I thought my first Rosh Hashanah in Israel would be so high, but I was in for a rude awakening when after two hours I had had enough. Sound familiar? See how I worked through it by reading my article, recently published in The Skribe, here.
In the article, I explain the free will battles that we all experience in some form or another. As Rebbetzin Heller teaches, we are an accumulation of the choices we make during the trying moments of life. These moments can be as grand as turning down an important meeting to maintain your Shabbos observance, or as “mundane” as resisting another cookie. Yet the more we choose good, Rebbetzin Heller says, the easier it is to choose good. The same is true for not choosing good, which is why we can fall into bad habits so easily.
Maybe this is why I was able to muster through and make Rosh Hashanah meaningful that year: because on my spiritual journey back to Judaism I had become accustomed more and more to choosing good, to doing what I knew was the right thing even when it wasn’t convenient or didn’t feel good. Sometimes the right choice is the hard choice, but when we make it we are so much better for it. We can rest easy, knowing that we did our part; the rest is up to G-d.
Enjoy the article and look out for my upcoming #HighHolideas campaign: short, inspirational ideas each day to keep you growing through the holidays this year!
Resource Suggestion: Aish.com’s Rosh Hashanah E-Book & Aish.com’s Yom Kippur E-Book (I love printing out these e-books and reading them before or during shul when I find it especially hard to concentrate; it helps me to stay focused on the day and inspires my prayers).
Book Suggestions: Battle Plans: How To Defeat the Yetzer Hara (a book with strategies to recognize and overcome the various forms of the Yetzer Hara within of all us.) Twerski on Machzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (These are great, small books to have by your side during the prayers. Rabbi Twerski shares inspirational Chassidic stories and teachings that make the prayers come alive.)
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