As we've discussed many times, Hashem's sole intention of creating us was for us to earn our place in the next world, where there we will receive our due reward beyond anything that we can ever imagine for eternity. Hashem designed this world in a way where we have the opportunity to choose either good and earn points for ourselves, or alternatively the opposite, to choose bad and dirty our scorecard.  Hashem knows that we are only human beings and that we are programmed in a way that we will mess up. However, in His great kindness, He gave us the gift of teshuva, which as Torah sources teach us, when one does teshuva, one can firstly remove the stains and dirt from their scorecard, and not only that, but as the Gemara teaches, the aveiros can actually turn into mitzvos when one does teshuva in the ideal way.  Of course we are not always motivated to even think about trying to rectify what we've done wrong, but in Hashem's great kindness, He programmed our calendar in a way that is conducive for us to constantly be coming closer, starting from the beginning of the month of Elul, where the shofar is blown every day after the morning services, selichos are recited, as well as other additional prayers and practices. And after this month of focus on our teshuva and coming closer to Hashem, it finally culminates with the great holy day of Rosh Hashanah, where we focus on truly declaring Hashem as the King, as the only power in the world, as the true Ein Od Milvado, that there is no circumstance or individual that can in any way contribute to the goings-on in my life, but rather, Hashem exclusively runs every detail to my life. And after Rosh Hashanah we move to the Asseres Yemei Teshuvah, where again the focus is very concentrated on teshuva, on coming closer to Hashem, and eventually culminating with the holy day of Yom Kippur. And as we are taught, after the day of Yom Kippur, we are cleansed from our sins.  These days between Yom Kippur and Sukkot are considered days of simcha. One of the reasons is because we are all walking around now, cleansed of our sins. Although we have a constant opportunity to do teshuva, and one is always encouraged to make efforts in doing teshuva and coming closer to Hashem, nevertheless, we are taught from Torah sources that the day of Yom Kippur itself is so powerful in the spiritual realms that there is a certain power that will cleanse our sins just by the holiness of the day itself. Of course we are commanded to make our maximum effort in doing teshuva ourselves, but there is no question that the power of Yom Kippur is beyond anything that we can imagine. "Thank you, Hashem, for all the incredible holy days that You have gifted us with in the Jewish calendar. If it were left up to me, much of the time I am not inspired not to do teshuva, not to make a particular effort to come closer to You, nor any of the other efforts that I am supposed to make and that are conducive to my eternity. Thank you, Hashem, for all the special days that You have gifted us with. And thank you, Hashem, for the gift of every single day of life."

The Gemara states that the first question we are asked when we arrive in the heavenly court is, "did you give and take with faith?" The simple understanding of this passage as explained by the commentaries is that it refers to one's business dealings. Throughout one's life, did one perform their business dealings with absolute honesty? We are taught that in the next world, there is no concept of untruth. Everything is seen very clearly and therefore every action is scrutinized in terms of our honesty levels. The commentaries also explain this passage in the following way - "did you go about your life with emunah?" It is not surprising that the first question we will be asked according to this explanation is, "did you live your life by the values of emunah", because as we've seen many times, the Ramban writes the only reason that we exist in this world is in order to have emunah and he says there is no other reason for us being in this world. And the Vilna Gaon writes that the reason for every mitzvah that we fulfill is in order to come to have emunah and that is the cornerstone behind the whole entire Torah. We devote our lives to the learning of Torah and fulfilling of the mitzvahs, ultimately as we are taught, it is all in order to come to have emunah. And therefore it's easy to understand why the very first question would be, "did you live your life according to the values of emunah."  Remember Torah commentaries teach that although internalizing the values of emunah intellectually is itself a major achievement and definitely the first step, nevertheless our major life's work is taking the intellectual information and transforming it into our emotions and sincerely living practically according to the values of emunah and bitachon. It's important to emphasize that this is the first question that we will be asked and both of the explanations that were cited are ultimately one and the same.  The first explanation which is that we will be asked and scrutinized about our honesty in business dealings. Now of course we can all understand that one should never steal or be dishonest with anybody, but why does this transgression of being dishonest have so much weight that it is the very first question that is asked in the heavenly courts? And the answer is because when one is dishonest in business what they are really saying is the following: "Hashem does not exist, I run my business and I need to make money and because I'm now running into an issue where it seems like I'm going to be short of money. I need to do some sort of trickery and use my cunning to be able to gain more money, therefore let me cheat this individual and be dishonest in order to be able to have my parnassah.""  Whereas when somebody is living by the values of emunah and bitachon one is not enticed, God forbid, to steal or be dishonest even in the slightest way because one knows that every single cent that I will receive today was already ordained by Hashem on Rosh Hashanah and no circumstance or individual can even slightly alter Hashem's plans and Hashem Himself has commanded me as a great mitzvah to be completely honest at all times and certainly not to steal and therefore there is absolutely no need for me to even think about being dishonest in the slightest way. "Thank you Hashem for teaching me to prepare myself to be able to answer the very first question that I will be asked when I arrive in the heavenly courts. B'ezrat Hashem I will be able to answer affirmatively and say, yes I was successful in living a life of true emunah."

"Master of the Universe, thank you so much for bringing me to this most incredible day, Erev Yom Kippur. Today is a tremendously happy day because I am about to be cleansed from any and all of my sins, b'ezrat Hashem, and that is a tremendous cause for celebration. The way you have designed this world, Hashem, is that when I do transgress, those sins cause a barrier in our relationship. And therefore it's such a joyful time, the happiest day of the year, where we're going to come back to be so close and intimate together, the greatest pleasure that can exist, both in this world and also the reward that will be received for this in the next world.  Hashem, please help me to internalize the emunah of what the Gemara says, that there is a mitzvah to eat and drink today, and by doing so, it's as if I've fasted today in addition to tomorrow, Yom Kippur. I'm eating the food now today, as you've instructed us by your halacha, so that I should have the energy to be able to fast over Yom Kippur. And you have also taught us via your Torah commentaries that we are eating now because we are delighted, celebrating that we are coming to this tremendously holy day where you forgive us for our sins and therefore the eating and drinking today is in place of the festive meal that would have been eaten on Yom Kippur itself, the happiest day of the year.  However, Master of the Universe, a huge part of the forgiveness that is granted over Yom Kippur includes us playing our role in doing sincere teshuva, begging you for forgiveness for our sins and doing our best to commit about the future. And I am concerned, Hashem, I don't know how much concentration I am going to be able to have, especially because I'm going to be fasting and sometimes the prayers take quite a long time and it's difficult for me to focus on the words and mean what I'm saying. Please, Hashem, I'm asking you now to help me to do a sincere teshuva. Help me, Hashem, to be able to perform the mitzvah of teshuva with tremendous simcha, with tremendous joy, just like all your other mitzvahs that I'm supposed to perform with joy, so too the mitzvah of repentance, it is your will that I repent with tremendous joy and enthusiasm.  Hashem, I'm so sorry for all the times that I was jealous of other individuals. Hashem, I'm so sorry for all the times that I caused another individual pain, willingly or even unwillingly sometimes." Immediately after Yom Kippur, after we dance Leshana Habaa Birushalayim, we immediately start with the prayer of Maariv, which starts with the words Vehu Rachum Yechaper Avon - may Hashem forgive our sins. And as famously asked, what sins do we have? We've just been forgiven for all of our sins. And as famously answered, the sin that we have just committed that we are now asking to be forgiven for is that we didn't fully believe that we were forgiven for our sins. That is a sin. If Hashem teaches us in His Torah sources that we are forgiven completely on Yom Kippur for our averes, we need to internalize that belief and we come out with a clean slate. "Master of the Universe, please help me to internalize the truth of this holy day that You sincerely are forgiving me for anything I might have done against Your will. I am going to do my best and I'm asking You to help me to please do my best to repent in the right way, to make new commitments about the future, that I can be better, that I can do less averes and more mitzvahs, and I will do my best to specify to You how I can improve. Please Hashem, help me to be able to connect with You through this Yom Kippur. Please help me, Hashem, to internalize and remember that there is always a space for anyone and everyone to repent. It doesn't matter what has been done and it is never ever too late to remember the greatest transgression of all is when we don't allow ourselves a space to repent, but we think that all is lost. There is never a place where repentance cannot help. mMay we all merit a Gemar Chassima Tova and be written and sealed for a happy and healthy year with all the blessings in the world. Leshana Habaa Birushalayim."

As we approach the great day of atonement and we prepare ourselves to be completely cleansed, now is the time to do some serious introspection and think deeply where we might have gone wrong and how we're going to go about rectifying that. Hashem understands that we're human beings limited by our human capacities with evil inclinations to sin. Hashem does not expect us to be sin-free and therefore He has gifted us with this tremendous gift of teshuvah where we have the opportunity to think what we have done wrong and do our best to rectify it by doing our best and committing to improve for the future. When an outright transgression is in question, which is relevant to all of us, of course the first step is rectifying the transgression itself.  "Hashem, I'm so sorry for using these eyes that you've given me such an incredible gift sometimes in an inappropriate manner. There were times that I viewed inappropriate things which are prohibited. Please forgive me for committing this transgression and please help me in the future, Hashem, to be able to appreciate that these eyes are a tremendous gift from you and never to use them to go against your will, God forbid, ever again. From my side, I'm going to make an extra effort to follow the halacha as the Gemara says that when I have two different roads to take to get to a certain destination and on the one road there is inappropriate material to potentially be viewed and the one there is not, even though it might be longer, I am required to take the longer route to avoid potentially coming to sin. In the future, Hashem, I'm going to try to be more careful even if it means taking longer to do my best to avoid sin. But Hashem, you know how hard this area is for me, so I'm begging you, please can you help me." Another very important area where teshuva can be applicable and we can do our best to make change is that when it comes to all mitzvos, of course the performance of the mitzvah in the ideal way following the intricate details as prescribed by halacha is of paramount importance and definitely step number one. However, sometimes the second aspect of mitzvos is forgotten. The Arizal teaches that a mitzvah that is fulfilled with simcha, with joy and happiness compared to the same mitzvah that is fulfilled without joy and happiness are two different mitzvahs completely worlds apart. Let us take a few moments now to try be mindful to perhaps choose one mitzvah that we will do with utmost simcha, joy and enthusiasm.  "Hashem, please help me to internalize this belief that even though I don't experience the difference in a mitzvah done with simcha as opposed to a mitzvah done without simcha, help me to believe that they are completely worlds apart. Please Hashem, forgive me for all the times I did perform your mitzvahs, but I did so without enthusiasm. When I performed the mitzvah of washing my hands upon waking up in the morning, davening the prescribed prayers, giving charity, honoring my father and mother, I'm so sorry Hashem that most of the time when I did fulfill those mitzvahs, I usually performed them more out of rote and certainly not with a lot of enthusiasm and joy. Hashem, when I perform the mitzvah of washing my hands in the morning from tomorrow, bli neder, I'm going to try my best to just take a moment to reflect before I do so and try my best to do so with tremendous joy and enthusiasm. Thank you Hashem for all your incredible mitzvahs and the gift to be able to perform your mitzvahs with simcha."

As we approach the holy day of Yom Kippur, the day that we are taught can completely clear our slate, a day where we can come out of it considered to be complete tzaddikim, one might not always be motivated to devote hours of prayer with concentration and fervor and also now in the days before, making every effort to rectify our transgressions. But as always, when we follow the path of Emunah, whether we are motivated or not is not the engine of why we do things, but rather because we believe in the information that Hashem has given us through His Torah, that is the motivating factor for us to act in the right way and to make the most of the moment.  One of the basic purposes for our need to do teshuvah is because as we've learned many times, the ultimate purpose that Hashem created the world, which He didn't need to do in the first place, was in order that we bask in His light and derive pleasure in an unimaginable way, much greater than anything we can even begin to comprehend. And as discussed many times, that pleasure is experienced in the next world. By doing teshuvah in this world now, we are making way for ourselves to earn the best place that we can for eternity.  Just to gain slightly more appreciation of what the reward awaiting for us in the next world might entail, it's encouraging to discuss the following teaching. There is a story in Tanach about the very wicked man, Nevuchadnetzar. Initially, Nevuchadnetzar was the secretary of another king who had communication with the king of Israel.  One time, this king was writing a letter to the king of Israel about a particular matter. And the way he addressed the letter was as follows: "To the king of Israel and to the God of Israel", first listing the king of Israel and thereafter the God of Israel. The secretary, Nevuchadnetzar, happened to be away at the time that this letter was written. But he happened to arrive back just as the letter was being taken to be delivered. And when the secretary, Nevuchadnetzar, saw the way the letter was written, he turned around to the king and said, this is incorrect. The way you should have addressed the letter should have been, "To the God of Israel and to the king of Israel", first listing the name of their God and only thereafter the name of their human king. And the king said to his secretary, Nevuchadnetzar, "you're right, go and make that change and thereafter deliver the letter in its changed form." Nevuchadnetzar took four steps to go get the letter and make the change. And as a reward for taking four steps to save the glory of Hashem, he was rewarded with leadership over the entire world, as we know, one of the most powerful kings of all time. Because Nevuchadnetzar was so tremendously wicked, Hashem did not want him to have any place in the next world, and therefore, he needed to receive his complete reward in this world. Because every good deed that we commit is noticed by Hashem and accounted for, without exception. No less than authority and leadership over the entire world was the reward of a man taking just four steps for the glory of Hashem. Can you imagine when a person takes a hundred steps to go do a mitzvah, or alternatively the performance of the mitzvah itself? We have no concept of how great the reward awaiting for us in the next world is. But of course, in this world, we need to just believe that. "Please, Hashem, help me to truly repent for anything I might have done against Your will, so that, Be'ezrat Hashem, when I come to the next world, I can enjoy the full measure of reward and pleasure that You have in store for me."

We have been discussing how the greatest gift, greater than any and all miracles in the world, is the gift of life itself. And as we learned from the Sfas Emes, greater than the miracle of the creation of the world itself is the Mishkan, and even greater than that is the mitzvah of Shabbos, and even greater than Shabbos is the gift of life, because as we know, all the laws of Shabbos fall aside when the life of a Jew is in question. Just to view this from a different angle, to appreciate exactly how blessed we are to have another day of life, and Bezrat Hashem turn those feelings of appreciation into expressing our gratitude to Hashem. We know that when it comes to the three cardinal sins, idol worship, immorality, and murder, we are obligated to stop at nothing to prevent ourselves from committing those most severe transgressions, even if it means losing our lives by doing so. Besides for the three cardinal sins, when it comes to other sins that Hashem has commanded us not to commit, the Halacha in Shulchan Aruch states that a person is obligated to give up all of their money if that can prevent one from committing a sin. So imagine for a moment a situation where the only way I can prevent myself from not needing to desecrate the Shabbos is by giving away every single cent in my bank account. And imagine I might be a wealthy philanthropist where I have hundreds of millions of dollars in my bank account, and many, many organizations are dependent on my funding. And here I have a situation where I need to desecrate Shabbos in the slightest way, one little desecration. But hypothetically in this situation, if I give away every single cent that I own and become a pauper, and of course am now unable to help any organization or individual, the Halacha is that I am obligated to give away every cent that I own in order to prevent myself from breaking the law.  Now just to digest that, all the money in the world that I might own is not as great as not desecrating one of the laws of Shabbos. Yet we are taught that when it comes to the life of a Jew, the life of a Jew is so holy that if we might be able to add even one second to a Jew's life, we break every law in order to do so. So imagine a 110 year old man who is sick in hospital on every machine. It is absolutely clear that this man will not live longer than one more hour. But if I desecrate Shabbos, I might, not even for sure, I might be able to add one second more to this man's life. The law is that in such a case, I am absolutely obligated to desecrate any law of Shabbos in order that there might be a possibility to add one second to this man's life.  "Thank you Hashem for the gift of just being alive. I know that I can't fully internalize to appreciate what it means, the value of being alive, but I believe Hashem in what you are teaching me in your Torah, that although you have given us the opportunity to perform your mitzvahs, which their value is immeasurably great beyond anything we can imagine, with incredible reward in store for us for the future, however as we learn in your Torah, nothing in the world whatsoever can be greater than the gift of life itself. Thank you Hashem for the incredible gift of life that you've given me."

