Page 312 - 20780

10

Chapter Seven: | 305 312 | A New Light Chapter Six: | 297

if you are depressed, you will not succeed in anything, your prayers for the good. Therefore, the initial and central work wholeness. Then we can cry out to Hashem with all our might and
will not be accepted, and you will suffer damage to your marital of my will is to believe that everything is for the good. with all sorts of expressions and tell Hashem, “You must save me!”
relationship, your income, your children’s education, and so forth. In order to attain that faith, I must learn His Gates Then we can persevere, muster arguments, and demand salvation
On the other hand, when you attain joy, Hashem will be with you, with Thanksgiving and I Said Thank You and I Was immediately.
and you will maintain a connection and bond with Him. Therefore, Saved, and every day I must devote at least half an hour
you will attain all abundance and success in all areas, whether to the work of the will to attain complete faith. The main focus is to want to attain this. If a person does not want
physical or spiritual. to attain this, even after he does the work of the will for years,
he will progress very slowly. But when a person wants to attain
Although the books of our generation certainly cannot be
Such learning will fill you with a very strong will to work on wholeness of the will, heaven will guide him. It will help him pray
acquiring the trait of joy and distancing yourself from depression as compared to the works of earlier generations, when it comes to with wholeness and receive whole and true salvations very quickly.
far as you can. And once your will is aroused, the first and foremost practical advice, it is worthwhile learning contemporary books.
step in acquiring the trait of joy is to set a time to engage in the They have the tremendous advantage of having been written by In Summation
work of the will every day (as I explained in previous chapters). authors who have encountered and experienced the problems of
this generation, who understand the generation and its special
In practical terms, the two central pieces of advice to difficulties, and who relate to and can answer its specific questions. Dear reader, know that the universal message of the holy Gemara
acquire every good trait are a) learning in the way I modeled For instance, My Covenant of Peace addresses the harm done and of all of the stories told above—the stories that our holy rabbi,
Rabbi Nachman, relates about himself and the story of the student
here and b) engaging in the work of the will. by modern technological devices, and In the Garden of Wisdom
relates to self-blame and lack of self-esteem. Even if the ideas who almost drowned in the sea—provides us with a practical,
presented in these books appear simple and familiar to you, they wonderful method to attain all spiritual salvation. This method is
We Learn and Pray are deeper than the sea. the true path that has been walked upon by all of the tzaddikim.
In speaking about this, Rabbi Nachman said that his way is a new
You must constantly continue learning about the topic of Thus, when you review such ideas over and over again, you will way, yet nevertheless it is a way upon which our forefathers walked.
joy and you must continue to seek practical advice on how to be amazed at the depth that you will find in them. The goal of
acquire joy, such as recognizing your good points and rejoicing in learning is not only to know the material but to internalize it into We must serve Hashem with fervor. The statement, “The main
them, recognizing the many ways in which Hashem helps you in your heart. And you accomplish that when you review the material thing is the will,” does not mean that we do not need to actually do
different areas of your life, thanking Hashem for everything, being over and over, and devote your prayers to it. anything, heaven forbid. The true meaning is that we must arouse
lighthearted and humorous, singing and dancing. And the principal our will with all our might. A person must come to Hashem with
way is attaining the inner wisdom at the core of joy and transforming Hearing Torah the will to cry out to Him. Hashem can and wants to give us all of
everything that you learn into prayer. Here is an example of a short the tools that we need so that we may at this very moment cling
prayer on the topic of joy: and truly bond to Him. This perfect tool is the wholeness of the
Similarly, our generation is the recipient of a wonderful gift: the will. Cry out to Hashem with all your might from all your heart,
Master of the universe, I have learned that ability to listen to audio recordings on every conceivable topic. and you will see how you change from day to day.
when I am depressed You are not with me. Help In general, much more practical material can be presented on an
audio recording than in a book, and material on an audio recording
me distance myself from depression as much as is internalized much better than material learned from a book,
possible. Help me remember that depression is a because it echoes in the listener’s mind. Many students have told
great sin and that You hate it. Help me remember me that at the moment that they faced a challenge, they were saved
that I cannot succeed at anything when I am by the words that they had heard in my classes or on a recording,
depressed. Completely eradicate my depression. which echoed in their ears.
Have compassion on me. Help me work to acquire