BS’D
The Vilna HaGaon ztk’l teaches that if it were not for yissurim, we would not be able to stand in the next world. Our merits and misdeeds are weighed and our merits are lightened since they are often done with a lack of sincerity and joy. In contrast, our misdeeds are heavy since often they are committed with desire and excitement.
The word yissurim is derived from the word ‘mussar’ (rebuke). Discomfort, challenges and hardships are ‘wake-up’ calls to convey the message that we are currently ‘traveling down the wrong path’. Such wake-up calls are actually a Divine chesed, enabling us the opportunity to pay merely pennies on a one million dollar debt.
Feel and heal exercise of the day:
Put one hand on your forehead and one hand in the back of your head and calm your thoughts. Think about the path you are traveling towards. What can you change about it to enable more meaning into your life?