What is the greatest miracle in the world? Out of all the answers we might give, the truth of the matter is that the greatest miracle in the world is the creation of the world itself, because every other miracle that might exist is encompassed within the creation of the world itself.  The Sfas Emes points out that there are about 30 verses in the Torah devoted to relating the story of the creation of the world, whereas when it comes to the Mishkan, the special tabernacle where Hashem's Shechinah was known to rest on and be much more potent than anywhere else, the Torah then dedicates a few hundred verses outlining that episode. And the Sfas Emes comments that we see from here that the Mishkan was actually greater than the creation of the whole world itself, because if Hashem in the Torah decided to dedicate about 30 verses to the creation of the world, but when it comes to the Mishkan He decided to dedicate a few hundred verses, Hashem seems to clearly be indicating to us that the Mishkan is more important than even the world itself, and perhaps because of the tremendous holiness that one can experience and tap into in the Mishkan, in one's connection to Hashem, so many verses are dedicated to describing its details in the Torah. But there's something even greater than the Mishkan, says the Sfas Emes, and that is, we are taught that there was a command to build the Mishkan on every day of a regular weekday. But when it came to Shabbos, the building of the Mishkan had to stop, because Shabbos is more important than the building of the Mishkan. So first we have the miracle of the creation of the world itself, thereafter even greater than that is the Mishkan, which has more verses devoted to it, and even greater than the Mishkan is Shabbos, where one is not permitted to build a Mishkan on Shabbos. And to remember this easily, says the Sfas Emes, one can find these three concepts in an acronym of the three letters of the word Shema - Shin Mem Ayin, the Ayin stands for Olam, the world, the Mem stands for Mishkan, and the Shin stands for Shabbos. But it doesn't stop there. There is something even greater than Shabbos. The law is that if the life of a Jew is in danger, then we have an obligation to do whatever it takes to try to save or prolong his or her life. And says the Sfas Emes, you can see this in the words Shema Yisrael, as we explained the three letters of the word Shema, Ayin, which stands for Olam, the world, Mem, which stands for Mishkan, and Shin, which stands for Shabbos, signify some of the greatest and most important creations that Hashem created in His world. Firstly, the greatest miracle of all, the creation of the world itself. And something that's greater than that is the Mishkan, and something that's even greater than that is Shabbos.  But something that's even greater than all those three things is Yisrael. The life of a Jew is so great. "Hashem, my King, there are many things in my life that I need, and I do reach out to You about those things. Sometimes I experience things as sweet and sometimes as bitter, of course ultimately knowing that You always do do only what's best for me. However, we are taught that we are supposed to doven for what will be sweet in our eyes. Hashem, I do want to take a moment just to reflect and realize that the greatest gift of all is the gift of life itself. And even if I have experienced and am experiencing hardships, the fact that You have gifted me with another day of life is the greatest gift in the world. Thank you, Hashem, for the gift of another day and another moment in my life."

The Aseres Yemei Teshuvah provide us a special opportunity. The Gemara teaches that completely righteous individuals are judged for life and blessing on Rosh Hashanah itself, as well as completely wicked individuals are judged on Rosh Hashanah itself for the opposite, whereas most individuals fall into the category of Beinonim, where their judgment lingers until the holy day of Yom Kippur. Hashem has given us the special days of Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, and now specifically these days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, in order to make our maximum effort to repent for any sins we might have committed, and be'ezrat Hashem tip the scales to positive and sweet blessings for our judgment. Hashem knows that we are going to sin, because if He wanted a world without sin, it would have been given to angels who don't have an evil inclination. Hashem specifically desired a world where we do have the opportunity to sin and mess up, and nevertheless, one of the greatest gifts that we have been given is the gift of Teshuvah. Let us stop for a moment and just try to internalize the incredible opportunity of Teshuvah. When one takes a very dirty item of clothing and gives it a really good wash, and it comes out super clean, it is very easy to notice the difference of how the item was when it was dirty, to how it is now once it's been cleaned. That is not how Teshuvah works. When we do Teshuvah, for the most part, we do not necessarily feel the difference, however once again, we are called on to believe what we are taught about Teshuvah. The Gemara teaches us that when a person commits a sin, and thereafter does Teshuvah out of their love for Hashem in the best way that they can, that sin actually changes on their record to a mitzvah. This is a most fascinating kindness that Hashem has done for us. It is so motivating and inspiring to know that we have these days now specifically to think about all of our actions, where we might have messed up, and where we can improve, and if we do so, to the best of our abilities, those aveiros will actually change into mitzvos.  It is also important to highlight that Hashem does not expect us to make a better Teshuvah than our human capacity allows. And although there are many levels to Teshuvah, much of the time, a simple process, just acknowledging where we might have gone wrong, and then rectifying the situation, if anything can now be done, and resolving to try our best in the future, can work wonders. "Hashem, my Father, there were many times this year that I was not careful enough with my speech. Although I might not have gone out intentionally to speak Lashon Hara and say nasty information about other people, there were times that I laughed at a funny joke about another individual, which also falls under the category of Lashon Hara. Hashem, I'm really sorry for doing so, and the truth is that that sin also comes from a lack of my emunah, because I didn't feel it was so bad what I was doing. Because why is it so bad? It was just a funny joke. But at the end of the day, I don't want to live my life based on what I think and my logic, but rather, based on emunah in you, and if you have told me that this is a serious transgression, then there is nothing else to talk about, and I want to believe that with all my heart. Please, Hashem, help me to. I am going to try my best for future situations, from right now onwards, that even though it might sometimes be uncomfortable, and others might be laughing at the joke that was mentioned, I will try my best to be strong, even when it makes me look funny. Thank you so much, Hashem, for the incredible gift of Teshuvah and the opportunity to turn my aveiras into mitzvahs."

"HaShem, I am so privileged that You created me and You saw me worthy to be able to have this tremendously important place on the main stage. Why You specifically gifted me with the privilege to be a Jew and the many things that come with that, I do not know and cannot know, but I am so grateful and just want to say thank You so much, HaShem, for the gift to be able to perform Your mitzvahs, so many of them.  Im Yirtzeh HaShem, in only a little while, we have the incredible opportunity to hear the sound of the shofar, and as we are taught, when the shofar is sounded, the spiritual realms in the heavens are completely pierced and we experience some of the holiest moments possible. HaShem, sometimes I might feel inspired when the shofar is blown, but at other times I feel nothing, and You and I know that the reason for that is just because I am limited by my human limitations. If I was able to see what was actually going on when the shofar was sounded, I would be so inspired and run towards You with all my heart.  But You have also taught me that this is actually the reason that I exist in this world. This is my mission statement, to internalize the emunah, specifically when I don't feel, but to rather just believe what You have taught me. Please HaShem, help me to connect to You throughout this Rosh Hashanah in the most potent way and to make my maximum effort to fulfill all of Your mitzvahs in the best way. Please can You also help me to commit to more time of speaking to You on a daily basis and to make even more effort to grow in my emunah, because ultimately when I grow in my emunah and bring Your light more into the world, that is proclaiming Your kingship. Master of the Universe, please help me to devote more time to teaching others about emunah, because I know that it would give You such delight if not only I was growing in my emunah, bringing You into my world, declaring You as the King, but also sharing that light with those around me." We are taught that throughout Rosh Hashanah our main focus should be on proclaiming HaShem as the King, rather than focusing on our own efforts to repent our wrongdoings. And perhaps that might seem counterintuitive, because Rosh Hashanah is not only the time that we proclaim HaShem as the King, but also the time that we are judged. We might have thought that when it's time to be judged, we should repent, but again, we follow HaShem's guidelines, whether we understand or not.  An idea that sheds some light on this issue is that specifically on Rosh Hashanah, the time we are being judged, is the time we focus on proclaiming HaShem as the King, and bezrat HaShem in that merit, that be the catalyst to bring us a good judgment.  "Master of the universe, thank You for all the incredible gifts that You've blessed me with throughout this whole entire year. Thank You for providing me with all the food that I have eaten every single day. Thank You HaShem for the incredible health. Sometimes when I experience even a minor ailment, or a slight stomach ache, it causes me so much discomfort. How many days this year did I not experience that discomfort? And thank You also for those times that You did send me some discomfort, so I could now have something to compare to, and appreciate all the times that You didn't send me those challenges.  Thank You HaShem for all the incredible Torah that I've learned this year. Thank You HaShem for the gift of Emunah, and the privilege to be able to have access to this information, and be able to grow in my relationship with You. Thank You HaShem for the opportunity to be able to talk to You every single day, at every single moment, whenever I desire. HaShem, You've given me everything, and I request from You, please HaShem help me to be able to give back to You, to my maximum capacity."  We wish everybody an incredible and inspiring Rosh Hashanah, and beezrat HaShem may all the Brachos from this year continue into the new year with even more light, and any challenges be completely sweetened for the new year. Wishing everyone a Kesiva V'chasimah Tovah.

"HaShem, my King, the King of the world. You are always the King, but now, specifically, approaching the holy day of Rosh Hashanah, where we are called on to make an extra effort to proclaim You as the King. Please HaShem, help me to be successful in my efforts to make You the King. I know, HaShem, that You are not like human beings that You need honor. You don't need anything, You didn't even need to create the world. Whilst at the same time, the Mishna in Pirkei Avos teaches us that You created everything in the world for the sake of Your honor. For someone who doesn't know, HaShem, this might appear like You might be like another human-like King, seeking and wanting everyone to honor them. Thank You, HaShem, for teaching me the truth from Your Torah sources, that in actual fact, You didn't need to create this world in the least. And the only reason You did was for my good, to eventually reward me and give me the greatest pleasure. And the only reason that You gave me the opportunity to have this excursion in this world is to earn my place in the next world. Because as we are taught, when I earn my place in the next world, it will be so much more pleasure than if You just gave it to me without having earned it.  So what does it mean that everything in the world was created for Your honor? And why, HaShem, do I have a mitzvah now to make You the King? The answer, I believe, to be, HaShem, is because in actuality, when I am honoring You, I am doing myself a favor. Because You are the source of all goodness, and when I choose to connect with You, and to follow what You tell me, and to notice Your involvement in my life, then I believe that I am earning my place in the next world. And perhaps I might even experience some of that great light in this world by having a close relationship with You.  HaShem, my dear Father, I just want to take this opportunity to thank You for everything that You've given me in my life. Because of my human limitations, most of the time I take things for granted. But if I stop and think for a moment of all the countless gifts that You have blessed me with, and I acknowledge and appreciate that they come exclusively and directly from You. King of all kings, thank You for the greatest gifts that You've granted me. Thank You, HaShem, for the privilege to be able to see, to be able to hear, to be able to breathe. Thank You, HaShem, for the incredible opportunity and privilege of being a Jew, and to know about the incredible mitzvah to crown You as the King on Rosh Hashanah.  Thank You, HaShem, for granting me the privilege to be able to recite the incredibly holy prescribed prayers throughout the year, and also on these holy days. Thank You, HaShem, that I am able to read from the Machzor and tap into these most incredible holy words. HaShem, my Father, my King, You are the King, and I really want to do my part to crown You as the King. Every individual that You created has a different mission and purpose. Please, HaShem, can You guide me to fulfill my mission and purpose in life, of how I can spread Your light and fulfill my mission and purpose in the world in the most potent way. Please will You guide me to know what are the things that I should focus on to be able to glorify Your Name.  Many of the things we know and are objectively applicable to all of us. We are taught that when we recite the words "yehei shemei rabba mevarach leolam uleolmei olmaya", these are some of the most powerful words affirming You as the King of the world. Sometimes, HaShem, I don't feel particularly inspired or focused in saying these words, but please help me now, coming to the new year, to make a new start, to not do things based on my experience, because sometimes I don't experience the inspiration of Your mitzvahs because of my human limitations. But rather, help me to fulfill all Your mitzvahs just based on my belief that You told me to do so, and if You said so, there is no question that this is the best thing to do. And in the same vein, please, HaShem, guide me in my personal life, the things that are subjective to me, of how I can fulfill my purpose and mission in the world, not for my sake, but rather to proclaim You, HaShem, as the true Melech."

Our main focus on Rosh Hashanah is to proclaim Hashem as the King. Hashem doesn't need our respect and honor. In fact, as we are taught, Hashem did not need to create the world in the first place for His own sake. The only reason Hashem created the world is in order to give to us, as we have learned many times, which ultimately takes place in the next world. When we do, however, proclaim Hashem's kingship and connect with Hashem in that way, that is the strongest catalyst of how we earn our place in the next world. Hashem is everywhere in this world. The verse teaches us, ein od milvado, there is nothing else except for Hashem in the world. It's just that the more we include Hashem in our lives, the more we are able to perceive Hashem as being there. Besides for following Hashem's laws, as well as making our maximum effort to living a life of emunah and bitachon, how do we truly crown Hashem as the King and proclaim His kingship?  Simply speaking, it is following the will and instructions that Hashem has requested of us. If one takes the very first word of the Torah, b'reishit, and rearranges the letters, one comes out with shirat alef bet, the song of the alefbet. The Torah itself is Hashem's song and something so beloved to Him. Similarly, when the verse outlines to us the mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah, it is portrayed with the following words, "and now write for me this song." Again, the Torah is called Hashem's song because it is so beloved to Him.  At the same time, we are taught that there are 600,000 letters in the sefer Torah corresponding to the 600,000 Jewish souls that exist. Although there are many more than 600,000 Jewish people in the world, numerous people are embodied from a single soul, and in its source there are 600,000 souls. The law is that if just one letter of the 600,000 letters in the sefer Torah is invalid, the entire sefer Torah is considered invalid. And in the same vein, Torah commentaries explain of the 600,000 souls that exist in the Jewish people, if just one soul is spoiled, then although the remaining souls might be excelling in every area, the entire entity is considered invalid. If we are looking to proclaim Hashem as King, there are many things, of course, learning His Torah, following His mitzvahs, and doing our best to live a life of emunah and bitachon. However, one of the highest things that Hashem loves is the life of a Jew, the soul of a Jew. We have learned many times that our ultimate mission statement in this world is to grow in our emunah and bitachon, and of course we should always treat that as highest priority. Whilst at the same time, can you imagine how happy it would make Hashem if we take the mission statement of life and make our maximum effort to spread that light to help the souls which are so beloved to Hashem, to achieve success in their endeavors and ultimately in their place in the next world? "Hashem, my dear Father, as we approach this holy day of Rosh Hashanah, please help me to truly proclaim You as King. Please help me to follow Your instructions and live a life of true emunah, where I am able to perceive that You are exclusively orchestrating every detail throughout my life. And at the same time, Hashem, please grant me the opportunity to be able to spread this light with all those around me. Hashem, You are the only true King of the world."

