Small tidbits and Sparks of wisdom

A. The Condition for Receiving Shefa — Why Prayer Is Required

One of the conditions established by the Highest Wisdom is that, in order for a person to receive Divine sustenance (shefa), he must awaken himself toward God and turn to Him with conscious intent. The measure of Divine influence he receives depends on the intensity of this awakening.

If a person refuses to turn toward God, no spiritual or material blessing reaches him at all. This is the very essence of prayer. God desires to bestow continual goodness upon mankind and therefore obligated daily prayer, the channel through which blessing, success, and sustenance enter a person’s life.

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B. Human Responsibility and the Two Principles Behind It

God granted man both intelligence and responsibility. To function in the world is not optional; it is built into human design.

Two principles support this:

1. Human dignity.
Man was given intellect so that he can act wisely and take responsibility for his life.

2. Necessary engagement with the physical world.
The human body requires material maintenance, and this binds man to worldly involvement. It is not the ultimate state, but a necessary phase of existence.

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C. The Danger of Excessive Materiality and God’s Remedy

Engagement with the physical world naturally lowers a person spiritually. The danger lies in descending so deeply into material concerns that one becomes disconnected from the higher Light.

God therefore established a remedy: all worldly efforts must begin by turning to Him, acknowledging dependence, and asking for His support.

> “Cast your burden upon God.”
הַשְׁלֵךְ עַל־יְיָ יְהָבְךָ — Tehillim 55:23

Once a person begins his efforts through dependence on God, he is protected from being swallowed by materiality.

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D. The Amidah — Closeness and Its Discipline

A profound act of Divine love is the permission granted to man, even in his lowly physical state, to stand before God and speak His Name.

This is the meaning of the Amidah. It is a moment of elevated closeness, which is why interruptions are absolutely forbidden. When the prayer concludes, three steps backward symbolize man’s return from a momentary ascent to his ordinary physical state.

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E. Personal Accounting — What a Person Owes to God

A believer must evaluate honestly what he owes God. What he can fulfill in action must be pursued with full effort. What he cannot fulfill physically must be pursued through thought, speech, knowledge, intention, and longing.

> “Would that my course be steady, in keeping Your statutes.”
אָחַלְיָה דְּרָכַי לִשְׁמֹר חֻקֶּיךָ — Tehillim 119:5

> “More desirable than gold, than much fine gold; sweeter than honey and the drippings of the comb.”
הַנֶּחֱמָדִים מִזָּהָב… וּמְתוּקִים מִדְּבַשׁ — Tehillim 19:11

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F. Avoiding Excuses — The Warning of Mishlei

A person must not exempt himself lightly from his obligations. Excuses, neglect, and spiritual laziness are forms of self-harm.

> “He who scorns a precept brings injury upon himself.”
פּוֹרֵעַ מוּסָר מוֹסֵר לָו — Mishlei 13:13

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G. The Thirty Ways of Spiritual Accounting

Below are thirty ways a person evaluates himself before God — a practical system of spiritual accounting.

1. Gratitude for existence

Contemplating being brought from nothingness into life.

2. The gift of the soul

Recognizing the nobility and purity of the soul.

3. Bodily health

How physical strength is used — or wasted.

4. Daily sustenance

Gratitude for every form of material provision.

5. Time

How hours are used or lost.

6. Speech

Words that heal, harm, elevate, or waste.

7. Thought

Purity, discipline, and intention of the inner mind.

8. Mitzvos fulfilled

Commandments kept — and with what care.

9. Mitzvos neglected

Duties ignored or postponed.

10. Torah study

Consistency, depth, and sincerity.

11. Prayer

Concentration, honesty, presence.

12. Charity

Generosity, intention, and opportunity.

13. Kindness

Whether acts of kindness come naturally or reluctantly.

14. Avoidance of sin

Temptations resisted or yielded to.

15. Relationships

Patience, honesty, forgiveness, and peace.

16. Work and livelihood

Ethics, diligence, and integrity.

17. Use of possessions

Whether wealth serves purpose or vanity.

18. Speech about others

Gossip, slander, flattery, or necessary silence.

19. Influence on others

Whether one elevates or diminishes people.

20. Emotional control

Anger, jealousy, arrogance, and desire.

21. Humility

Submission to truth over ego.

22. Fear of Heaven

Living consciously before God.

23. Love of God

Warmth, longing, and devotion.

24. Repentance

Review, repair, and return.

25. Consistency

Stability versus bursts of inspiration.

26. Courage

Doing what is right despite cost.

27. Use of opportunities

Moments of potential growth seized or wasted.

28. Life mission

Alignment with the purpose God intended.

29. Mortality

Awareness of finite time.

30. Final accountability

Preparing for the day when excuses disappear and truth alone remains.