Are We Willing To Answer Our Prayers?

By the Rebbe Harav Hatzadik Rav Yaakov Yisroel Twerski, zt"l

No matter how old one may be, no matter how many New Years one has already experienced, the coming of Rosh Hashanah is always an exciting and hope-filled event. We look forward to a year in which illness will yield to good health, sadness to happiness, misfortune to mazel and success, and the hope that a general improvement will prevail in all of the hardships which afflict mankind. To those who are sustained by a strong and abiding faith, this is not a vain hope. The all-powerful and bountiful hand of G-d can, within a twinkling, transform our life into one that is filled with every desired blessing and good fortune. It is important, however, that we remember that while we shall pray and ask the Almighty’s blessing for the coming year, a great many of our most painful problems can be removed by our own intervention and efforts. For so much of our unhappiness is not outside of us, but rather is brought about by our own distorted hopes, and our exaggerated demands on life. Our Sages, for example, suggest this, when they state “He is wealthy who is content with his portion in life.” Let us hope that G-d shall fill this coming year with the fulfillment of our most cherished dreams. And let us also hope that we will find the spiritual strength to look inwardly, so that we may bless our own lives with contentment and peace of mind.

(Written by the Rebbe, Harav Michel Twerski, shlit”a)