One of the basic extensions of Emunah is to internalize that we don't understand things based on what we see and on our logic, but rather, we are to believe that everything Hashem does is for the best, and by following His laws and doing our best to live a life of Emunah and Bitachon, that is what is going to bring us to our ultimate destination in the best way in the next world. Sometimes we might feel inspired by what we are doing, but many a time we do not feel any specific inspiration. But nevertheless, Emunah teaches us not to make our decisions based on our logic and what makes sense to us, but rather, to choose to follow Hashem whether we understand or not. The Gemara relates a fascinating episode where Moshe Rabbeinu encountered Hashem placing what is known as the crowns on the letters of the Torah and within Moshe Rabbeinu's understanding, these crowns were actually not needed. So he asked Hashem, "why are you placing these crowns on the letters of the Torah?" And Hashem responded, "although they are not needed right now, in many years to come there will be a great man who will be so wise that he will be able to derive many laws from each of these crowns that I am placing now. And although you, Moshe Rabbeinu, cannot understand the great deeper meaning behind these crowns on the letters, this individual in many years to come will be able to."  And Moshe Rabbeinu said to Hashem, "if there is such a great individual that will exist in the future, please Hashem, will you show him to me?" And Hashem teleported Moshe Rabbeinu into the future where he found himself in the Beit Midrash of Rabbi Akiva. The way it would work in times of old, those students which understood the most would sit in the front row, those who understood less would sit in the second row. Moshe Rabbeinu was seated in the eighth row because he was not one of the top students in Rabbi Akiva's lecture. The Gemara relates, in fact, that he could not understand what Rabbi Akiva was teaching because the level of Torah learning was way beyond Moshe Rabbeinu's understanding. Now we all know Moshe Rabbeinu, the greatest prophet that ever lived. We cannot even begin to imagine his spiritual level. Nevertheless, he was told that Rabbi Akiva was even greater, to the point that Moshe could not even understand Rabbi Akiva's lecture because it was too high of a level.  When Hashem then brought Moshe Rabbeinu back, Moshe Rabbeinu then asked Hashem to please show him what the end of the life of Rabbi Akiva would look like. Perhaps he imagined that for such an incredibly holy individual there would be a grand finale. Hashem then showed Moshe that the way Rabbi Akiva's life would end would be by his enemies torturing him in the most cruel way, and he would die a gruesome, painful death. And when Moshe Rabbeinu saw this, he was completely perplexed and begged Hashem for some explanation. "Such a great individual, Hashem, who would completely devote his life to you, this is his reward?" And Hashem responded to Moshe, "Be quiet; This is My will, and you will not be able to understand the bigger picture of things."  And similarly, there is a story told about a man who was standing before the Baal Shem Tov, and when the man took a drink of water, he said the bracha hastily, without having the appropriate intention for the bracha, and the Baal Shem Tov said, "You just missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, because the soul of your father, because of certain sins that were committed, has been lingering in this water for many years, and if you would have recited this blessing with real meaning and intention, you would have redeemed his soul." We have absolutely no idea of what is going on in the bigger picture of things. What we are called on to do is to follow Hashem's instructions and to make our maximum effort in living a life of sincere emunah and bitachon.

A fundamental concept of the Torah is the concept of Gilgulim - reincarnations. We are taught in many Torah sources that almost all souls are recycled, meaning to say that we have lived before, in previous lives. For the most part, people do not remember anything about their previous lives. One of the basic conclusions that a life of emunah should bring us to, is to understand that we don't understand anything. The picture that we see is so small in comparison to what's actually going on in the picture that Hashem sees. When we are able to internalize that the reason we are here in this life is for a specific mission which is also very directly connected and related to our previous lives, it is easier to try live life making less effort in trying to make logical sense about the way that Hashem deals with us, and rather choosing to follow a life of belief, knowing that Hashem is carrying me through the exact course that would be best for me, not just for this life isolated from my previous lives, but rather Hashem is doing what's best for my soul, in the bigger picture, taking into account all of the reincarnations that this soul has experienced. The Midrash teaches that Hashem wanted to teach Moshe Rabbeinu this concept, and therefore He was told to go to a certain place where He was able to watch a series of events that would teach this lesson how in truth we don't understand anything.  There were three people. There was an individual who came to get water from a well. Whilst he was there drawing the water, he dropped his purse unknowingly, which had a large amount of money inside of it. After he finished drinking, he left not knowing that he had lost his purse. A while later, a second individual came to get water from the well, and he noticed the purse on the floor. And to his delight, there was no one around to return this purse to, so he rejoiced on the treasure that he had found, and the second individual left with the money in his pocket. It then happened that a third individual came to drink water from the well. And whilst the third individual was there, the first individual who had lost his purse realized what had happened and turned around to go back to the well to try to find his purse. And when he arrived, he encountered the third individual, and when the third individual denied having found the purse, the first individual accused him of stealing his money to the point that he murdered the third individual out of anger, mistakenly thinking that this was the person who had taken his purse and money.  And Moshe Rabbeinu watched this whole episode and said to Hashem, this is not fair. Firstly, that the first individual lost so much money for no apparent reason, and how come the second individual just got a treasure for free? And how come the third individual committed murder and there's no one around to testify his actions?  And the Midrash states how Hashem explained back to Moshe Rabbeinu that really the father of the first individual had stolen money from the father of the second individual, and this was Hashem's way of paying the rightful inheritance back to the second individual by making the first individual lose his purse and the second individual finding it. And as to why the third individual was murdered by the first individual, Hashem explained that the father of the third individual had murdered the father of the first individual in a previous life, and in order to avenge his father's blood, Hashem orchestrated events now that the first man would kill the third man.  If we try to understand life according to our own understanding, not only will we come out with nothing, but worse than that, we will draw the wrong conclusions. We are called on to make every effort to live our lives according to the values of Emunah and Bittachon, rather than trying to live our lives based on our understanding. "Thank you Hashem for teaching me that the ideal course in how to live my life is living a life of Emunah."

One of the many mitzvos that we have is the mitzvah to pay a worker on time for their services. Simply speaking, when somebody does a job for me and the usual expectation is to be paid on the same day, then unless stated otherwise, one is obligated to complete the payment without delay.  The Chofetz Chaim in his Sefer Ahavas Chesed writes that the reason many people do not fulfill the mitzvah of paying a worker on time is because many people are just not aware of the laws. It is important to remind ourselves that a basic extension of living a life of emunah and bitachon is making our maximum effort to follow every detail of halacha. Following halacha is applying emunah in a practical way. If a sick individual in dire need of help were to find a single expert doctor to help them with their case, if I choose to visit this doctor, I am choosing to believe in this doctor, and by making my way to the doctor's office for my appointment, I am expressing my belief in this doctor. Applying that belief in a more practical way will be when the doctor tells me exactly which medications and procedures to follow, that I listen carefully and make sure to treat the information that he is giving me with utmost importance. It would be absurd for me to pay a huge amount of money to get an appointment with this highly sought after doctor, and after his assessment of the situation, upon giving me instructions, I pay no attention and leave the appointment without following any of the guidelines he has given me. In the same vein, as we've learned many times, we are called on to believe in Hashem, and as the commentaries write, our ultimate purpose of being alive in this world is to express our emunah and bitachon. It is important to remind ourselves that one of the highest ways we can express this emunah and bitachon is when we follow the guidelines and instructions Hashem has commanded us.  But as the Chofetz Chaim teaches us, we cannot fulfill the mitzvahs appropriately if we have not learned how to do so. With regards to many mitzvahs, it might be easier for us to fulfill their intricacies because these mitzvahs are more famous and we have been exposed to its details for many years. However, it is important to make every effort to learn halacha with regards to all mitzvahs, both those that are well-known as well as those that are less well-known, so that we can fulfill all of Hashem's instructions in the appropriate way.  "Hashem, my Father, thank you so much for the opportunity to be learning about emunah and bitachon on a daily basis and trying my best to grow in this endeavor, which is ultimately my main purpose and focus whilst I am alive in this world, as you have taught us many times in your Torah sources. Thank you also, Hashem, for teaching me that one of the most basic extensions of practically applying the emunah and bitachon that I have learned is by making my maximum effort to fulfill all of your instructions that you have commanded me, including all of their intricacies, both when I might understand some of the reasons behind the mitzvahs and also with regards to mitzvahs that I have absolutely no understanding. Because obviously, if I believe and trust in you, then included in that would be to follow all your instructions.  But Hashem, you know that some mitzvahs are so difficult for me to fulfill, and I take this opportunity to ask you, please Hashem, help me, that I should do my best to fulfill the mitzvahs with all their details and intricacies. And in the same vein, please help me to internalize the importance of learning all areas of halacha, even the areas which might be less well-known, because obviously, I cannot fulfill your mitzvahs in the best way if I have not learned how to do so. Thank you, Hashem, for the incredible opportunity to talk to you on a daily basis about anything and everything."

There are countless Torah passages which outline the tremendously great value of Torah learning, and the emphasis Hashem places on this great mitzvah. The most famous one, perhaps, is the Mishnah we recite every day in the morning prayers, where the Mishnah says that the value of Torah learning is equal to all of the other mitzvahs put together. So if one thinks of the tremendously great impact that we are taught each mitzvah provides - giving tzedakah; lighting Shabbos candles; putting on tefillin; listening to the shofar; shaking a lulav; and all of the other mitzvahs that we have. We are taught here that the value of Torah learning is on par with all of those mitzvahs put together.  We are also taught in countless Torah passages about the incredibly great value of tefillah, prayer, and many Torah passages seem to indicate that the power and potency of the value of prayer is even greater than the power and potency of Torah learning, such as the teaching of the Sefer Chareidim and the Shelah Hakadosh, which we have quoted numerous times, where they state that the value of secluding oneself and connecting to Hashem with personal prayer is seven times stronger than that of Torah study. Whilst at the same time there are many Torah passages which seem to indicate the exact opposite, that the value of Torah study is in fact greater than the value of tefillah. There is no question that the potency and power of both Torah study and tefillah is beyond anything we can imagine. But at the end of the day, there seems to be a contradiction in many Torah passages. Which is it? Is Torah study greater, or is prayer greater?  Some commentaries resolve the contradiction in the following way. We know that the ultimate purpose of Torah study is "al menas laasos", in order to take the concepts from the Torah study that we learn and use them in a practical way throughout our lives. Although Torah study inherently is tremendously valuable itself, nevertheless, we are taught that the ultimate purpose of Torah study is "al menas laasos", in order to use the Torah study that we have learned in a practical way throughout our lives. And therefore, the commentaries explain that because Torah study is so potent inherently, when one does study Torah, that action automatically brings us closer to Hashem, builds our emunah and bitachon, sometimes even on autopilot without us knowing it, and also improves our character, which is part of the reason we exist in this world.  And therefore, when I am praying, certainly if the prayer is with regards to unimportant matters, such as, "Hashem, I would really like a new car, please can You help me to be able to get this specific car that I would like." Although it is commendable that one is reaching out to Hashem about their interests, and that is certainly some level of emunah, Torah study is certainly considered higher than a prayer of this sort. But even a very necessary prayer, such as if a family member is sick, or one is struggling to find a soulmate, or one might be struggling financially and says, "Hashem, please can You send me more parnassah, so that I can be able to fulfill the mitzvah of tzedakah, and just so that I can provide my family with their needs and have more time to devote my life to You." Although this is certainly a very high level of tefillah, nevertheless we are taught that Torah study still precedes such prayer because ultimately, we are praying to have health, find a soulmate, or have more parnassah, in order to be able to do the ideal, which would be coming closer to Hashem, by having more time to devote to our spiritual pursuits, whereas Torah study itself is the spiritual pursuit itself.  However, the commentaries explain that when our prayer is of the highest form, and we are asking Hashem, "Hashem, please will You send me more emunah, that I should live a life of absolute emunah and bitachon, connected to You, please bring me closer to You, please Hashem, will You correct my character traits, and help me to become the righteous individual that You'd like me to become." When our prayer is of this sort, then the commentaries explain that this prayer is so great and high, that it can even be above the great mitzvah of Torah study. The bottom line is that both Torah study, as well as prayer, are both tremendously powerful conduits of how to connect to Hashem and fulfill our mission and purpose in this world. "Thank you, Hashem, for giving me the opportunity to connect to You and fulfill my mission in this world, both via the incredible and potent mitzvah of Torah study, as well as via the incredible and potent mitzvah of prayer."

We learned a very fundamental and important concept from the Gemara, which teaches us that it is actually considered a sin to be fearful of circumstance and individuals. The more we internalize ein od milvado, that there is no other power in the world outside of Hashem, and v'hu levado asa veoseh veyaaseh l'chol hamaasim - He Hashem exclusively orchestrates every happening down to the most minor detail throughout all of our lives, the more we internalize these concepts, the more we will get closer to living lives free of fear. In the above-quoted episode from the Talmud, where the sage reprimanded the student for being fearful and told him off that that is considered a sin by quoting a verse which dictates so, the student responded back, quoting a different verse which seems to imply that it is actually a commendable thing to do, to feel feelings of fear. The sage then responded back to the student, explaining how to reconcile these two verses. The one verse which states clearly that it is a sin to be fearful is referring to the idea that we've been discussing, that we are to make every effort in growing in our emunah and bitachon, and by doing so, we will be led to living lives free of fear and worry, because it will be clear to us, both intellectually and beezrat Hashem also, on a deeper level emotionally, that Hashem exclusively runs every single detail, and there is no reason to fear anything else. And the other verse which does clearly indicate that it is a good thing to be fearful, explained the sage, is referring to matters of the Torah and mitzvahs. Certainly, we should be very fearful of transgressing any of Hashem's commandments and all the repercussions that we are taught that that entails. And when we have already committed a transgression, it is also appropriate to now be fearful about the consequences in store for us, and by doing so, that can actually be a springboard to motivate me to repent for the transgression. And as the Gemara teaches, that if one repents sincerely and out of love for Hashem, that transgression actually turns into a mitzvah to our credit in our eternal bank account.  The same piece in the Talmud then goes on to say that there was another individual who was groaning and complaining about a certain situation, and this individual was told off by the sages for groaning and complaining. And in fact, the Gemara says that when one groans and complains, that itself is the catalyst that brings suffering upon oneself. "Thank you, Hashem, for teaching me that I need not fear anyone nor anything because You are exclusively running every single detail in my life. And at the same time, thank you, Hashem, for teaching me that it is appropriate and commendable to fear sin and its consequences. And thank you, Hashem, also for teaching me that not only is groaning and complaining about my situation that You've presented me, a lack of my emunah and bitachon, trusting that You would only send me what is best for me, but groaning and complaining itself is the catalyst that will bring me more suffering to my life. Hashem, You and I know exactly what I'm going through, and I'm already struggling in this situation, but at the same time, please help me to be inspired, to internalize that You can and will only always do what is good for me, and there is never ever reason for me to complain. Please help me to internalize, Hashem, that You are with me every single moment of my life."

