Many people react with humor when they first hear this brand new release from TYH Music, yet beneath its lightheartedness lies a most powerful truth. The Arizal teaches in Shaar HaGilgulim that in our generation, every tiny act of a Yid carries the weight of the greatest deeds of earlier generations. Because the negative forces today are so strong, even the smallest act becomes incredibly precious. Rebbe Nachman echoes this in Likutei Moharan 17:1 when he says, “There are times when some lowly Jew twirls one of his peyos, and Hashem has tremendous pride from this.” It is deeply strengthening to realize that even one word of tefillah, one small mitzvah, one little step, holds incredible value above.
Reb Uri of Strelisk, was known as the Saraf for his burning passion in avodas Hashem. His davening was fiery and intense. Once a poritz overheard him praying and stood frozen in awe. When R Uri finished, the poritz said, “If even prayers like yours did not bring the Jews redemption, I doubt they ever will.
R’ Uri answered with a mashal.
A mighty king had a magnificent palace with beautiful gardens. Yet in the center stood an old, thick, ugly tree. The king wanted it removed, so he announced across the kingdom: Whoever could cut it down would receive a great reward.
Strong men rushed to the palace, determined to win the prize. For weeks, they hacked and struggled. Machines were brought, poisons tried, sweat poured, but nothing seemed to work. Eventually, one by one, the men gave up, convinced the tree was immovable.
Then a thin young boy approached the king and volunteered to cut down the tree. The crowd laughed, but the boy lifted an axe, struck the trunk a few times, and the tree crashed to the ground.
Everyone was shocked. How did such a small boy cut down such a mighty tree? The boy smiled. “It wasn’t my great strength that cut down the tree. All the great men who tried before me weakened the tree tremendously. They thought they failed, but the truth is that they played a tremendous role in weakening the tree, and all I had to do was give the tree the final few blows.
“So too,” R’ Uri said, “we Jews in galus. Every mitzvah, every tefilla, every good deed strikes at the tree of exile. The Tzadikim have already shaken the world with their avodah. When the time is right, even a simple Jew doing a simple mitzvah will bring Mashiach with that final blow.”
Who, me? Our yetzer hara tries to discourage us that our efforts are small and our tefillos weak. “Who do you think you are? You are just one person.” But the truth is the exact opposite. We live in a generation standing at the edge of redemption. Every sincere bracha, every minute of Torah, every act of kindness, counts more than we can possibly imagine.
Even the simplest Jew today holds immense power. With a little Shukel Shukel, we can be the ones to give that final blow.
Shukul Shukul
Brother Sochi
מעשה קטן מאד בדורנו
Shukul Shukul
שקול ככמה מצוות בדורות הקודמים
דורנו שקול
Even a mini, little action done,
כמעשה גדול
Is like a very great big one.
Shukul Shukul,
Shefa Shukul,
Let’s all do the Shukul.
כי מעשה קטן מאד בדור הזה שקול כמעשה גדולות שבדרות אחרים, כי בדורות אלו הקליפה גוברת מאד לאין קץ,
משא”כ בדורות הראשונים אריז”ל
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 60.