Don't Give Up!

Dear Friends,

Passover begins Friday night, March 30th.

When the Jews were leaving Egypt, they almost lost hope when they saw the Egyptian army chasing after them. Moses prayed to God and God told him to keep going (Exodus, 14:15). By having faith in God and moving forward, even going straight into the sea, they witnessed the amazing miracle of the sea splitting before them.

In our own lives, we may feel overwhelmed by struggles and past mistakes. At times, there appears to be no way out. But we must have faith that there is always a way out. Instead of wallowing in our difficulties, we must keep moving forward, step by step, even if we have no idea how we will succeed. Success is up to God; it is up to us to do our best.

Each day is a new beginning, a new opportunity to overcome your challenges. Never give up. No situation is as seemingly hopeless as a nation being enslaved for hundreds of years. Just as God freed us from slavery, so too can He free you from your difficulties. With faith in your heart, a prayer on your lips and ironclad determination, like the Jews leaving Egypt, may you too witness miracles and see your challenges split before you.

Think of a difficulty in your life and have faith that God has given you the strength to overcome it. Pick one step you will take to address the issue or ask someone wise for advice.

For other lessons from the Exodus, see

What Worked for Our Ancestors: 5 Lessons from the Exodus

The next blog post will God willing be after the Holidays.

Happy Passover, Chag Kasher Vesameach,

Yaakov

“I Tried. I Failed. Now What?” 10 Ways to Recover From a Setback

Dear Friends,

A key characteristic of successful people is that they have grit, they persevere and do not give up.

“I Tried. I Failed. Now What?” 10 Ways to Recover From a Setback

An article related to the theme of this month of spiritual spring cleaning:

4 Ways to Safeguard Your Moral Purity

Have a great week,

Yaakov

Nissan: Spiritual Spring Cleaning

Dear Friends,

This post is about the Jewish month of Nissan, as it relates to The Chazak Plan: A 12 Month Journey to Spiritual Strength.

Rosh Chodesh Nissan begins Friday night, the 16th of March, and lasts for one day.

During Nissan, we celebrate the holiday of Passover. On Passover, we commemorate the Exodus from Egypt. It is a time of freedom, when we free ourselves from that which brings us down spiritually.

Even today, many of us are still not yet free and are enslaved to our passions, to varying degrees. At the same time, we still maintain some level of moral purity. The goal is to raise it up a notch, thereby increasing our freedom.

When you prepare for the holiday by removing leaven from your house, also remove spiritual pollution. To whatever extent you are ready, go through your books, magazines, music and videos, and get rid of those filled with profanity, lewdness or vulgarity and using a filter, block related websites; they downgrade your spiritually.

An aspect of maintaining your purity is speaking in an elevated manner. Are there any words you choose to remove from your vocabulary, at least for this month, that do not reflect the type of person you are?

Using your checklist, you can check off each day you succeeded in speaking in a refined manner and/or staying away from spiritual pollution (or limiting your exposure as best you can).

Questions for the month:

“How can I declutter and elevate my spirituality at the same time? What will I get rid of?”

“What is a source of spiritual pollution in my life? How can I shield myself from it or at least limit my exposure to it?”

“What word(s) do I choose to remove from my vocabulary, at least for this month?” 

A reading for the month:

Are You a Balaam, a Job or a Jethro?

Take care and may God grant us success in the coming month,

Yaakov

Who Are You? Getting in Touch with Your Essence

Dear Friends,

Have you ever asked yourself, "Who am I?" Or, "What type of person am I?"

Who Are You? Getting in Touch with Your Essence

Have a great week,

Yaakov