We've been discussing that one of the automatic extensions of having bitachon in Hashem is that it leads to a life without fear. I don't fear any individuals nor any circumstances because I know that Hashem is exclusively running the show.  We learnt the Gemara which teaches us that it is actually classified as a sin to be fearful. And although initially such a concept might be difficult to digest, upon reflection it is actually very easy to understand. Because if our mission in life is to have emunah and bitachon, as discussed many times, and simple emunah and bitachon means I internalize that Hashem is in absolute control and I also internalize that Hashem only wants to do good for me, then when I begin to fear the repercussions of a certain circumstance or the power of a certain individual, I am in a sense acknowledging a force outside of Hashem. Basic emunah and bitachon would teach us that the most powerful individual in the world cannot even but lift a finger if Hashem does not will so. We are completely under the auspices and guidance of Hashem exclusively.  For anyone serious about emunah and bitachon and our life's mission, this concept that the ideal course that we should be aiming for is a life without any fear whatsoever, should be relatively easy to understand intellectually. However, as Torah commentaries teach, the real work of emunah is not the intellectual understanding but rather to bridge the gap between what we understand intellectually and what we truly internalize on a deeper emotional level. Our job is to make our maximum effort to truly internalize these concepts and eventually be'ezrat Hashem lead to a life of true bitachon, free of fear, in all areas of our lives.  David HaMelech in Tehillim compares the way we should relate to Hashem like that of a baby nursing from its mother. When the baby is hungry, the baby screams and shouts. And suddenly, when the mother brings the baby to nurse, the baby calms down because now it has all the food that it needs. And because of the simplicity of the baby not having a complex mind to worry about what will be for the future, right now when it has its food, it is completely calm without a worry or care in the world. And David HaMelech teaches us in Tehillim, that is the way that we are called on to rely on Hashem, to be completely calm, 24-7. That is a high level, but at least we should know where we are aiming for.  I read a story in one of the fantastic books, Living Emunah, by Rabbi David Ashear. There was a young girl on a flight, sitting all by herself, without a parent or adult accompanying her on the flight. Suddenly, there was tremendous turbulence that even the adult passengers were grabbing onto their seats out of anxiety and fear. One of the passengers noticed that this girl was completely calm. Surprised, he went over to her and asked, "I am feeling tremendously anxious about this turbulence and so are all the many other passengers on this flight. How is it that you are so calm?" And the girl responded simply, "my father is the pilot and I trust him with my life." Hashem is the pilot to our lives and the more we internalize that, the more we will be able to live lives of peace, calm and tranquility.

The Gemara in Brachos page 60a, relates that when one of the sages encountered that one of his students was fearful about something, the sage reprimanded the student, quoting a verse that states that it is a sin to be fearful. The reason for this is because when we internalize that Hashem exclusively orchestrates every happening throughout our lives down to the most minor detail, then when we fear another individual or some circumstance, it's as if we're acknowledging that there is another force outside of Hashem, because if we are to internalize that Hashem is in absolute control, why should we fear anyone or anything? And the sage was therefore teaching the student, if you are fearful, you are committing an actual sin.  We need to internalize and believe these words. When it comes to other sins that are perhaps more logical and easier for us to understand, it is easier to relate to them as a sin, such as to steal or to commit murder, to talk Lashon Hara, and the many other transgressions that exist. Those are much more relatable to us as sins. But one might argue, how can it be classified as a sin just because I am feeling fearful feelings about someone or something? But we learn differently from this gemara, from the only true perspective, Hashem's perspective, that when we build our emunah and our bitachon, we can reach a place where we only fear Hashem because we truly internalize that ein od milvado, there is absolutely no other force whatsoever in the world except for Hashem, and therefore there is no reason to fear anyone or anything outside of Hashem. We must remember the gemara which states, hakol bidei shamayim, everything is in the hands of Hashem. Hashem runs every single detail of the world exclusively. And in the same vein, one of the 13 principles of faith that the Rambam outlines is ve'hu levado asa ve'oseh ve'yaseh lechol hamaasim - and He, Hashem, alone did everything in the past, currently does everything in the present, and will orchestrate every single happening in the future.  It's important to remember that emunah and bitachon, and everything encompassed within them, is our life's work, as we've learnt many times. This is our ultimate purpose of being alive in this world, the main way that we earn our place in the next world, as outlined by the Ramban, the Vilna Gaon, and many many others, and therefore we should take to heart that it is not a one day's journey to excel in emunah and bitachon. Yes, we do need to know where to aim, and therefore it is important to learn the Torah sources such as this Gemara which teaches us that it is actually considered a sin to fear anyone or anything, and ultimately, b'ezrat Hashem, we can all grow more and more to get closer to living our lives in such a way.  Nevertheless, it is important to internalize that every small step that we make is greater than anything we can imagine in Hashem's books. Hashem does not expect us to climb leaps of emunah and bitachon in small periods of time. As taught by many Torah sources, Hashem places much more emphasis and importance on our effort and endeavor to grow in emunah and bitachon than the actual result that we achieve. "Thank you Hashem for teaching me that every single small step that I make in fulfilling my life's mission of growing in emunah and bitachon is greater to you than anything I can imagine."

We've discussed the many Torah sources which teach very clearly that it is Hashem's will for us to pray to Him. According to our own logic and common sense, one might have thought that if one has true bitachon and emunah in Hashem, then if Hashem orchestrates our lives in a way that presents challenges for us, perhaps we might think that the ideal course should be for us to keep quiet and learn to be happy with what Hashem has given us. The bottom line is that it is absolutely clear from many Torah sources that Hashem's will is for us to pray for what we desire. Even if we can't understand this concept fully, as always, we don't follow our understanding and logic, but rather what the Torah sources teach us is Hashem's perspective, which is the only unmistakable perspective.  We are taught many passages of our ancestors, such as Moshe Rabbeinu, who did not stop pleading Hashem on a constant basis to please allow him to enter the land of Israel, which he had been denied entry to. And in the same way, when it comes to our matriarchs, who were initially denied the ability to have children, although one might have expected that they should just accept their destiny to be barren, as Hashem's will, and live their lives happily ever after as such, we are taught that they continued to pray day after day for what they desired, children. And we learn from here a most important principle, that Hashem's true desire in the way He created this world, is that He does want us to talk to Him for what we would like.  Nevertheless, as pointed out previously, we learn from the Gemara about Choni Hameagel, that we are not to be overly brazen and vehement in our requests from Hashem. Although we are to consistently continue to pray for our needs in the way we would like, nevertheless, we are not to outline certain requirements from Hashem in an overly stubborn way. "Hashem, my daughter, currently, is extremely sick. I've been to many doctors, but it is clear that they cannot help her. I know that in truth, the only one that can help her is You, and in one second, You can send her a complete recovery, whilst at the same time, currently, the situation is very serious and dire, and I don't know what to do. Hashem, I have decided that today, I am going to spend the entire day reciting Tehillim for many hours. By the end of the day, I am hoping and begging You that my daughter should be completely healed. In fact, Hashem, I am making a condition right now that I will not stop reciting Tehillim, even for a short moment, to take a break, such as something to eat, to sleep, or anything else I might need, until my daughter is completely recovered, and if You decide not to heal her, well, I will not eat, I will not sleep, and I will not do anything else." Although a prayer of this sort is certainly praiseworthy in many ways in that one is believing in Hashem and davening to Hashem and truly exercising their emunah and bitachon, nevertheless, being so adamant with an outright stubborn condition, the Gemara teaches us, is out of place and wrong. Rather, what could be said is, "Hashem, You know that my daughter is severely sick. I am taking on right now to devote many hours of reciting Tehillim on her behalf, and I beg You with all my heart, Hashem, please heal her. I know that in one second, You could send her complete recovery, and Hashem, if You decide not to send her recovery today, I will continue to serve You, and I will still pray with all my might tomorrow, whatever I can do, but I beg You, Hashem, please come through for her as soon as possible, ideally today. Thank You, Hashem, for giving us these most powerful weapons, emunah, bitachon, and tefillah."

We've been discussing the powerful statement of the Ramban, which teaches us that the opportunity to apply bitachon is completely independent of our actions. Of course, we always have to try to do our best - more mitzvos and less aveiros, whilst at the same time to internalize that the many statements that we are taught from Torah sources about the power of bitachon, that when we trust in Hashem exclusively, He comes through for us and delivers, that applies to any individual who is choosing to place their reliance and trust on Hashem independent of their actions. We also discussed how many Torah sources teach that emunah, bitachon and tefillah are all synonyms, and the famous example from the verse in the Torah which states that Moshe Rabbeinu's hands were emunah, are translated by the Targum Unklus, as "he spread his hands in tefillah." Because again, the more one believes, trusts and relies on Hashem, the more one will pray to Hashem.  We also mentioned the well-known episode in the Gemara of Choni Hameagel, where there was a drought in the land of Israel, and he, being a tremendously pious and righteous individual, was called on to pray on behalf of the people. And as the Gemara recounts, he was extremely stubborn and vehement in making sure that Hashem listens to his prayer, drawing a circle around himself and swearing that he will not leave that circle until Hashem comes through and sends rain in the form of blessing that will benefit the people. Although we do learn the tremendous power of tefillah from this episode, how Choni literally changed the course of nature, where there was a clear drought, and suddenly abundant rain began to fall, completely denying all the laws of nature, nevertheless, the Talmud goes on to criticize Choni for being so stubborn and vehement in the way he talked to Hashem. Although none of us can compare ourselves to the spiritual level of the tremendously righteous and pious Choni Hameagel, nevertheless, one take-home from this Gemara is that when we do daven to Hashem, we should not be overly brazen and vehement to get what we want.  And the question is, how do we reconcile this with other passages in the Torah, such as the episode where Moshe Rabbeinu was denied entry to Eretz Yisrael and he prayed no less than 515 times, constantly begging and begging Hashem to allow him entry. Perhaps he should have stopped earlier? Why pray so much when it is clear that Hashem did not want that? And we find many similar type of episodes recounted throughout Torah literature, such as by the matriarchs who were barren and constantly prayed to Hashem to be able to have children. And again, perhaps we could ask, if Hashem made them barren, and after making a few prayers they were not answered, maybe they should have stopped praying, trying to change Hashem's plans and course? The bottom line take-home that we gain from these sources and many others is that it is Hashem's will that we never stop praying for what we desire. We are to pray and hope and have faith, emunah and bitachon that Hashem will come through for us, and if He didn't today, we are not to give up, but rather to hope and pray for tomorrow. However, we must also remember the passage about Choni Hameagel, that although we are called on to never stop hoping and praying, however, it is important to remember not to be overly brazen, stipulating certain conditions to Hashem that we require Him to meet for us. "Thank you Hashem for teaching me that to pray in a stubborn way, making my own conditions for you to fulfill, is not necessarily what you'd like, whilst at the same time, to give up and stop praying is certainly not what you'd want. Thank you Hashem for the constant opportunity of tefillah."

We discussed the verse which says, "trust in HaShem and do good." And we mentioned the Ramban who explains that the reason this verse is written precisely in this way, firstly stating, "trust in HaShem" and only thereafter stating "and do good," is to teach us that the action of bitachon, the action of trusting in HaShem, within HaShem's perspective, is viewed independently of our deeds.  Of course, as taught by countless Torah sources, we ought to do our best to score as best as we can on our scorecard in HaShem's books. And there will always be consequences, both for our mitzvos as well as for our aveiros. Nevertheless, the powerful opportunity of bitachon that HaShem has given us is completely independent of our actions. And as the Ramban writes in his own words, even a completely wicked individual who chooses to exercise his bitachon will be able to access and reap the many wonderful benefits that we are taught about one who trusts and places their bitachon in HaShem. Many Torah sources outline that emunah, bitachon and tefillah are like synonyms. The more one believes in HaShem and chooses to rely on HaShem, the more one will talk to HaShem. One example of this is the verse in the Torah which states about Moshe Rabbeinu, "vayehi yadav emunah" - "and his hands were emunah." And the famous translation, the Targum Unklos, translates this as, "and his hands were spread out in prayer," translating the word emunah as prayer. Because again, the more my belief in HaShem is sincere, the more I will want to rely on HaShem in all my endeavors. And of course, one of the main ways of expressing that belief and reliance is by praying to HaShem, communicating and talking about anything and everything. There is a well-known story recounted in the Gemara about a holy and pious individual known as Choni HaMe'agel, Choni the Circle Maker. And the Gemara explains how this name came about. One time there was a severe drought in the land of Eretz Yisrael, and it appeared as if HaShem was not paying attention to the people's prayers because no rain was anywhere near to be seen. And the people decided to approach the holy and righteous Choni to pray on their behalf. Choni prayed, but still no rain was to be seen. Because of Choni's tremendous sensitivity to the people around him who were experiencing so much suffering from the drought, he felt a tremendous responsibility to make sure that it would rain. So as the Gemara recounts, Choni took a twig and drew a circle on the floor around him and stood within that circle. Within the confines of the circle he had drawn, he prayed to HaShem that it should rain. Eventually, a small drizzle started to rain down. But Choni said, "HaShem, that is not the rain that I requested for." And soon after that, a tremendous downpour of too much unpleasant rain began to fall. And Choni again turned to HaShem and said, "HaShem, that is also not what I requested for." And after that, eventually, a steady stable rain began to fall, relieving the people from the drought.  There is much to learn from this story, but a most powerful take home is the power of tefillah. Emunah, bitachon, and tefillah are mechanisms that HaShem created in our world that work independent of our actions. "Thank you, HaShem, for teaching me that even though I might have committed certain transgressions, nevertheless, I always have the opportunity to grow in my emunah and my bitachon, and by extension, pray to you for anything and everything."

The verse states, "Betach bashem va'asei tov" - trust in Hashem and do good. The Ramban points out in his Sefer Emunah Ubitachon, that the verse is precisely written in this order. First the verse states, "trust in Hashem", and thereafter the verse says, "and do good." And the reason for this, says the Ramban, is because one might think that they are only worthy of trusting in Hashem and exercising their Bitachon where Hashem will come through for them, only under circumstances where we have done good and we are in the category of a righteous individual - in Hashem's good books. However, the Ramban points out that although this might be counterintuitive, as always we don't follow our own intuition and what seems logical to our limited minds, but rather we are privileged to have the Torah which outlines to us the only true perspective, the perspective of Hashem. Hashem is teaching us in this verse, says the Ramban, that the opportunity to be able to exercise the powerful weapon of Bitachon is completely independent of our good deeds and our level of righteousness. And as the Ramban writes, even a rasha, even a wicked individual who chooses to exercise their Bitachon and rely on Hashem, the sole act of relying on Hashem will be the catalyst for Hashem coming through for that individual, even though they have many sins to their record.  Now of course, it is important to highlight that although Bitachon is independent of our actions, the Gemara teaches us that although Hashem is our loving, caring Father and all He wants for us is the best and the only reason He ultimately created this world is so that we can earn our eternal reward full of pleasure in the next world, nevertheless, the system that Hashem did create in this world consists of consequences, and every transgression down to the most minor detail will certainly be accounted for with consequences extremely serious for our transgressions. So on the one hand, it is very clear that there is absolutely consequences for every single act that we perform in this world, both positively and negatively, whilst at the same time, we learn from this verse and the commentary of Ramban that it is also very clear that although one might have transgressed even the most severe transgressions, nevertheless, the way that Hashem operates in this world with regards to Bitachon is that Bitachon is completely independent of our actions.  Although we certainly ought to try our best to perform good deeds and repent for any transgressions we might have committed, because the consequences will always be there unless we correct them, nevertheless, it is extremely empowering to internalize that Bitachon is completely independent of our actions. When we choose to rely on Hashem and exercise our Bitachon through whatever situation we might currently be experiencing, rather than turning to the opposites of Bitachon, such as fear, anxiety, anger, lack of serenity, and the like; when we choose, rather, to live a life of Bitachon, regardless of our scorecard, the power of Bitachon itself will be the catalyst for Hashem to come through for us.  "Thank you Hashem for giving us the amazing opportunity to rely on you under any and all circumstances. Please Hashem help us to internalize your true perspective and transform our Bitachon."

