Zohar
Shabbos meals are suedos of Hashem. This is why, when we spend money on Shabbos, we are “laying out money” on Hashem’s behalf. Hashem repays this ‘loan’ to us many times over!
R’ Yaakov Klein
Rav Tzadok HaKohen M’Lublin writes that true teshuvah is achieved when a person can look back and see how the entire journey was for a greater purpose: that it, too, was ratzon Hashem in some mysterious way. This is the secret of galus. One day soon, we will look back at history with the lucidity of retrospection and shake with the laughter of ultimate realization. The end of history isn’t a finish line. It’s a punchline. We don’t even know what we don’t know. There’s a greater picture here that is infinitely beyond us.
Aish Hamoadim
Although part of our emunah is to believe that everything Hashem does is for our ultimate good, that doesn’t mean we have to understand how something painful can be for our good. Our deepest emunah is demonstrated when we can’t possibly fathom with any stretch of our imagination how something can be for our good, yet we tell Hashem that we nevertheless believe that it is.
Reb Tzaddok
We ask Hashem to “open my lips so my mouth can speak Your praises.” The “Hashem” we are addressing should be viewed as the Divine Presence within the Jewish heart. We ask Hashem to allow our heart and soul to power our lips to sing His praises, and not that our lips should speak “on their own” in a shallow way.
The Izbhitzer
We don’t need to go outside of ourselves to go and seek a connection with Hashem. Every Yid already has a connection with Hashem; all we need to do is to shine the light of this awareness within ourselves. When we are reminded of our intrinsic connection to Hashem we are encouraged to pursue it further!
This is the pnimius of why we encourage and lift up Yidden by reminding them (or ourself!) that “Every Yid’s a Big Tzadik.™” If a Yid feels disconnected, it feels difficult to go find a way to reconnect. But when we remind a Yid that he is already connected, he just wants to connect more!
Baal Shem Tov
Hashem does not experience the human character traits of love, fear, compassion, or judgment. Rather, we perceive His nature as a reflection of the way we look at Him. If we think thoughts about how much Hashem loves us and wants us, then we are creating that reality.
Reb Ahrele Belzer
The Rebbe once admonished his chassidim saying: “If you are learning and you are confronted with a difficult Rambam what do you do? You work hard at it until you find a solution. The same should apply whenever you come across a difficult Jew. You must work hard at understanding him until you find the solution.”
Rav Aryeh Levin
The great Rav Aryeh once met a young man whom he knew no longer kept mitzvos. The young man felt uncomfortable in front of such a great tzaddik and apologized for not wearing a kippah. Understanding this Rav Aryeh replied, “I’m very short, I can’t see the top of your head. I can only reach to your heart.”
Lekutei Maharan
When a person talks to Hashem amongst nature, the grass, the trees, and all of the vegetation growing in the field assist him and join his tefillah.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 18.