It takes a few days of eating doughnuts to realize, that food will not make a person happy. It’s a good treat, but this is not it.
When it comes to serving Hashem and learning our holy Torah, we never become “full.” The more we do and learn, the more we want it, the more sweet it becomes.
Happy Chanukah.
Too Many Doughnuts?
Enjoy your doughnuts, and enjoy Hashem’s Torah.
Success is getting what you want.
Happiness is appreciating what you get.
Success comes to those who are too busy to look for it.
Worrying doesn’t take away tomorrow’s troubles, it takes away today’s peace.
Your life is not yours, if you always care what someone else thinks.
Act as if what you do makes a difference because it does.
It takes less time to do it right, than to explain why you did it wrong.
Do the best you can until you know better.
Chanukah Story
Jack who was not-frum-yet arrived on Shabbos at his new house. What he didn’t know was that he moved in right next to a Lubavitcher shliach, R’ Riskin, who ran outside to greet this new neighbor, “Hi, are you Jewish?”
Jack seemed surprised and said yes. He was invited and joined R’ Riskin for the Shabbos meal.
Then the moving truck arrived a few minutes later, they were also asked whether they were Jewish and were soon sitting by the Shabbos table together with Jack.
Jack started coming to some of R’ Riskin’s speeches, and after a speech about faith in G-d even during difficult times and the idea that everything is perfectly planned, Jack broke down crying.
Jack went to R’ Riskin and asked if they could speak about something in a more private place. “Sure,” R’ Riskin said.
“Let me tell you my story,” Jack said:
“Before I moved here, I lost two of my children in a car accident, and I went into a major depression, which made me lose my job. My wife divorced me as well, taking along my only remaining child, Sarah, a ten-year-old girl.
I was in such a bad place and in so much pain that I decided that I would end this pain – I would kill myself.
But before killing myself, I decided I wanted to give my daughter Sarah a proper goodbye. I didn’t tell her my plan, but I wanted her to have a last sweet memory of me. I asked my ex-wife if I could take out Sarah, and she said yes.
We went to a mall to watch a video, but right before we went into the video place, I heard music. I saw a big menorah with candles burning, doughnuts, and smelled some latkes.
Before I knew what was going on, I was pulled in by a bunch of yeshiva men.
Here I was, my last night on earth before killing myself, dancing around a menorah.
I looked into the Chanukah candles and it warmed up my heart. I heard the message of the candles telling me DON’T GIVE UP. IT WILL GET BETTER.
That night saved my life. I did not end my life that night; I started going to therapy and getting my life back together.
I decided I needed a change and moved to a Jewish neighborhood. On the way here, I asked G-d, “Please show me a sign.” Right when I arrived, you asked me, “Are you Jewish?” I said to myself, “G-d, I got your message. Thank you.”
Jack was wiping away a tear, but now R’ Riskin started crying.
With tears in his eyes, R’ Riskin showed Jack a picture. It was a picture of Jack in that very mall in front of the menorah. The person next to Jack in the photo was R’ Riskin.
“Now,” R’ Riskin said, “let me tell you my story: Every year, we go to a different mall to spread the Chanukah miracle.
That year, we went to this mall. But it was a disaster.
The mall was closing down, and the only store still open in the entire mall was this video place. There was no one coming. We set up food and music, and you were from the only people that came that year.
Then I saw you, I pulled you in to dance, so that I shouldn’t feel like a complete loser. When I came home, I told my wife that it went terribly and that I felt like such a failure. But little did I know that I saved your life.”
That’s the lesson: 1) Hashem is always here, arranging everything for our best. 2) You can save a person’s life with a small act of kindness, a little chessed, and you may never even know it.
Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.
Warning: This story may wake you up.
