JWR Outlook

Jewish World Review Dec. 7, 2001 / 22 Kislev 5762

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“Have you shown weakness on the day of adversity? Then your real adversity was your lack of strength.”

                        —   Proverbs (24:10)



http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- A man complained to the rebbe - Chassidic rabbi -- about his many tzaros (distresses). The rebbe told him to pray and G-d will help him. "But I don't know how to pray properly," the man said.

"Then that is your real tzarah," the rebbe replied.

Life has many adversities. Some people seem to be better able to cope with and survive very difficult challenges, while other people are crushed by stresses of lesser intensity.

The verse states, "Man was created to struggle" (Job 2:7). The sages teach, "G-d does not give a person a burden he cannot carry" (Shemos Rabbah 34:1). The two balance: We all face challenges in life, but none of them are beyond our capacity to cope.

I often make reference to the problem of low self-esteem. Many people are unaware of their strengths. I believe that is the work of the yetzer hara, Evil Inclination, who seeks to cripple and disable the person. We must resist the yetzer hara's cunning. We must know that G-d gives us the wherewithal to cope with the challenges He poses for us.

It is easier to blame our difficulties on external problems rather than on our own shortcomings. We then seek to fix "things" rather than ourselves. How often do people think that if they change jobs, locales, or marriage partners, their problems will be resolved? Changing external circumstances leaves the self unchanged, and manipulating the environment rarely results in lasting relief.

King Solomon was right, and wise people will heed his words. The greatest adversity is not outside of us, but in our failure to fully develop our inner strengths.


Abraham J. Twerski, M.D. is a psychiatrist and ordained rabbi. He is the founder of the Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Pittsburgh, a leading center for addiction treatment. An Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, he is a prolific author, with some 30 books to his credit, including Wisdom Each Day, from which this was excerpted (Sales of this book, which can be ordered by clicking here, help fund JWR). Send your comments by clicking here.


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