Twerski on GYE - Members Share
"All My Needs"
I heard Rabbi/Dr.Tweski speak a couple of days ago and he asked, "why is the bracha of 'she'asah li kol zarki - He did for me all my needs' in past tense, when the other birchos hashachar are in present tense? He answered that chazal didn't want people to make the bracha while thinking, "hey, I don't have this and I don't have that, and Hashem still hasn't fixed this or that problem". Only when we look back on things later can we realize that we had everything that we needed, and that He did indeed provide it to us.
Hopefully, very quickly, we will be able to look back and see how far we have come and things will start being better for us. And hopefully we'll even merit to see that this struggle was good for us all along
One Day at a Time
I have the zechus of hearing Rabbi/Dr.Twerksi speak most days for a few minutes in between Mincha and Maariv. Today, Hashem gave me some much needed chizuk. Rabbi Twerksi asked the famous question from the parsha, what does the pasuk mean that Yaakov's waiting for Rochel felt like "yammim achadim"? Why did it feel quick, it should have been the opposite? And he answered something we all have heard many times, but it resonated a lot more with me today. He said that one of his patients, an alcoholic, once gave him the answer. He said what is "yamim achadim"? Singular days. HE TOOK IT ONE DAY AT A TIME!!! That is what made it manageable. He didn't say, "Ok, it's time to work for 7 years". That would be too hard. Instead, he said, "let me work today". And that's exactly what we all need to do!
While I have obviously heard this many times before on this site, it really struck me the way he said it. My Maariv was definitely different, and hopefully I can start living more right now.
"Onestepatatime" writes to GYE:
Wow, I did it! 90 days!
I would first like to thank you guys for your special work. You guys are really saving klal yisroel.
I just wanted to share a couple of ideas that helped me make it this far in my journey.
The fist thing I did was take it one day a time. I read this statement from the Klausenberger Rebbe, I think on gye. It said the following "In my youth, I was considered a bright and diligent student. How did I accomplish this? I tricked my yetzer hara. Other children had great plans at the beginning of the school year for the whole year, but in the end they failed. I said to myself, "I am going to plan just for today - and set goal for this day only". The Satan, not being interested in a single day, left me alone. The next day, I again just made plans for that day, and so on until the end of the year." - Klausenberger Rebbe.
That is what I tried to do. When I felt an urge I would tell myself not today maybe tomorrow but definitely not today. Slowly days turned into weeks and weeks turned into a month. I saw in a book from Rabbi Twerski that in AA people count their sobriety by the day. He told a story of someone who said that another participant was sober longer because she had woken up earlier and was still sober. So that became my model one day at a time.
I also saw a video f Rabbi Alon Anava’s NDE. In it he described the intense embarrassment he felt in front of Hashem and all the neshamos in the world were looking at his whole life seeing everything he ever did. I would constantly remind myself of this. I would ask myself if the pleasure now would be worth the embarrassment later. Walking in the street I would go without glasses as much as possible. It doesn’t help at close distance but it helps a lot. I also tried to be listening to a shiur or chizuk as much as possible whenever I had free time. Lastly but most certainly the most important thing I did was daven. Every day I would ask Hashem to help me overcome my desires. That I only lust for him and my wife. That I should come close to him and stay there my whole life.
These past 90 days were very hard. Now that I am on the other side I feel like a whole new person. I feel better about myself. My self-esteem grew immensely. I will still take it one day at a time and Be”H the next thing I know I will be dancing with all of you in the front lines greeting Mashiach!
Hatzlacha to you all. And thank you again to the head guys here at gye. May Hashem bless you with endless strength to continue your wonderful work.
Susan J. wrote:
Hi - I want very much to thank Rabbi Twerski for changing my life through his writings. He is the mentor, therapist, Rebbe, sponsor and friend I have been seeking my entire life, (I will turn 70 on July 8th, 2019).
My greatest wish is that I be able to thank Rabbi Twerski either on the telephone, in person, by letter or by email and feel that he has heard my thanks. Is there any way you can give me an email address or other address or number for him?
Thank you very, very much. Sincerely, Sue J (Concord, California)
D.G. wrote:
I was zoche to hear HaRav AJH Twerski tz"l speak twice in Yeshiva (2 different yeshivas :), first on Shalom Bayis and then on Simcha. He brought a maaseh of an argument about Chanuka / Shabbos lecht and pointed out that the main sugya on Shalom Bayis is on the Same Sugya/Daf in Shabbos Bamei Madlikin! The shiur on Simcha (not just Happiness - I have the book too) reinforced what I have long been told, that the pursuit of pleasure is not a solid foundation for developing personally, emotionally or spiritually and not a model for a Yiddishe Shteib. On the other hand being besimcha tamid includes even the difficult things in life including bereavement because simcha is not just happiness. I just saw in the Chok leYisroel that true simcha is a segula for shmiras einayim against pritzus. On the second occasion I told Rav Twerski TZ"l that I loved his sfarim and that I felt they changed my life. He said to me "Do you why people like them? Because I never wrote anything new." from which I understood that he meant he just brought what he learnt from the eternal words of Chazal applied in the very challenging but potentially beautiful & sweet real world of maaseh we live in. I am quite sure that his teachings paved my path to a strong kesher with tzadikim and Chassidus as well as emesdik avodas H and BE"H shalom bayis. Our 5 daughters knein hora are very much in his Zchus as well as the simcha that IY"H radiates from our home.