Twerski on GYE - Series

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Shemos

The Torah says that Moses left the royal palace and went out unto his brethren and looked upon their burdens. The Mdrash states that he went among the Hebrew slaves and assisted them in their hard labor.

While sympathy is a fine trait, it is not enough. Moses wanted to feel the suffering that his brethren were experiencing.

The Talmud lauds Rebbe Zeira “who never rejoiced in the misfortune of others.” This is hardly the praise of a great person. Enjoying other people’s misfortune is reprehensible. The praise of Rebbe Zeira is that he could not rejoice in his own simchos as long as he knew that there were others living in poverty and distress..

A Chassidic rebbe saw his daughter and her friends being merry. He scolded them, saying, “Don’t you know that the baker’s child is seriously ill? How can you laugh and be merry when you know that others are suffering?

Addiction is a malady of “selfism.” Recovery requires mutuality.

Shovavim

"Shovavim" - which stands for the first letters of the Parshios Shemos through Mishpatim - is a time of calling for Teshuva, as the Pasuk says "Shuvu Banim Shovavim - Return, wayward children!" This period covers the servitude of Mitzrayim and the subsequent redemption. Below, we bring a nice quote from Rabbi Twerski's daily tips, which can help us understand why this period is so "mesugal" and important for Teshuvah:

"I am your God Who has delivered you ,"from the land of Egypt" (Shema, Numbers 15:41).

This verse is recited twice daily, because the deliverance from Egypt was more than a historic event. It was a deliverance from a state of enslavement, and this deliverance should repeat itself daily in everyone's life.

No enslavement and no tyranny are as ruthless and as demanding as slavery to physical desires and passions. Someone who is unable to resist a craving, and who must, like a brute beast, do whatever the body demands, is more profoundly enslaved than someone subject to a human tyrant. Addicted people are an extreme example of those who have become slaves to their bodies.

Dignity comes from freedom, in the capacity to make free choices, and hence, in our ability to refuse to submit to physical desires when our judgment indicates that doing so is wrong. Freedom from domination by the body is the first step toward spiritual growth."

Today I shall ...

... declare my freedom from the tyranny of my body.