On the one hand, the Torah teaches that we are supposed to love our friend just as much as we love ourselves. This mitzvah teaches us the importance of caring for other people, how we are to go out our way to make our maximum effort to helping out another individual, sometimes in the form of charity, sometimes in the form of putting a smile on our friend's face, or whatever else may be relevant. And on the other hand, the Gemara says that every individual is obligated to believe that bishvili nivra haolam, the entire world was created just for me, it's all about me. So which is it? Am I supposed to be looking out always about the people around me, or am I supposed to be focused on myself? And the answer is that no question, I am supposed to be focused on myself. Life is about me. The mitzvah to love another individual is actually about me, because it's my mitzvah relevant to all the people that have to do with me. I have a mitzvah to be kind to them, to love them as much as I love myself. But ultimately, it's all got to do with the starting point, about me.  One might ask, how can the entire world be created just for me? If I'm supposed to say that, and you're also supposed to say that, was it just for me, or just for you? In our limited mind, we can ask that question, but in Hashem's unlimited ways, He is able to create a world that was created just for me, and also just for you. Exclusively just for me, and exclusively just for you. Again, whether we understand or we don't, which in this case, we can't really understand, doesn't matter, because if this is what the Torah teaches us should be our mode of thought, then the perspective of Emunah teaches us to follow that thought process, whether we understand or not. So Hashem created the world just for me. That means to say that everything in the world is an opportunity just for me, and everything in the world is also my responsibility. If I have the chance to make a difference in whatever area may be relevant, I am obligated to fill my responsibility and role in that situation. If I have a chance to daven for somebody in need, remember, the whole world was created just for me, meaning to say I am responsible for this situation. Many times throughout our ventures, our minds and our eyes look around to see what is relevant and happening in other people's lives. And of course the result of that many times is negative, because that can lead to feelings of jealousy, viewing inappropriate things, and even if not an outright sin, just removing the spotlight from one's own life, inquisitively, being interested in another's life - is a waste of time. Again, if I have something of value to offer them, or perhaps something to learn from them, then that certainly is something relevant. But if I'm just looking because I'm interested in seeing other people's lives, not necessarily to learn nor to help, then we need to remind ourselves of this approach of bishvili nivra haolam, the whole entire world was created just for me. That is the mindset Hashem wants us to have. I came across a recording that illustrates this point. A father came home to his children and said, "I finally saw it." And they said, "what did you finally see?" And he says, "I was at the stop street and I finally saw the giraffe standing in the middle of the road waving at me." And the kids are in disbelief. And thereafter, he explained, "of course, I didn't see such a sight. What I was trying to explain to you is that throughout our lives, many times we're looking to the sides, almost waiting to see when that unexpected, incredible event is going to happen. But really, that incredible event is not on the sides. It's you, because we are obligated to believe bishvili nivra haolam.

We are taught that whilst the Jewish people were in the desert, they received their sustenance in the form of mann, which was food which fell from the heaven, which tasted like anything one wished for it to taste like.  Commentaries explain that although the man fell from the heavens, not everybody received it in the same way. Those people that were completely righteous and had full faith in Hashem would wake up in the morning and open their front door and there they would have all the mann necessary for their sustenance for that day. Others who were not as righteous and their faith in Hashem was not as strong, they would open their front door and there would be no mann there. They would have to go to the entrance of the courtyard and only there they would find their sustenance, and yet others who were even less righteous would have to go down a few streets in order to find their man. And the least righteous of all, even though they also received their sustenance, but they would sometimes have to walk miles in order to find their sustenance. The bottom line about bitachon is that bitachon works. The more one believes and relies on Hashem, the more Hashem comes through for that individual. And just like by the Jewish people in the desert where there were many levels where for some people the mann would fall right at their doorstep and others all the way at fields far off, and the many levels in between, so too, with regards to all of us, we have all these levels of bitachon available to us. To truly rely on Hashem means, "I don't have a backup plan. The only one I rely on is Hashem." So I need sustenance, I need money; certainly the first thing I do is I go speak to Hashem with absolute sincerity for a significant amount of time, and thereafter I feel completely calm because I know that Hashem will definitely provide me with everything I need. This is obviously a very high level. And on the opposite extreme would be one who needs sustenance and completely forgets about Hashem, doesn't reach out to Hashem to ask for help to provide their sustenance, but rather makes their own plans in order to provide for their sustenance. And whilst these are the two extremes, there are many levels in between. The more bitachon we have, the more Hashem comes through for us. And as discussed many times, emunah and bitachon are our life's work, and any small step that we take is super valuable. There are countless levels in how much bitachon we can aspire to live by.  It is highly recommended to have a daily learning session about bitachon, and thereby grow in the many concepts that it has to offer us. There are many books available in English that are very well written and easy to understand at all levels. One example is the Chovos HaLevavos by Artscroll, where the newest edition has been written with a translation that is very easy to understand. Another fantastic and shorter book by Artscroll is called the Beis HaLevi on Bitachon and is very worthwhile. And there are many others. We are so privileged to have so many of these Torah sources available to every one of us. The more bitachon we have, the more Hashem will come through for us. May Hashem bless every single one of us to make our maximum efforts in striving to grow in our bitachon. "Hashem, please help me to make my maximum effort in finding the right books that can inspire me to live with the highest bitachon possible, to sincerely rely on You, and feel completely calm that You will come through for me. Thank you Hashem for the gift of bitachon."

We've been discussing one of the six constant mitzvos is to love Hashem. And as the Rambam teaches, the way of coming to love Hashem is by taking note of His amazing creations with admiration and that will bring us more and more to be able to love Hashem. There is a Mishnah in Pirkei Avos which teaches that if somebody is on the road and whilst traveling they are thinking Torah thoughts or discussing a Torah topic with another individual, that is very commendable. Firstly, because they are fulfilling a great mitzvah - the mitzvah of Torah learning and additionally, because Torah learning provides a person a special protection and when a person is on the road traveling, sometimes through dangerous places, they might need a special protection. And the Mishnah goes on to say that if whilst one is traveling and involved in Torah, one stops and looks at the tree and says, "what a beautiful tree", then if something happens to this individual, they are responsible for causing themselves damage, because beforehand they were protected by the special protection of the Torah, and now because they stopped their learning of Torah in order to view this beautiful tree, that is considered a sin and thereby makes the person lose their special protection. And the question after learning this Mishnah is, didn't the Rambam teach us that the way to coming to love Hashem is by viewing His beautiful creations? So if one is to stop and say, "wow, what a beautiful tree that is", didn't the Rambam teach us that that is a commendable thing to do, a mitzvah, and in fact, the path to be able to come to fulfilling the great mitzvah of loving Hashem? And if that is the case, why does the Mishnah say that it is a sin to stop one's learning of Torah in order to view the tree, Hashem's wonderful creation?  And there's a beautiful teaching said in the name of the Kotzker Rebbe and others that gives us some guidance about how we ought to live our lives. They explain that what the Mishnah means to say is if a person is on the road and learning Torah, which is providing them a special protection, and then stops their learning of Torah, meaning to say, they now disconnect from Hashem - when they were learning Torah, they were connected; now they're disconnected. And when they say, "oh wow, what a beautiful tree", they don't mean it in a way of, "wow, Hashem, what a beautiful tree You've created", but rather just, "that's a beautiful tree that I just feel like enjoying, taking a break from the Torah". That would be a sin, where one loses their special protection, because beforehand they were deeply connected with Hashem through the potency of the Torah learning, and now by taking a break, especially being on the road in a dangerous situation, the special protection is gone. Whereas if a person is learning Torah and connected to Hashem, but stops in the middle of the learning in order to view a tree and continues the connection with Hashem, saying, "wow, Hashem, that's an incredible creation of Yours, thank You for such incredible trees and creations that You've given us in Your world, I love You so much, Hashem", then certainly one is not committing a sin, because one is continuing the connection with Hashem.  We ought to take this advice to heart, that throughout our lives, whatever we're doing, whether we're in the holiest of places, whether we're learning a Torah passage, and also when we might find ourselves on the road and in other places which are not particularly holy in our minds, nevertheless, we are able to continue that connection with Hashem wherever we go. We're able to notice Hashem's creations and appreciate them and admire them. And in the same vein, we have the constant opportunity to talk to Hashem wherever we go, whatever we're doing. "Thank you, Hashem, for the constant opportunity to be connected with You."

We've been discussing how every moment of our lives is really an opportunity and throughout the many extra moments that we might find for ourselves, instead of wasting the time idly just because maybe we can't center ourselves to a full-out task, because we're currently busy with something else and we only have a few spare moments at hand, it would nevertheless be so wise and recommended to use that time as an opportunity to gain eternal Olam Haba, using these moments that will never come again in a tremendously constructive way.  We discussed the six constant mitzvahs. For quick reference, if one is not yet familiar with the six constant mitzvahs, they can be found at the back of some Siddurim, or alternatively, it is very easy to find them via online or other resources, in order to be able to have them outlined in front of us, because remember, the way that these six constant mitzvahs are fulfilled is just by thinking about them. So having them listed in front of us would be something wise and advisable until we are familiar with them and able to think about them at all times, whenever we choose to.  There is something else also which is worth mentioning on this point. The Code of Jewish Law outlines, right at the beginning in the first chapter, that there is a mitzvah of shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid, which means to place Hashem before me constantly. Simply speaking, what that means to say, as explained by the commentaries, is to remember that I am in Hashem's presence at all times, and to behave with the appropriate conduct as if I was standing before not only a great king, but the greatest of all kings, Hashem Himself.  And similarly, the commentaries explain that the meaning of this is to concentrate on Hashem's four-letter name in one's mind, and as the Arizal writes, by doing so, that is tremendously conducive to growing in one's yirat shamayim - one's fear of heaven. It has been pointed out that although we should do our utmost to avoid situations and settings where there might be inappropriate things for our eyes to see, nevertheless sometimes we are required to be in certain places that are not ideal, and we are taught that by concentrating in one's mind on this four-letter name of Hashem, the yud and the heh and the vav and the heh, that is conducive to protecting ourselves from unholy thoughts. I saw a motivating teaching that helps illustrate this concept. When we reach the heavenly court one day and have to give an accounting for our actions in this world, every detail will be accounted for, for all of our actions that were performed in this world. And when they go through all the halachic requirements, we might be stumped in certain areas and say, "you know what, I didn't do this right." But imagine the trial starts with question number one, the first paragraph of the Shulchan Aruch, which outlines shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid - I will place Hashem before me at all times, both remembering that Hashem is in our presence at every moment, and also to think in one's mind of the four-letter name of Hashem, it is something worthwhile to try our best to succeed in. Especially seeing as this is the first paragraph of the entire code of Jewish law, when our trial begins in the heavenly court one day, we would like to respond affirmatively that we succeeded in this law.  "Hashem my father, please help me not to use any time idly, but rather any free moment that I might have, help me to use my time wisely and think of the six constant mitzvahs as well as of shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid."

Every single moment of life is an opportunity. There is always a mitzvah to perform in every situation, and sometimes just being mindful of something can change a situation from being a waste of time, or even perhaps a sin, to a great mitzvah.  The halachic authorities teach that there are six constant mitzvahs that can be performed at any and every single moment. Just by thinking of them, we fulfill the mitzvah. It is worth having these mitzvahs at the forefront of our mind, and by doing so, we can gain countless opportunities to perform mitzvahs whenever we have an extra moment. If we find ourselves waiting in line to collect food from the restaurant, or at the doctor's waiting room, waiting at a bus stop, and the like, many a time one might be tired and may sit idly, doing nothing necessarily productive. We are so privileged to have the opportunity to make an active effort to be consciously mindful of certain thoughts, and just thinking these thoughts provide us with a great mitzvah to our eternal bank account.  Furthermore, the Gemara teaches that when a person is idle, that leads to sin, because when one is not focused on anything specific, one's heart, eyes, and imagination start to wonder, sometimes looking at inappropriate things, sometimes speaking or listening to inappropriate talk, and sometimes just simply wasting time by pulling out one's phone again and again just because I have an extra moment here and there. Instead of letting these moments, which will never come back, go to waste, it is so worthwhile to be mindful of the six constant mitzvahs. Let's discuss them.  The first one is the mitzvah to have a emunah.  The second one is the mitzvah not to serve idols. The third one is the mitzvah to know that Hashem is one.  The fourth one is the mitzvah to love Hashem.  The fifth one is the mitzvah to fear Hashem. And the sixth one is the mitzvah not to stray after our hearts and eyes.  There is much Torah literature available for one interested in studying more about these six constant mitzvahs, but being mindful of even the simple understanding of these mitzvahs will go a long way beyond anything we can even begin to imagine.  "Thank you, Hashem, for giving me the constant opportunity to fulfill your mitzvahs and gain eternal Olam Haba at any given moment. Hashem, I ask you, please will you help me not to waste time anymore. When I have an extra moment, of course, if I need to do something on my phone, then I should do so. But I know that much of the time I pull out my phone again and again and again just because I have a few extra seconds here and there. Please will you help me, Hashem. As a start, just for today, that as many times as I can, instead of re-pulling out my phone, let me think of these six mitzvahs again and again. And instead of wasting my time and perhaps sometimes even doing something that might be inappropriate, let me turn this moment into something great eternally."  Let us remind ourselves of the steps that are discussed by many Torah commentaries that we've mentioned numerous times as to the reason of why Hashem decided to create the world. Step number one, the only reason Hashem decided to create the world is in order to give pleasure to every single one of us. Step number two, the ultimate pleasure that we receive does not take place in this world in the least, but rather in the next world, in Olam Haba. And step number three, the reason that we are obligated to make an excursion through our lives in this world is in order to earn our eternal reward in the next world. Every single moment in this life is an opportunity for eternity.

We've been discussing one of the most important and fundamental mitzvahs, the mitzvah to love Hashem. That although it is such a fundamental and basic prerequisite to the Torah, nevertheless, at face value, it is quite a difficult mitzvah to fulfill, seeing as Hashem is an abstract being that is difficult for us to connect with due to our human limitations. We've discussed that when one views life through the lens of everything that I experience is a gift from Hashem, that is one of the greatest conduits to bringing me to sincerely loving Hashem, because if I internalize the values of Emunah, that Hashem is the only one providing me with everything I have in my life, and that He owes me nothing and anything that He gives me is not because it is due payment to me, but rather because He is just sending me a gift, by internalizing this mode of thought, one certainly will come to loving Hashem.  And as always, the solution to all challenges and problems, I have the opportunity constantly to talk to Hashem about anything and everything, and if I have a mitzvah to love Hashem and it's difficult for me, the first thing to do should be to talk to Hashem and say, "Hashem, I want to love You and fulfill this mitzvah in the right way, but I'm actually finding that it's quite difficult to love a being that I don't see, I don't hear. Please can You help me, I really want to fulfill this mitzvah in the best way possible, and I'm asking You to guide me to know how to do so. If there is some inspiration and perhaps Torah literature available, to teach me how to love You, please Hashem, guide me to find that course that will be best for me to follow. And I've learned that the Rambam teaches the way to come to love You, Hashem, is by seeing and taking note of Your creations. Please Hashem, grant me the opportunities to be able to see and experience and take note and admire Your incredible creations. When there is a beautiful sunset, let me not just take out a camera in order to share the picture with someone else, but rather let me stop for a moment and appreciate the beautiful sunset. And at the same time, Hashem, please help me to be so grateful for everything that You give me.  Please Hashem, help me to sincerely internalize that You owe me nothing, and that really, I am the poorest person in the world, because without You, I have absolutely nothing. No money, no food, no clothes, no health, and You don't owe me anything. But nevertheless, You have blessed me with countless gifts every moment of my day, every moment of my life. Please Hashem, help me to make a commitment to You, to talk to You every day, and as part of our personal conversation, let me dedicate a certain amount of time to thank You for all the gifts."  We all get busy with many endeavors, and without making a commitment of a certain amount of time that we dedicate and commit to talking to Hashem, our personal relationship can very easily fall through the cracks. It would be very advisable, in addition to committing to talking to Hashem about anything that we might want, to commit to a certain period of time every day where we just thank Hashem and try take note of all the tremendous miracles, all the tremendous gifts that He blesses us with all the time. "Thank you so much Hashem for all the incredible gifts that You have blessed me with."

