Building a Connection with Hashem, Step by Step
Of course, we cannot attain perfection at once. But every person can begin building his kesher with Hashem with small steps. We can take one small action at a time and make it a vessel for closeness to Hashem.
First, everyone can change the way they daven—for this is the essence of davening: to come closer to Hashem. From now on, a Yid can resolve never to “fall into” a tefillah. He will approach this special time with thought and meditation that he now has the privilege of speaking with Hashem. During davening he will imagine himself speaking directly to the King of Kings.
Another thing that everyone can do is to recite a few chapters of Tehillim every day, thinking about the meaning behind these timeless words—in this way, he will cement his kesher with Hashem.
Then there’s a mehalech in which, even if a person is still mired in aveiros and negative habits and traits, he doesn’t hide from it. Even if he doesn’t yet have a clear path out of the mud, and he doesn’t see how he will become a perfect tzaddik today, he still doesn’t hide from Hashem. He won’t pretend that nothing happened—rather, he speaks openly about the matter with the Ribbono shel Olam. “I know that I’m not right... I hope to repair what I have damaged... but I don’t yet have the way. Ribbono shel Olam, help me find the way.”
