishter’s will. I personally know of an individual who read the Yiddish version of Garden of Emunah, came across that idea and asked a shailah,and was told no.

    In fact, in all spheres, Klal yisrael has its own sects who hold by different sheetas and whatever. Its not a lack of respect if belz doesnt hold by something in lubavitch.

    #1194785
    Sam2
    Participant

    Thank you scissors. That is exactly what I mean to say. I meant to write “isn’t”. That was a very bad type to have. Thank you for correcting me.

    #1194786

    arwsf- Then please say “Those who follow Satmar don’t go by this.” Or, “My Rav told ME not to follow this.”

    I do personally follow Rav Arush, and live my life by what he teaches. If you follow the Satmar Rav, then that is great. Just specify.

    #1194788

    Sorry Emunas Itecha. I am not being disrespectful. you should know I hold a lot of respect for Rav Arush also, by the way I am in the middle of re-reading “women’s wisdom” again.

    Do you live in Israel? How does one get a personal appointment with him?

    #1194789
    BaalHabooze
    Participant

    Thank you, Emunas Itecha.

    If I may add to your beautiful words:

    Shlomo HaMelech wrote “Sheva Yipol Tzaddik Vekam” – “A tzaddik falls seven times, and rises” (Mishlei 24:16).

    Poshut pshat is a tzaddik moves on even with his many falls. Rav Yitzchak Hutner ZT”L explained it that a tzaddik IS a tzaddik BECAUSE he fell 7 times, and then he got up.

    In a letter to a student experiencing hard times, Rav Hutner expressed the idea that achieving gadlus is a process of overcoming and moving on. He explained that while we imagine tzaddikim being born righteous, it is more likely that they STRUGGLED to become great!

    #1194790
    am yisrael chai
    Participant

    Thanks for this GREAT vort, BH

    Think of it as a spring (coil) or bow and arrow:

    The more tension by applying pressure further away from the target, the further the spring/arrow will go…

    #1194791

    arwsf- “Women’s Wisdom” is amazing. Hashem should help you internalize what you read into your heart. I don’t currently live in Israel, although my heart is there. I wish I could help you get an appointment, but I do not have those connections. Hatzlacha!

    Baal HaBooze- Wow! Emes! I try to remember and remind myself Shlomo Hamelechs words all the time. I have never hear Rav Hunters insight on it before. Its amazing. Thank you so much for sharing!

    am yisrael chai- Beautiful!

    #1194792

    wow I just got this email its words of inspiration by Rav Avigdor Miller…very fitting for this thread. THought I’d share.

    It’s all with plan and purpose

    After the eigel hazahav (Golden Calf), everyone was downcast because they had lost favor in the eyes of Hashem. The general mood was repentance, remorse, and humility. Yet at that time Moshe Rabbeinu put in some of his greatest requests that he ever made of Hashem.

    It’s remarkable that these great entreaties of his were not made at a more auspicious time, when they were in favor with Hashem. He could have made them at the receiving of the Torah, when Hashem was so pleased with His people. At that time Moshe Rabbeinu should have put in a request.

    But the Chovos Halevavos teaches us that sometimes a sin can help a man become better than a mitzvah. And he explains if somebody because of virtuous deeds, maasim tovim, begins to feel a certain pride, he becomes somewhat puffed up, then he loses status with Hashem because he is now being bereft of that grand quality of humility.

    Humility is one of the most glorious attributes of mankind. And even if because of your righteous behavior you are impelled to lose some of your humility, it doesn’t pay. And therefore sometimes, he says, a good deed can do a man harm and a sin sometimes can do him great benefit.

    If he feels so downcast because of his sin, he’s so disheartened and he despises himself because of what he did, and he is contrite and he comes with humbleness before Hashem, that is an achievement that can outweigh by far any harm he did by his sin.

    (Now don’t go doing sins in the hope that you’ll become humble. Try to become humble while you’re becoming a big lamdan (scholar) or while you’re making a lot of money. When you are riding on the wave of hatzlacha (success), that’s the time you should be humble.) (Tape 579)

    Growth with action: Even times of misfortune may present an opportunity for growth. Think of a mistake you made recently and how you might have used it as a springboard to grow in your Middos or service of Hashem

    #1194793
    Lilmod Ulelamaid
    Participant

    bump

    #1194794
    Utah
    Member

    @Lilmod ulelamaid

    there is absolutely no reason to bump this. If you would like to refer to this topic just make a new post and add a link to this. It is pointless to bring this back.

    #1194795

    Actually, it is pointless to make a new topic – then there are 2 threads on the same subject. (I think the CR rules state that you should not create a new thread if one already exists, although no one really cares about that.)

    #1194796
    Lilmod Ulelamaid
    Participant

    Why would I do that? I had nothing to add or say on the topic. I just came across it and thought it was something people might like to see, since people seemed to be inspired by it.

    Actually, if I had something new to say on an old topic, I would probably create a new thread. I never understand why people post things on threads from five years ago.

    #1194797
    Lightbrite
    Participant

    lilmod ulelamaid:

    +1 for Bumping

    +1 for Working with an established thread

    +1 for Conserving space

    #1194799
    Lightbrite
    Participant

    “I never understand why people post things on threads from five years ago.”

    lilmod ulelamaid: Sometimes if it’s the longest thread ever, then it’s extra work to have to click another page to get to the most relevant.

    On the flipside, if there is already a thread along the lines of my message, or a previous thread intrigues me, working off the old one can both add context to the train of thought and highlight the other opinions already shared.

    A long time ago, my art teacher told us to keep a journal of our experiments. Somewhere along the line, we may find a new perspective and use for our work. Work that we otherwise would have forgotten about. It expands our creativity.

    No need to spend years reinventing the wheel.

    Here it’s a collaboration that we can all turn to, imho.

    Thank you

    #1194800
    Lilmod Ulelamaid
    Participant

    Lightbrite – +10 for always finding something positive to say!

    Re the first point on your second post – in this case, I think it was only the first post that I wanted people to see in particular.

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