We've been discussing one of the six constant mitzvahs, the mitzvah to love Hashem, which on the one hand is such an important fundamental mitzvah, whilst at the same time can be so difficult, because Hashem is not something tangible, not something we can see nor hear, and therefore how does one bring oneself to this place of being able to truly love Hashem?  We mentioned the Rambam who says that by noticing Hashem's creations and admiring them, that is one conduit that brings feelings of love towards Hashem. We also mentioned that when one views life through the correct perspective, that everything that I receive is actually a gift from Hashem, nothing that He owes me, then when I take note of all the tremendous gifts that He is constantly blessing me with, that will automatically bring me to a tremendous love of Hashem. The verse states that at a certain point in history of the Jewish people, they became well-to-do and thereafter kicked back at Hashem. The natural tendency of a poor person is to appreciate everything they receive because they have nothing, and what you give them is so appreciated because they're in so much in need of it, whereas sometimes someone who is very well-off and doesn't necessarily need anything may have a harder time to appreciate the gift that is given to them because they don't really need that gift. And as this verse points out, when the Jewish people became overly well-to-do and spoiled, they kicked back at Hashem and did not take Him as seriously. The Zohar states that if we were to realize just how much Hashem loves us, we would run so fast with the passion of a lion towards Hashem because of the strong burning love we would have back. Hashem just wants to shower all the blessings in the world upon us. Hashem loves us more than we can even begin to imagine. But at the same time, much of the time when Hashem gives us too much, that can lead us, God forbid, to becoming spoiled and kicking back at Hashem, which would be so bad for us in the bigger picture, because now instead of being able to reciprocate our love back and build a close relationship with Hashem, one gets accustomed to not needing anything and therefore not appreciating anything, finding it much harder to love Hashem.  Hashem wants to give to us, and as the verse states, when we experience pain, He experiences that pain together with us. And in fact the commentaries explain that when we experience pain, the Shechina experiences much more pain from the fact that we're experiencing pain, than the pain that we ourselves are experiencing. Hashem just wants to give us unlimited gifts, but if He sees that it will be bad for us because we will begin to kick back and stop appreciating and ruin our relationship, then He sees that in the bigger picture it is better not to give to us. It would be wise to make every effort that we can to try to appreciate everything that Hashem gives us, from the smallest to the biggest things, thereby building our love with Hashem, whatever we are experiencing, whilst at the same time giving Hashem reason to give us more, because ultimately Hashem just wants to give us. But if it will be detrimental to us, then it is better that He doesn't give us. "Thank you Hashem for loving me so much and for giving me so many gifts. I love you. Hashem, I want you to know that even though I am limited by my human limitations and sometimes it's hard for me to express this with absolute sincerity, but just know that the true feeling inside me is, Hashem, I love you."

One of the six constant mitzvahs is the mitzvah to love HaShem. It is difficult sometimes to fulfill this mitzvah of loving HaShem because I don't see HaShem, I don't hear HaShem and in many ways it's hard for me to relate to HaShem - this abstract figure. How do I come to loving HaShem?  The Rambam writes that the way we come to loving HaShem is by taking note of the things that He has created and admiring them and doing so will bring us to loving the Creator, the One who created all those things. As we've previously discussed, when one's approach towards HaShem is one of "You owe me", then of course we do not particularly feel grateful for the blessings that He sends us and why should we feel reason to love Him. Whereas when one lives the emunah approach and one internalizes, HaShem doesn't owe me anything and if I take note at the countless blessings in my life and internalize that each one of them is actually a gift from HaShem. When someone gives you a gift, you appreciate it and when they give you enough gifts just for no reason at all, just because they love you, that certainly is an incentive to love them back.  "Thank you HaShem for all the tremendous gifts that You've given me. Let's start with my eyes, because we've just learned that one of the ways that I can come to love You is by taking note, appreciating and admiring Your creations. By having given me eyes, HaShem, You have now enabled me to be able to see and take note and appreciate and admire Your incredible creations. Be it a beautiful sunset, the countless stars in the sky, the many animals that You've created with such great wisdom, all the many miracles that exist in a human being, which I see so many of. Thank you HaShem for these incredible eyes to be able to see Your incredible creations and thereby come to love You. HaShem, thank You so much for all the incredible gifts that You've given me. The fact that I can hear is not something You owe me. What a gift to be able to hear with these ears that You've given me and thereby be able to have a conversation and a relationship with another human being. You know HaShem, I would like to imagine for myself for a moment that I cannot hear, and I experienced many years being deaf, and suddenly You come and offer me a gift where I will be able to hear. In that situation, if I was able to, I would come and hug and kiss You for such a tremendous gift. The truth of the matter is that You've given me a greater gift than that, because You created me that right from the time I was born I didn't even have to suffer one day without hearing. HaShem, You have taught us Your perspective in many Torah sources that one of the most severe transgressions is to talk loshan hara and gossip about other people. And just as severe as it is to talk lashon hara is the transgression of listening to somebody else talk lashon hara. Now if You wanted to, You could have created a world where loshan hara didn't exist. But in Your great kindness, You gave me the opportunity to earn my place in the next world to enjoy Your goodness eternally. Thank You HaShem for giving me ears where I do have the ability to potentially listen to lashon hara, and I now have the choice to opt not to listen to the lashon hara that is being spoken, whereby I would be performing one of the greatest mitzvahs that can exist. And if I didn't have ears and the ability to hear, I would not be able to perform this mitzvah. Please HaShem help me not to be ungrateful, but rather to notice all the tremendous gifts that You give me, and thereby sincerely be able to say to You, I love You HaShem."

As mentioned, the Holy Sages, through divine inspiration, authored the prescribed prayers. And as part of the daily thanks that appears in the prescribed prayers three times a day, we say, "thank you Hashem for the miracles that we experience on a daily basis." As part of our journey and endeavor to grow in our emunah - our belief, we ought to internalize that every single one of us is experiencing miracles every single day. But again, our job is to try and find those miracles and thereafter express our gratitude to Hashem for them.  We are taught that when the Jewish people were traveling through the desert, their sustenance came in the form of a food called mann that used to fall from heaven. Now most of us today, if we would experience such a thing, would again be quite surprised and perhaps moved by such an experience. We are taught that the mann was a type of food that was the tastiest thing in the world. It would taste like whatever you wanted it to taste like. Now imagine we would experience that. Not only a food falling from the heaven, but a food which is unheard of that actually tastes like whatever you want it to.  Now for the Jewish people in the desert, it was actually the other way around. They became accustomed to receiving their food, the mann, that would fall from heaven every day. And therefore, when their journey in the desert concluded and they now arrived in Eretz Yisrael and were given the command to go and work the fields and produce wheat, which will eventually turn into bread and food, some commentaries write that there was a tremendous sense of surprise, for those people who had now come from the desert had been accustomed to the normal way of food being delivered to me is by falling down from the heavens. And when suddenly the ground can produce wheat and that can turn into food, that seems like an outright miracle. What we see today as the norm for the Jewish people in the desert was an outright miracle. And what they experienced by the mann falling from heaven would be an outright miracle for us today.  By internalizing the words of the Anshei Knesset Sagedoila, that we are called on to thank Hashem for the miracles that He is performing for us every day, we will quickly realize that life is one big miracle. When one studies the anatomy of the eye, of how complicated the so many things that need to function in a perfect way in order to provide for us a constant camera that is able to shift its lens for different distances, as well as automatically adjust to different light settings, as well as automatically clean itself on a constant basis without usually needing repair, the fact that we have eyes to see is certainly no less of a miracle than the mann falling from the heaven and the splitting of the sea.  And in the same way, if we look at the digestive system, when we ingest foods and somehow the body is able to take the nutritious parts of those foods and deliver them to specifically the parts of my body that needs those nutrients, whilst at the same time get rid of the waste that is unnecessary and actually detrimental for my body and all the other many complications that happens throughout this process, is that any short of a miracle of splitting the sea?  Just because we are used to this incredible miracle that Hashem gave us today, yesterday, and the day before, does not mean it's a smaller miracle than something we are not used to. Our job is to make our maximum effort, and every one of us has the constant opportunity to try, find, and thank Hashem for all the miracles that He sends us.

Everybody who is alive needs sustenance. And although for many people, receiving one's sustenance might be a constant struggle throughout life, nevertheless, one way or another, people do recive their sustenance, some through easier means and some through more difficult means. The gemara states that the miracle of recieving one's sutenance, is on par to the miracle of the splitting of the sea. For most of us, if we were to actually witness the sea itself splitting in a dramatic way, and as the Midrashim point out, all the waters of the world, even the water that I might be drinking in my cup, would split, many of us would be extremely shaken from such a crazy event that has taken place. Yet, we are taught that on par with that miracle, is the miracle that each one of us receives the sustenance that we need.  And in the same way, if one pays attention at the birth of a child, one will quickly realize that this is one of the greatest miracles in the world. All the tremendous complications of how the body of the child functions in its mother's stomach, in order for it to come out safely and healthily, biologically, so many things have to happen.  In the daily prayers, in the paragraph of Modim, we thank Hashem, "al nisecha shebechol yom imanu" - "for Your miracles that we experience every day." The holy sages who composed this prayer, the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah, composed it with divine inspiration, and they certainly did not mean these words as some form of exaggeration. Every single day, every single one of us experiences miracles. Our job is to make an effort to notice the miracles in our lives. There's no question that they are there. Just because Hashem has blessed us to experience the same miracle day after day, a miracle no less than the splitting of the sea, this should not give us a license to ignore the incredible miracle of receiving our sustenance every day. Were Hashem to send us our salvation in the form of actually splitting the sea, we would certainly be so grateful for a long time, with sincerity. Part of our work in our journey of emunah - to believe, is to internalize that the gift of having food to eat today, is the same extent of a miracle as if Hashem would have split the sea for us. And in the same way, as the Anshei Knesses Haggadolah - the holy sages, through divine inspiration are teaching us, we are constantly surrounded by Hashem's miracles. But again, our job in this world is to have to try and work hard to find the truth which does not easily meet the eye. When we look around, it might just look like a regular day, but when we stop and sincerely think about it, we will find those miracles.  "Thank You, Hashem, for all the incredible miracles that You provide for me every single day. If I was struggling to breathe, and suddenly some medication were to be discovered that would allow me to breathe easily, I would be so grateful for such a situation. But Hashem, in Your great kindness, You have given me the gift to be able to breathe without complications. All the things in my body that biologically need to function in a perfect way in order to provide me with a system that can give me the ability to breathe, and all the other many things that You do for me in so many ways every single day. Thank You, Hashem, for all of the miracles that You have gifted me with in my life."

The main reason that we are striving to grow in our emunah endeavor, is because Hashem has commanded us to do so and has told us that by doing so, this will be the main way that we will earn our place in eternity. However, it is motivating to highlight that there are many fringe benefits to living a life of emunah. A life without emunah leads to anxiety, anger, and blaming others, whereas a life with emunah leads to calm, happiness, and situations where we don't try to blame other people for our challenges. Let's take the following example. I have a critical appointment scheduled in one hour from now. I intend to get on the next bus, which is scheduled to arrive in the next five minutes and will be a 40-minute drive, and therefore I will arrive 15 minutes early at this critical appointment, which is perfect. When the bus arrives, I get on and take a seat. After about 15 minutes of being on the road, I notice that we are not moving, and I look out the window and see that the traffic is at a completely unusual, absolute standstill. I start panicking. I know that I've got a critical appointment coming up very soon that it now looks like I am going to miss. I start feeling angry, perhaps at Hashem for making this happen, and perhaps at the driver for taking this route. I might even blurt out and say, "why did you take this route? There's another very perfect route that has no standstill traffic currently on. You know that I have a critical appointment today, and because of you choosing to take this route, I am going to miss it." An absolutely absurd response, but sometimes what anxiety and panic can lead to would be for me to try and push the seat in front of me forward as if that's going to make the bus go faster, which would of course be ridiculous. Whereas the approach of Emunah would say, "I'm on the bus now. There is a standstill traffic jam. Okay, this is obviously what Hashem willed." If I am able to do something practical such as there is a side road that I can catch a cab, which would get me there quicker, there is certainly nothing wrong with doing that. Let's say that is not an alternative solution. I can say to myself, you know, although this is a critical appointment, I was not irresponsible in the time that I left; I even gave myself an extra 15 minutes, and there is almost never traffic like this on this main road. It is clearly Hashem sending me this challenge. And if I am going to miss this critical appointment, as detrimental as the ramifications might seem to be, this is obviously what is best for me. And let's say the driver even did mistakenly take the wrong route. If I have an approach of Emunah, I will not go up to the bus driver and scream at him for taking the wrong route and now delaying me, because I will realize that the bus driver is just a puppet of Hashem, and if he took this route today, it is only because Hashem planted that idea in his head. Of course, I am always entitled and it is recommended to make an effort in advance. For example, if I know that a certain road might have a lot of traffic today, before we leave on the journey, it is certainly permitted and recommended to go up to the bus driver and say, "you know there is traffic on a certain road today, let's not go that route." But once all has already happened, what is the point of getting angry?  Anger leads to bitter feelings. One can ruin someone else's day, someone else's life. And the truth is that when one gets angry, one ruins one's own day, one's own life. "Thank you Hashem for giving me the gift of Emunah, not only to fulfill my purpose in this world, which is the ultimate reason for doing so, but also the amazing benefits of being able to live a calm life, a life where I don't get angry at other people, and a life full of happiness."

One who doesn't believe in HaShem, God forbid, would of course not reach out to HaShem about anything. One who is privileged to be able to know the truth and believe in HaShem and know that He can help me and I have the opportunity to talk to Him about anything and everything, which would be a greater effort than doing anything else, much of the time does go ahead and talk to HaShem about my needs.  Sometimes however, even with Emunah, we view HaShem as a vending machine, meaning just like if I go to the machine and I would like a Coke, I give it instructions and I expect the Coke bottle to come out of the vending machine. Sometimes our approach towards HaShem is, "I know you are there and that you can help me and therefore I am talking to you and expect you to give me what I need or want." Although one is talking to HaShem, which is certainly a commendable act, nevertheless, this is certainly a mistaken approach to see HaShem as our servant or vending machine, serving us in the way we would like.  We need to internalize the verse from Divrei Hayamim that we've been discussing, which teaches us the true perspective, that HaShem does not owe us anything. In fact, everything in the world that HaShem gives us is not due to us. We don't deserve it, but rather HaShem decided to give it to us as a gift. When one is led to believe that the blessings HaShem sends them are just some form of payment or duty like a servant would do for his master, as opposed to the correct approach where one understands that HaShem owes me absolutely nothing and everything is a gift, depending on which approach one is living with will make a big difference in how one goes about many areas of their life. Let's say I have a certain amount of money, and yes, I do believe in HaShem and His mitzvahs, and therefore if He commanded me that it's a mitzvah to give charity, my belief is strong enough to know to go ahead and make my maximum endeavor to give charity. However, how much tzedakah I will choose to give will depend on which perspective one is living with. If I believe that the money is really mine, and any money I am giving towards charity is my gift towards HaShem, then whatever I give, even if it's a minimal amount, not on par with the financial situation that HaShem has blessed me with, but a lower amount of charity than He would have expected me to give, if I believe that the money that I have does come from HaShem, because my emunah teaches me that, but at the same time I kind of feel like He owes me that money, then my approach might be to give a minimal amount of money to tzedakah, to charity, not congruent with my financial situation that HaShem has blessed me, and within the expectation of what He would expect me to give. Because any amount that I give, even a minimal, small amount, I feel like I've done a favor for HaShem from the start, because this is my money, and I'm doing something for Him.  Whereas if I have the correct perspective, and I realize that every single cent in my bank account is a gift from HaShem, nothing that He owes me, so now I actually owe Him all the money back, because it's a gift that He gave me, so when I am trying to decide how much money to part with, to give away to charity, if my perspective is that this is a gift from HaShem, I certainly will be motivated to try my best to fulfill HaShem's mitzvah in the best way possible, within my maximum capacity, and give the best amount that I can, because ideally I should actually give everything back, at least I should give back my maximum that I can.  And similarly, when I do give charity, one who's living with the wrong perspective might feel anxious about having given one's own money away, whereas with the correct perspective, one will actually feel better by having given money to charity, because one always feels indebted to someone who has given you a gift, and if we internalize that this is HaShem's gift to us, so anything we are actually giving back will make us feel happy, fulfilled, and good that we are doing our best to give back to HaShem.

