Even for those of us who are generally optimistic, it is so easy to focus on all the “wreckage” in our lives (e.g., all the bad decisions we’ve made, all the times we’ve fallen, all the good resolutions that were never kept, all the places where we feel like we have no control). Positive change seems so far away, and we have fully convinced ourselves that there is no point in hoping that we can do any better.
The urge to just give up, give in, or disconnect can be overwhelmingly powerful; as the saying goes, we’re our own worst enemies. But the things that are holding us back, preventing us from having the health, happiness, and inner peace we all crave, are really just an illusion. And it’s an illusion that can be broken, one small piece at a time.
The very first step in that process is believing that change is possible in the first place – even if only remotely possible – and that Hashem is always open to assist and reward even the slightest desire to choose good and pursue a path of truth.
As it says in T’hilim, “Hashem supports all the falling, and straightens all that are bent” (T’hilim 145:14). Rav Dessler explains: ...[E]ven one who is in the depths of defilement and still falling will find that G-d, in His mercy, will support him. If he has even one [genuine] spark of a good thought, Hashem will heal him from his dire disease and loosen all the cords with which his evil inclination has bound him, until he is able to stand on his own with hope for the future. (Strive for Truth, Volume 3, page 115)
Without this emunah in his ability to change and Hashem’s willingness to help him on his journey, it is impossible to break free. As long as we are alive, holiness has not completely left us; we are not spiritually dead. The Chanukah candles and the light they reflect are an expression of Hashem’s love for each and every member of the Jewish People, His Children. As far away as we may be, He won’t completely abandon us. He is always there waiting for us to let Him in…to make just a little opening…just a small step forward.
(Material was previously published on www.ShiratMiriam.com.)
List of People Who Need a R’fuah Sh’leimah
(a complete recovery)
Please recite Psalms 20, 30, 88, 121, and 130.
Boris Baruch ben Frecha Frida
Chaim Avraham ben Shifrah Zisel
Shimshon Shimon ben Mazal
Aharon Mordechai ben Sharon
Yaakov Yisrael Pinchas ben Tovah
Yisachar Dov ben Chayah Brachah
Tinok ben Chanah
Azriel ShemTov ben Brachah Esther
Shmuel Aryeh ben Sarah Rachel
Ronny Tzalach ben Simchah
Shmuel Aryeh ben Sarah Rachel
Moshe ben Devorah
Yehoshua ben Miriam
Yosef ben Leah
Nisan ben Yael
Efrayim Gavriel ben Esther
Chaim Yehudah HaLevi ben Sarah
Refael Meir HaLevi ben Esther
Mordechai ben Evelyn
David Chaim ben Rivkah
Moshe Leib ben Chanah Breindel
Eynav ben Tziporah
Yair ben Sarah
Moshe ben Zlata
Yishai Shimon ben Sigal
Shmuel ben Nazima
Yaakov Yisrael Pinchas ben Tovah
Nissim ben Miriam
Levi ben Malkah
Yigal ben Nina
Arthur Avraham ben Bella Berta
Evon bas Sally
Luna bas Rachel
Malkah bas Miriam
Tovah Yocheved bas Esther Bukas
Ruchamah Perel Malkah Leah bas Chanah Serel
Esther Hadassah bas Devorah
Ronit bas Rivkah
Mahnaz bas Nosrat
Sylia bas Rachel
Karen bas Rachel
Shoshanah Shurah bas Zin
Sonia bas Raya Rachel
Tinok bas Chanah Moriyah
Brachah Chanah bas Sarah
Devorah bas Esther
Batya bas Moonavar
Sarah bas Alizah
Chavah bas Bayla
Bella Berta bas Raya Rachel
Taliah Tanya bas Nina Nekadam
Raya Rachel bas Esther
Alizah Sima bas Sheina Brachah
Rivkah bas Sarah
Rachel bas Yaffah
Mehrnaz bas Malkah Molouk
To add names of individuals who need a r’fuah sh’leimah to next week’s T’hilim column, please email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and complete the Google form.
