Is it really so easy to serve Hashem, as this week’s parshah suggests? The passuk tells us that “it is very close to you,” totally in reach of each and every one of us, to fulfill ratzon Hashem.
The Imrei Pinchas explains that it’s as simple as opening our mouths to speak — to daven to Hashem, to connect with Him. Hashem is constantly waiting for us to talk to Him, to speak words of holiness and use the power of speech that only humans have to increase kedushah in the world.
Just as our relationship with Hashem can be transformed by the way we use our mouths, so too can our relationships with other people. Communication skills are key to every relationship, and once we master what to say as well as how and when to say it, even the most intractable problems become so much easier to resolve.
Communication is transformative in any relationship; in relationships which actually suffer due to lack of proper communication, the potential for improving things when we get communication right is immense. One must be reasonable and realistic when attempting to create change in a relationship, but even after investing thought and determining that one’s expectations are attainable, it’s usually communication that initiates improvement. Even in relationships where one of the spouses is genuinely suffering due to the actions of the other, learning how to reasonably and effectively communicate pain and hurt in a way that the other can hear it can create genuine and long-lasting change.