When making a commitment to Hashem of how much time we are planning to commit to be our sacred time, just you and me Hashem, it is motivating to internalize what the verse states in Divrei Hayamim. The verse states, "For everything is from you, Hashem, and from your hand we have given back to you." Hashem created the world and Hashem created us. Every single moment of the 24 hours of the day is a gift Hashem has given to us. Hashem does not owe us anything.  Unfortunately sometimes we fall into a mistaken thought process, thinking as if Hashem owes us the things that we might be lacking. So when things are going well, I have food on the table, I have the money I need, and the like, I might be happy. But if I don't have food today for whatever reason, or I am struggling financially, a mistaken perspective would be to start getting upset with Hashem, saying, "Hashem, why didn't you give me the money that I need? Can you not see how my family is struggling so much now?" Part of where such a response comes from is because one might feel - Hashem owes me; He gave me food yesterday; He gave me money yesterday, why is He suddenly taking it away? And the truth of the matter is that Hashem owes us nothing. Hashem created us, and that itself is a gift, because if He didn't choose to create us, we wouldn't exist. So anything and everything that we receive is actually a gift from Hashem, not something that He owes us.  And if we take this perspective to heart, we will be able to internalize what this verse in Divrei Hayamim means. "Because everything is from you, Hashem, and from your hand we have given back to you." Anything we do throughout our day, throughout our lives, success in our endeavors, and even spiritual success and achievements in endeavors towards serving Hashem, all of our successes and achievements is actually just giving back to Him from the gift that He gave us in the first place. So with this perspective in mind, today Hashem has gifted me with 24 hours. He does not owe me one hour, one minute, nor one second. It is all a gift. Each moment is a gift. So of those 24 hours that Hashem has given me as a free gift, how much makes sense for me to give back to Him in striving to build our personal relationship? Of course we are human beings and limited, and nobody can commit to 24 hours on a daily basis of personal conversation and connection with Hashem. Nevertheless, we ought to think about the 24 hours that Hashem is giving us when striving to make a commitment of how much we are going to try to talk to Hashem on a daily basis for. If I am committing to one minute a day, for many people that would certainly not be respecting Hashem in the right manner. Imagine for a moment a father gives a child a gift of $1 million, and when the time comes for the child to reciprocate and give some sort of gift to the father, the child is stingy and is only prepared to use $1 or $2 to reciprocate. That would obviously be grossly ungrateful. And in the same way, when we internalize that the 24 hours of the day are a complete gift from Hashem in the first place, then for many, committing to a small amount of time might be comparable to that child giving $1 or $2 back. "Hashem, my Father, even though I want to believe that everything You give me is an absolute outright gift, and anything I give back to You is never going to be on par with what You gave to me, nevertheless, Hashem, as usual, emunah is difficult and I have to grow in my belief, because I don't see this, I don't see You. Please help me to internalize that You don't owe me anything, and everything I have in my life is an absolute free gift from You. And therefore, help me, Hashem, to commit to giving You back, whatever I am able to, to my maximum capacity."

We've been discussing how when it comes to talking to Hashem, a basic practical application of emunah, although we might understand logically how it is so obvious and vital for us to talk to Hashem, because if we believe in Him, obviously we should have a personal relationship with Him, and although we might have also had the opportunity to learn what many Torah passages write about how vital and important it is for us to talk to Hashem and build that personal relationship, nevertheless, one of the main deterrents for many people is not because I don't believe Hashem is there, but rather because it is actually very difficult to talk to something I can't see and can't hear, and although in theory I do believe He is there, my belief might not necessarily take me to a place that my experience is as if Hashem is there, and therefore it is difficult for me to talk with sincerity, motivation, and for long periods.  It is a worthwhile thing to do, to make a daily commitment of a certain amount of time that one feels reasonable to having undisturbed time, just Hashem and me together. The reason for this is because when we are motivated, then we might naturally talk to Hashem with sincerity and for longer periods, but we as human beings sometimes go through long periods where we feel unmotivated, and if we do not have a commitment of quality time to be alone with Hashem, when we are not feeling that motivation, we could G-d forbid miss out on the tremendous opportunity to have a constant personal and close relationship with Hashem. Hashem understands that we are human beings and does not expect us to constantly feel motivated, but He also does expect from us to play our part of what we can do, and many people do have the capacity to make commitments in many areas, and one of those certainly could be to make a commitment to talk to Hashem.  For some people it might work to have a set time and place every day where they are undisturbed for a certain amount of time alone with Hashem. For others it might work differently, perhaps different times and different places on a daily basis. What is important to point out is that as a starting point, we need to stop and think about what we know. We've learnt Hashem's perspective - we were created ultimately in order to enjoy the next world, and the way to do so is ultimately by growing in our emunah in this world, and a most basic fundamental of practicing emunah is talking to Hashem. And besides for that, the truth of the matter is that the real conduit to success in whatever endeavor we might be dealing with, with more chance of success than anything else, is to go to the source of all, the Creator of the world, who is constantly involved with regards to every single detail that transpires to every single being, every single moment.  And therefore when choosing to make a commitment, we ought to stop and be sincere with ourselves. Do I sincerely believe that to give Hashem back 5 minutes of my day in personal conversation is sufficient? 20 minutes? 30 minutes? 2 hours? The answer to these questions will obviously vary from individual to individual. If I were to meet an important individual, or perhaps have a first meeting with my potentially future spouse, would I take a phone call during such a session, or would I turn my phone off to make sure I am undisturbed? And when it comes to our commitment to talking to Hashem, we ought to stop and think about what we are committing to. It would make sense for the most part, wherever we are able to, to respect the time that we are committing to, with highest priority.  "Hashem, Creator of the world, please can you help me to be able to commit the maximum amount of time I am able to in personal prayer to you on a daily basis. Please help me to treat this time so respectfully, to make every effort to be undisturbed and talk to you with absolute sincerity. But after all is said and done, Hashem, even if I am not feeling that motivation, I want to have a commitment that always saves me a space to be together, just you and me."

We've been discussing how one of the highest forms of expressing our emunah, belief in HaShem, in a practical way, is to talk to HaShem in our own personal words. And at the same time, how do we deal with the reality that it can be difficult to talk to HaShem, because HaShem is not seen nor heard. And ultimately it comes down to growing more in our emunah, because the more we believe He is there, the more real and obvious it will become to us to take our talking to Him seriously.  On the other hand, the more we talk to HaShem, the more we are able to grow in our emunah, because again, the solution to all problems is reaching out to the source of all, to our Creator. So on the one hand, if we believe more, we will talk more, because we know He is there, and we know He is the only one who can help us. And it's actually absurd to explore other avenues over and above our Creator. But to sincerely internalize this belief is our life's work, and has countless levels. And at the same time, the solution to all problems, always, is to ask HaShem for help. And in this particular area, the problem might be, "I would like to ideally believe more, that HaShem is listening, and sincerely feel the emunah more. However, I don't." So how do I deal with this problem? As mentioned many times, there might be other things we can also do. We can certainly seek inspiration, and perhaps other things that might help us grow in our emunah. But ultimately, over and above everything else, the solution to all problems is to go to the Creator Himself and ask Him to help me in this challenge.  "HaShem, my Father, thank you so much for guiding me towards living a life where I am trying my best to follow the path of emunah. It is such a gift to be able to explore your true perspective, what the Torah teaches us about how to live a true life, and not a life of an imaginary, fake world. This is the real world, the world of emunah. I am trying so hard to grow in my emunah, be it by seeking inspiration, by learning books about emunah, or whatever else. And of course, this being my life's work, HaShem, it is sometimes difficult. I might sometimes have good days in my emunah, and sometimes I drop. And that's okay, because you made me a human being, and you don't expect me to be more than my maximum capacity. And I've also learned about the importance of speaking to you. And in fact, it is so obvious that if you are there, you would want me to have a personal relationship with you, and what an opportunity I have to be able to have a personal relationship with you. Nevertheless, when my emunah is strong, HaShem, then I am able to reach out to you and talk with sincerity, and perhaps even for longer periods, without difficulty, because I actually know that you're listening to me. But when my emunah is feeling shaky, the truth is that it's so difficult to talk to you, HaShem, because I'm struggling to believe that you're there listening to me, even if in theory I know it, I don't really feel it and it's difficult to do something you only know in theory, with passion, meaning, and for a long time. And therefore, I'm asking you, HaShem, help me, please, to grow more in my emunah, to believe that you are listening to me. And perhaps in return, what I could do for you is make a commitment, because although I might not feel the constant inspiration to want to talk to you with dedication and motivation and for long periods, something I can do is to make a commitment of a certain amount of time that I will talk to you every single day, regardless of how I feel. Because I know that if you see me making a commitment from my side, even when I'm feeling uninspired, you from your side could in turn build my emunah and help me to be motivated to what the basic and simple truth is. Thank you, HaShem, for teaching me that you are listening to me and for the gift to talk to you about anything and everything, whenever and wherever I choose to."

We've discussed many times that the Torah commentaries write, that the ultimate way for us to gain our place in the next world is by making our maximum effort to grow in our emunah. We've also mentioned how one of the highest expressions of emunah, belief in Hashem, is to place high focus in our dedication to talking to Hashem in our own words. We've mentioned previously how the Chofetz Chaim writes that the reason tragedies were befalling the people of his time was because although people were accustomed to praying the three prescribed prayers, Shacharis, Mincha and Maariv, nevertheless he was calling on people to also talk to Hashem in their own words multiple times a day, because, as he says, the prescribed prayers are said daily and therefore for many people sometimes become monotonous and lack the real meaning and intention of what a prayer should look like. We've also mentioned what the Sefer Chareidim and the Shelah Hakadosh write, that the effect of this deep connection in the form of secluding oneself away from other people and communing with Hashem alone, talking to Hashem in one's personal words, the effect that this has on one's soul is seven times greater than the effect that Torah study has on one's soul. Anyone who is somewhat familiar with Torah literature will have read many passages about the great value of Torah study. The one that we recite every morning that many are familiar with is that Talmud Torah, the learning of Torah, is equated to all of the mitzvahs put together. Yet we are taught here that the effect of personal prayer, talking to Hashem with sincerity in one's own words, is seven times greater than even that. And there are many other Torah passages throughout Torah literature and Torah commentaries that Bezrat Hashem over time we will have the opportunity to explore together, highlighting the importance of personal prayer with Hashem.  For many people, talking to Hashem in one's own words, especially for longer periods, can be difficult. Of course, the more one grows in one's emunah, the easier that becomes, because one doesn't anymore feel like one is talking to a wall. It can be very difficult to talk to Hashem when one doesn't really believe and feel that He is listening. And our sincerity, dedication, and motivation to talk to Hashem will very much depend on the degree of our belief; not only that He exists and is running the show, but that He is actually listening to every word that I utter, even though I do not hear any response. As we grow in our emunah journey and we try to internalize the belief that Hashem is present and listening to every single thing that I utter, if we stop for a moment and internalize that thought, it will quickly become apparently obvious that we should, ideally, be dedicating a lot of time to talking to Hashem, because why would we go to an alternative address? Nevertheless, after all is said and done, talking to Hashem can be a difficult endeavor, because even though we might be trying to believe that He is listening to us, we nevertheless don't hear a response, and much of the time, perhaps, don't see nor experience any fruits to the prayers we might have made, and therefore it can be very difficult to be motivated to talk to Hashem in our own words.  "Hashem, I know that You are listening to me, but it's also so difficult to be motivated to talk to You in a serious and sincere manner, for longer periods especially, because I don't hear Your responses, and You are not like another human being where I can see You and hear You. I do believe, and I want to believe more, that You are listening to me, but it is also difficult to internalize that belief. Hashem, I'm asking You to guide me to the things that will motivate me to not only grow in my emunah and belief in You, but also take it to the next level, to apply that belief in a practical way, and be sincerely dedicated in talking to You in a serious and sincere way."

Hashem runs the world exclusively, He does not need my help. Nevertheless, I have a commandment to perform the mitzvah of Hishtadlus, to make my own personal effort, although this might seem like an apparent contradiction. As discussed many times, if this is what Hashem commanded us, this is what we do. And the best advice of how to find out what our personal requirement should be, in terms of how much Hishtadlus we ought to make, is to talk to Hashem in our own personal words and ask Him for clarity and guidance. There is a well-known story told about Rav Chaim Volazhinne, the main student of the Vilna Gaon. In times of old, it was a form of medicine and healing to place leeches over one's body. Rav Chaim Volazhinne was once seen with leeches placed over his body, and whilst wearing the leeches, he attended a Torah class by the Vilna Gaon, where one of the concepts that was discussed was how Hashem exclusively runs the world and if one internalizes this emunah, that Hashem exclusively runs every single detail in the world and doesn't need our help and Hishtadlus, then sometimes, if we have truly internalized this belief, we might be absolved from our obligation to perform Hishtadlus. And Rav Chaim Volazhinne was so inspired by hearing these words, that although he actually needed these leeches on his body for his health, he then and there decided to remove the leeches from his body, because he now felt no need to show a display of what might seem to be helping Hashem, because he had internalized with absolute clarity that Hashem exclusively is the one controlling every single detail about our health and He doesn't actually need our Hishtadlus. And at that point, because his emunah was so strong, he was now absolved of his obligation to make efforts about his health in this way. And later on, during the same day, Rav Chaim Volazhinne was seen wearing the leeches again and when asked, "didn't you mention earlier that you don't need those leeches anymore, because it was so clear and vivid to you that Hashem runs the world exclusively after we heard those words from the Vilna Gaon? So why are you wearing the leeches again?" And Rav Chaim replied, "earlier on, I was feeling so inspired by the words of the Vilna Gaon that Hashem exclusively runs every single detail in the world, it actually felt like a super absurdity for me to try and make any effort in an endeavor and pursuit of my health. However, now, a few hours later, I do not feel that same inspiration and clarity and although, of course, I know that Hashem runs the world exclusively, I nevertheless do not have that same level of absolute clarity of Ein Od Milvado that I achieved earlier today. And right now, I feel that I am not absolved of the mitzvah of Hishtadlus."  To find the exact line in all the areas of our lives is so difficult. We are so privileged to be able to reach out to the One who created us. "Hashem, You are my personal Father, and You can give me my correct perspective. Please Hashem, show me the exact path that would be the ideal course for me to follow in my life."

