"Bereishit, In the Beginning…" A new year. A new beginning. We must always begin anew. It is the same Torah we read last year, and the same one read 1,000 years ago. But we begin anew. We start again. Why? Because if we don't reenergize ourselves, we will never move forward. Each day is new. Each time period is new. So we must make the best use of it. How? By beginning anew. We say each day in our prayers, "And with His Goodness He renews the creation each day." Therefore, Rebbe Nachman teaches (Likutey Moharan I, 272): "Today! If you heed His voice" (Psalms 95:7). This is an important rule in the service of God: one should focus only on today. Whether with regard to livelihood and personal needs—he should not think about one day to the next, as is brought in the holy books—or with regard to serving God, he should not consider anything beyond this day and this moment. For when a person wants to enter the service of God, it seems to him a heavy burden; he cannot possibly bear such a heavy load. However, when a person considers that he has only this day to deal with, he will find it no burden at all. In addition, a person should not procrastinate from one day to the next, saying, "I'll start tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll pray more attentively, and with the right enthusiasm," and likewise with other devotions. For a person's world consists only of the present day and moment—tomorrow is a different world entirely. "Today! If you heed His voice" - specifically, "Today!" Understand this. So the Torah is teaching us to face each day as a unit in itself. We must see this day as a "new beginning." Have a great Shabbos |
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