As we approach the Yamim Nora’im and we seek to emerge with spiritual connection from these Days of Awe, it is only through focus and concentration on the themes of these days that we can attain it. The month of Elul enables us to put aside all other thoughts and home in on the holiness and the beauty of the Yom Tov that is approaching.
But when a person is emotionally scattered—he is pulled in many directions at the same time—it is not only difficult for him to perform well in a general sense, but it is also difficult for him to feel connection and spiritual pleasure (or any pleasure, for that matter).
For pleasure means that the person is grounded, able to savor the pleasure. He is present and his senses are present, and thus he can connect with his feelings. If he is always mentally in many places at once, it is very difficult to experience pleasure.
Many of us are affected by conditions that make it difficult for us to concentrate; some struggle with ADHD and many related conditions, each with a name and letters assigned to them. One reason children with these conditions are at spiritual risk (even though Yiddishkeit does not mean that the child can sit still for many hours at a time; it is much broader than that) is because it is much more difficult for such a person to savor pleasure, since his mind is scattered in ten different places. So, if he doesn’t experience דקדושה, תענוג spiritual pleasure, then he is in danger of seeking pleasure elsewhere, R”l.
Now, there are countless eitzos for this.
I am thinking of one child—one I know well—who was suffering from lack of ability to concentrate, yet today he is sitting and learning diligently in a prestigious yeshivah, and he davens with tremendous warmth.