We've been discussing that truly internalizing emunah, that Hashem exclusively runs the world, can and perhaps should lead to us sometimes being uncomfortable about having to make our own efforts in our endeavors, otherwise known as hishtadlus. There is no black and white law in Torah literature which outlines subjectively how much hishtadlus each and every one of us is required to make and therefore, as discussed previously, what we ought to do is of course learn any Torah literature that might be available, as well as consult Torah leaders - otherwise known as da'as Torah, and ultimately, after everything is said and done, we ought to talk to Hashem with sincerity and ask him to guide us to get it right.  The verse in Tehillim teaches us, Hashem Tzilcha - Hashem is your shadow, and as the commentaries explain, just like the shadow one sees reflects the actual item being portrayed, so if one puts out five fingers, the shadow that reflects will be of five fingers, whereas if one puts out only one finger, the reflecting shadow will be of only one finger. And in the same way, the more emunah and bitachon we opt to live with, the more Hashem comes through for us. So in a sense, the more I grow in my emunah and bitachon endeavor, the less hishtadlus I might be required to make. I saw a nice analogy that helps illustrate this concept. There was once a beggar who did not have enough provisions even for his basic necessities and he would go from door to door asking people for donations. Usually people would donate relatively small amounts. He once approached a well-known wealthy individual and nevertheless received only a small sum. Then there was a second beggar who decided that he was not going to go from door to door asking for money, but rather he went straight to the wealthy individual's house. And upon arrival, he begged him, saying, "I'd really appreciate it and be grateful to you. And if you don't, I may starve and who knows what will become of me. Please help me." And the wealthy individual felt a tremendous responsibility to help the poor man and in the end gave a substantial sum to help him out. The reason the first poor man did not receive the substantial sum like the second poor man is because the wealthy individual realized that this poor man was going to many addresses and in the end, after much effort, although he was receiving small sums from everybody, he might make ends meet after collecting all of his small donations. Whereas the second poor individual made it very clear that he is not going anywhere else and therefore the wealthy individual felt responsible to help out significantly.  And in the same way, Hashem Tzilchah - Hashem is your shadow. When we approach Hashem for help, but in a sense have many backup plans and alternative addresses should Hashem not come through for us, we might be comparable to that first poor individual. And as taught, the way Hashem comes through for us is like a shadow; because we have not relied upon Him exclusively, He might not come through for us in a way where we are able to witness clearly the hand of divine providence. Whereas when we approach HaShem with sincerity, as if He is our only address, then HaShem, so to speak, responds like the wealthy individual who feels completely responsible, because this is the only address. "Hashem, Hishtadlus, is not an easy area to find the right balance. And I ask you to help me out to fulfill this mitzvah in the right way. At the same time, I ask you to help me in my endeavor to grow with sincere emunah and believe in you and live my life in a way that you are my only go-to address."

We've been discussing the seemingly absurd mitzvah of Hishtadlus, because again, if Hashem runs every detail of the world exclusively as Emunah teaches us, my job is actually seemingly to do the opposite, to internalize that I don't need to help Hashem. So why then, Hashem, did You command me to make my own effort to perform Hishtadlus, to try to succeed in my endeavors? We've discussed that the basic reason we perform Hishtadlus is not because of our understanding of the mitzvah, but rather just because He said so. We believe in Hashem, and although it might seem like an apparent contradiction that on the one hand we are called on to believe Hashem exclusively runs every detail and internalize that belief, and on the other hand we are called on to make our maximum effort to do what seemingly seems like we are helping Hashem, which sometimes could appear to be the antithesis of Emunah. We've mentioned previously that some Torah commentaries nevertheless do offer some reason as to why Hashem would have commanded us in this seemingly absurd mitzvah, and they explain that by Hashem commanding us to perform the mitzvah of Hishtadlus, He is actually providing us with an opportunity to grow more in our Emunah. Because by us performing an act which seems to contradict everything we know about Emunah - it seems to be like I am making it happen now and it's not HaShem - I nevertheless now have a chance to overcome what seemingly meets the eye. Although it might appear like Hashem is not orchestrating the details to my life, nevertheless the truth of the matter is that yes, we might have a mitzvah to perform the Hishtadlus, but we also have a mitzvah to internalize that our Hishtadlus is completely disconnected from the results we might think we are achieving, because only Hashem sends us our results. The money I make, the recovery from illness, finding one's soulmate, resolving a relationship issue or whatever other area one might be dealing with, only Hashem exclusively pulls every single string. The difficult question becomes how much Hishtadlus should I contribute to the situation, and as discussed previously, if I make too little Hishtadlus, that is just being lazy, forgoing my obligation and mitzvah to perform Hishtadlus, which is certainly wrong, and if I do too much Hishtadlus, that can borderline idol worship many a time, as discussed. So how much Hishtadlus am I required to make? Some Torah commentaries explain that the litmus test to help us determine how much Hishtadlus we might be required to make depends on what makes us feel comfortable in the situation that we are not relying on an outright open miracle. So for example, if I am looking for a marriage partner, and I decide I'm not going to make any personal effort whatsoever, I'm just going to continue with my own endeavors without making any active effort in finding a spouse, and let's say one day somehow my destined spouse would arrive at the door of my house without me having made any effort, and after witnessing that situation, I would get the shock of my life and talk about this open miracle for the rest of my life, that would be an indication that I have not done enough Hishtadlus in this particular situation. Whereas let's say that I have made only one phone call in my endeavor to find my respective spouse, and although others might suggest that I ought to make more phone calls because having made just one phone call is not enough of a Hishtadlus - of an effort, for some people that Hishtadlus could be enough, because if one would see success in finding their spouse from that situation, it won't now be considered in their eyes as an absolute open miracle.  Ultimately of course, seeing as Emunah is our life's work, and getting the right balance of Hishtadlus is perhaps one of the most difficult mitzvahs. As discussed, the wisest thing to do is to ask Hashem for clarity. "Hashem, please guide me in the right direction of how much Hishtadlus to make, not too much, not too little, but just exactly what you require of me."

Seeing as our life's work is to internalize the meaning of the words Ein Od Milvado - there is nothing else in the world except for Hashem - not just to know Emunah in our heads, but to truly grow in internalizing the Emunah in our hearts and in the very core of our beings, it is worth revisiting a question we've discussed previously.  If Hashem runs the world exclusively, why do I need to try make any effort in what looks like I am trying to help Him, otherwise known as Hishtadlus? Whether trying to contribute and help Hashem in order to make money, or perhaps for a sick person who is trying to get better, where one might make an effort to go to a doctor or take medication, or whatever other area one might be dealing with, if Hashem runs the world exclusively, why am I called on to make any effort whatsoever?  It is important to ask this question and perhaps even be slightly disturbed by this question, because again, the more that we internalize the Emunah that we learn, the more we sincerely try to live by its values. It's not just a theoretical subject of something interesting that we learn about and then move on with our lives the way we might be used to living them. Growth in Emunah is about taking the concepts that we have learned and making our own efforts to grow in our personal lives in a practical way. So if Hashem runs the world exclusively, why do I need to do Hishtadlus? Why do I need to try make an effort to help Hashem out? I am trying to grow in my belief that Hashem exclusively is running the show, so it is difficult for me to understand why I should be needed to do anything.  As mentioned previously, the simple answer to this question is just because Hashem told us to do the mitzvah of Hishtadlus. Whether we understand it or not does not change our commitment to Hashem's mitzvahs. Although Hashem has commanded us to believe in Him and grow in our Emunah and Bitachon and treat our pursuit of sincere Emunah with highest priority, nevertheless He has also commanded us to perform the mitzvah of Hishtadlus. And therefore, if I am sick and I take medication, I am not going against Hashem's will by doing so. Rather, I am fulfilling the mitzvah that He has commanded me to make an effort, whilst of course at the same time remembering what the Torah commentaries teach us about Hishtadlus, that the Hishtadlus that we make is completely disconnected from the final result that we achieve, meaning to say, the medicine that I am taking is not the conduit to making me better. The only thing that can make me better is Hashem, and at the same time, I have a mitzvah to live with a contradiction that I am nevertheless required to make an effort. So the simple and most core reason for us fulfilling the mitzvah of Hishtadlus is just because Hashem told us to.  The more we explore what the Torah sources and great sages have said about and how they related to Hishtadlus, the more we will be able to bridge the gap of being able to live a life of absolute emunah, whilst at the same time being able to fulfill the seeming contradiction of the mitzvah to perform Hishtadlus. "Hashem, I am asking You to please guide us to have clarity in how to reconcile these concepts. I have made it a priority in my life to try my best to internalize the concepts of emunah, and I know that if I relate to Hishtadlus in the wrong way, it can certainly be detrimental to my emunah, because I might be led to think that You are not exclusively running the show, God forbid. Please Hashem, help us to gain insight and Your true perspective."

We've discussed previously with regards to the famous verse that states ein od milvado - there is nothing else in the world except for Hashem exclusively - and we've discussed that there are many levels to what it means to truly understand and internalize this verse. Simply speaking, if someone were to ask me, "do you believe that Hashem runs the world?" and I am to answer in the affirmative, that certainly is a milestone in having understood to some degree what the verse ein od milvado means. However, as discussed many times, Torah commentaries point out that the distance between knowing Emunah in our heads, meaning knowing the information, that yes, Hashem does run the world, as opposed to truly internalizing it in our hearts, which will translate into the way we live our lives with real life Emunah, that distance is greater than the distance between heaven and earth, meaning that there are many levels to what it means to have Emunah. Our life's work is of course initially to grow in our knowledge about Emunah, because without knowing what we are trying to internalize, we can't really move forward. But after one has already understood in one's head that our main purpose in this world is in order to grow in our Emunah, the next step is to try internalize that Emunah more and more into the core of our beings, to the point that Emunah does not just remain an abstract concept or subject, but rather translates into the very core of our beings and the way we live our lives. There is much information available to us about many Torah concepts, from the study of the Chumash itself, Tanach, the Talmud, Halacha, Kabbalistic material, inspiration for character development, and much more. They are all important, and we are certainly encouraged to strive to explore as many areas of Torah as possible. Different people are attracted to different areas of Torah, and although we are all called on to learn all areas of Torah to our best ability, and we should certainly strive to do so, it is nevertheless motivating to remind ourselves about what many Torah commentaries write, that ultimately all the branches of Torah are super important, and again, we should make our maximum effort to explore all the branches of Torah. However, as pointed out by many Torah commentaries, Emunah is not one of the branches, Emunah is the trunk of the tree itself, because when one has Emunah, it automatically leads to all of the branches of the Torah. So whilst it is so vital to explore all the branches of Torah, it is also important to highlight and remind ourselves that the trunk of the tree itself should never be forgotten about, and our highest focus should be placed in not only knowing the concepts of Emunah, but also making our maximum effort in trying to internalize the Emunah in our bones, in a way that it translates to the way that we live our lives.  "Thank you, Hashem, for the incredible privilege to be able to know about Emunah, and to be able to learn about Emunah, and to have the ability to try make an effort to truly internalize the concepts of Emunah. Hashem, please help me from this moment on to grow more and more in not only knowing the concepts of Emunah, but also truly internalizing and changing the way that I live, to living a life of sincere Emunah."

We've discussed that when facing decisions that we might have to make, one of the wisest things to do is to talk to Hashem and ask Him for guidance as to which way to turn in this situation, because as discussed many times, if I'm not able to humble myself, to realize that I am limited - I am susceptible to mistakes; I have vested interests; I have spiritual contamination - and it is very possible that even if it seems like this is the correct decision to make, I might very well be making a mistake. And therefore, it would be so advisable to ask Hashem for guidance. We all have the constant opportunity to talk to Hashem at every given moment in our own words, asking Him to guide us in the right way. As mentioned, after having talked to Hashem and having asked Him to guide us in the right way, we now have to make a practical decision. In times of old, we might have had a prophet telling us with absolute certainty what Hashem's will was. Today, most of the time, we have to make a decision still in the dark. I do not know, ultimately, if I have made the right decision, but that is not my business. Hashem is the one who is in charge of that. My job is to make my maximum effort to do my best in making the correct decision. We've mentioned before a powerful analogy which helps illustrate this concept. Imagine an emergency ward where there are numerous doctors, usually on call. One particular time, these doctors need to go away for a certain important meeting and are not able to be on call. And they bring in an alternative doctor and leave him with the instructions of how to look after the patients. But they warn the doctor in a staunch way, "while you are on call, things might be calm. If that is the case, then continue the evening as usual. However, if things do get dramatic and intense, please call for help, because if you don't, the situation will be too much for you, and even if you try your best, you might not be able to handle it." As the doctor approaches his shift, he feels motivated to have a successful evening. And as he starts the evening, things are calm. But as the evening progresses, one patient requires help, thereafter another patient requires some help, and soon there is turmoil and he is not managing so well on his own. But perhaps because of his arrogance, he does not opt to call for help, but he works super hard throughout the night. In fact, because of him, numerous patients' lives might have been saved, but unfortunately at the end of the evening, one patient died. And upon the regular doctors' return, they accuse the stand-in doctor of being a murderer. And although he tried his best - he worked super hard throughout his shift, nevertheless, he did not call for help when he needed to; because he was limited, his maximum capacity was not enough to take care of the situation.  We need to humble ourselves that we, with our maximum capacities, are limited and prone to mistake and making the wrong decisions, and therefore, Hashem calls on us to talk to Him and ask Him for help. "Thank you Hashem for the constant opportunity to ask you for guidance in how to make decisions in my life."

When trying to make a decision and pass the tests that Hashem presents us, we've discussed that one of the most advisable things to do is to talk to Hashem and ask Him for guidance as to what would be the right perspective and response to this circumstance and situation.   One might ask, even if I have davened to Hashem, asking for clarity, how do I know that after I have done so, I will be making the right decision? In times of old, we had prophets where one was able to go and seek guidance and know, as a matter of fact, that the conclusion that they would tell us and the guidance they would give us, was for sure Hashem's perspective and the right thing to do, even if it was counterintuitive. But seeing as we don't have prophecy anymore and we don't hear Hashem's voice in a vivid, apparent way, how can I be so certain, even after prayer, that this is truly what Hashem wants me to do?   It is important to emphasize that the more we believe, the more we will pray, because there is quite a big difference between somebody who is choosing to invest 30 seconds into personal prayer, as opposed to another individual who might be investing 30 minutes into personal prayer, and somebody else who might be investing three hours into personal prayer. The more one is motivated to invest in terms of their time they are committing to praying to Hashem, because they are internalizing the belief that Hashem does exist and is listening to me, and therefore, rather than running around sometimes like a chicken without a head, trying to make the right decision, it would be much more advisable to go to the source of all, to Hashem, and ask Him, “show me the right direction.”   Sometimes, when facing a decision, we could spend many hours thinking about it, researching the topic and speaking to other people, and coming out more confused, even after having invested many hours trying to find our solution. And other times, we seem to find clarity quite easily. Why is that? The true answer is not because we have amazing brains which are able to view the situation in the correct way and come up with the right answer. If we really internalize that ein od milvado – Hashem exclusively runs every minor detail in this world down to the last degree, we understand that Hashem is the one who puts the thoughts in our minds and gives us the feeling and intuition in our hearts. And therefore, the more we believe that Hashem is there running the show exclusively, the more time we will invest into our prayers before making decisions, and the more sincere we will be when making those prayers, even if we are not there today. It is very valid and commendable to say, “Hashem, I want to believe that You are completely running the show, but I just don't feel that emunah yet. Please, Hashem, can You help me reach a situation where I am able to see and feel the truth that rather than running around like a chicken without a head sometimes, I will rather choose to spend more time asking You for clarity and guidance.”   And after having prayed to Hashem within our maximum capacity, doing the best that we can, how do I know that thereafter what I will choose to do will be the right decision? And the answer is, I do not know. I cannot know in this world. The whole point of this world is to experience different circumstances and situations and have the opportunity to make a choice, sometimes the right choice, sometimes the wrong choice, and very often, perhaps most of the time, we do not even know if we are choosing right. In the next world, we will see if we have chosen right. But in this world, that is not our job; that is Hashem's job. Our job is to make our maximum effort, to try our best.   Different perspectives will define what it means to try one's best in different ways. We want to follow Hashem's perspective. And what can be greater than asking Hashem Himself with true sincerity to guide me. “Hashem, please guide me to make my decision in the correct way based on Your perspective.”