Aish.com Daily - 26 Elul

Daily Email Form   Torah Reading: Nitzavim 26 Elul 5775 / September 10, 2015     DAILY LIFT TODAY IN JEWISH HISTORY GROWING EACH DAY ASK THE RABBI QUOTE PHOTO Print Entire Mailing #464   Do It Once Print Version » When fighting against the evil inclination, use the same strategy he uses. When he tries to prevent you from doing good deeds, tell him, 'It's just for this once,' or, 'I'm only going to start doing a little bit,' and similar statements that will enable you to get started. This way of talking to yourself lessens the difficulty of a task. Think of a good deed that you would want to do, but don't do because you feel it will be difficult for you to continue doing it. Imagine that you will do it only once. Then take action. (see Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler - Michtav MaiEliyahu, vol. 3, p.293; Rabbi Pliskin's "Consulting the Wise") See Rabbi Pliskin's new book "Self-Confidence" Elul 26 Print Version » In 1972, Palestinian terrorists broke into the Olympic village in Munich, Germany, and held the Israeli Olympic team hostage with the demand that Israel release convicted Arab terrorists from jail. After hours of tense negotiations, the Palestinians and hostages were taken to an airport, where German sharpshooters attempted to kill the terrorists. A bloody firefight ensued, with the resulting loss of 11 Israeli lives. Jewish-American swimmer Mark Spitz, after having won seven gold medals, was whisked away from Munich. The Olympic committee went on with the Games, and subsequent attempts to establish a permanent Olympic memorial to the slain athletes have gone unanswered. Three of the terrorists were captured, but one month later, when Palestinians hijacked a German airplane, German authorities capitulated to their demands and released the Olympic terrorists. They were later eliminated by Israeli agents, the subject of Steven Spielberg's film, Munich. Elul 26 Print Version » If the Shofar is sounded in the city, will the populace not tremble? (Amos 3:6) The blow of a Shofar is a call to arouse us from the lethargy of routine in which we have been immersed and to stimulate us to teshuvah. But what if someone hears the Shofar and is not moved by it? A village blacksmith’s assistant once visited a large city and sought out the local smithy. He observed that the workers there used a bellows to fan the flames in the forge. The bellows were much more efficient than the exhausting manual fanning which he did back in his master’s shop. He promptly bought a bellows, returned with great enthusiasm to his master, and informed him that there was no longer any need for them to exhaust themselves fanning the flames. He then set out to demonstrate the magic of the bellows, but alas, regardless of how vigorously he pumped, no flame appeared. "I can’t understand it," he said. "In the city, I saw with my own eyes the huge flame produced by the bellows." "Did you first light a small fire?" the master asked. "No," the assistant replied. "I just pumped the bellows." "You fool!" the blacksmith said. "The bellows can only increase the size of the flame when you begin it with a spark. When you have no spark or fire, all the pumping of the bellows is of no use." Like the bellows, the Shofar can only arouse us if we have in us a spark of teshuvah, just a rudiment of desire. If we feel ourselves unmoved by the Shofar, we had better try to light a spark of teshuvah within ourselves. Today I shall ... try to begin teshuvah, so that the service of the approaching High Holidays will have the desired effect on me.See more books by Rabbi Abraham Twerski at Artscroll.com   Elul 26 Print Version » Life on Track I am turning 40 in a few months and I am terribly frustrated seeing my life go by, without really fulfilling my potential. I cannot imagine being 20 years down the road and these same feelings of emptiness and regret, Can you suggest a plan for getting my life on track? The Aish Rabbi Replies: Kudos for writing and taking this all so seriously. The first step is to get to the core of your life. You want to be rich. You want to be famous. You want to accomplish, to have an impact, to help others, to change the world. But why do you want all this? What's driving you? When all is said and done, what do you want to end up with? For what do you want to be remembered? Every day you have to re-ask these questions. Dream your loftiest dreams and make a plan to achieve them. Imagine what you could accomplish if you were clearly focused on the goal. I would like to share with you a quote; think how it applies to yourself. "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' "Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God." My friend, you have the power. To start this process of self-discovery, ask yourself intimate questions, then wait for answers. • What is the purpose of existence? • What is my goal in life? • Why did I choose my career? • How do I spend my spare time? • In what ways am I wasting time? • What is my motivation for doing what I do? • What really makes me happy? • What are my future plans? Why? • What are my secret dreams and ambitions? Once you have some answers, make a plan to implement positive change into your daily life. Start slowly, taking one small step at a time, so not to be overwhelmed. Keep your eye on the goal and gauge your progress every day. The key to success in this is to take a spiritual accounting. Imagine if a corporation conducted business without keeping track of its accounts and made no effort to chart profits and losses. The whole endeavor would be destined to fail! The Sages note that this is exactly the approach many people take in their personal lives ― and regularly do "Cheshbon Hanefesh," a spiritual accounting. For example, if someone is trying to refrain from speaking Loshon Hara (gossip), he should keep track of the number of times he speaks Loshon Hara during the day. The power of this exercise is so great, that if a person performs a cheshbon for 80 consecutive days, they will assuredly become a new person. There is an excellent book, written a few hundred years ago, called "Cheshbon ha-Nefesh" by Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Satanov. Find it at feldheim.com. Elul 26 Elul 26 Zvi Moss, age 13, photographed a moment of true Israeli pride, at the Machane Yehuda marketplace in Jerusalem.   Featured at Aish.com       Prayer Power   How to Transform Your High Holidays   Praying for Barak: An Amazing True Story     Follow us on Facebook What do you think of this email? Help us make these personalized newsletters — and our site — better. Send us your questions and comments to tellus@aish.com. Forward this email to a friend. Need to change your subscription? • This email was sent to: phillipphillip787@gmail.com. • You are currently subscribed to list "The Aish Daily List." • To unsubscribe from this mailing list, click here. • To modify your email account, change your e-mail address, or unsubscribe from all lists click here. Aish.com is the most complete online Jewish resource. 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