Last week I received the following text:
Hi Rabbi Saks, Thank you for thinking of me! I appreciate it. I’m doing better today than I was yesterday. I have really bad anxiety. I hadn’t been out of the house nor have I gone anywhere since sometime in March.
Yesterday I finally got myself to go grocery shopping. I just suddenly had this feeling I could go, and jumped on it.
I sort of snuck by my anxiety and got on my way, before I could think about it.
It seemed to me a monumental and impossible task due to the anxiety of the whole process of wearing a mask and having to clean all the fruit and the packages and containers and store the non-perishables in the garage for three days. But somehow I got it done. I feel good about that.
How are you? I hope you and your family are well! Take care!
I responded:
Wow! You are amazing! I think you are correct when you said that your remarkable ability came because, ‘I snuck around my anxiety and got on my way before I could think about it.’
Anxiety is real – but you were able to maneuver around it – with your incredible courage.
Please keep in touch. DS
Let’s face it; we all have our angst and fears; some have it more and some less. Yet we do our best in dealing with it either by avoiding it or working it out through the assistance of professional help or with personal inner courage.
The Holiday of Shavuos is approaching. Shavuos is the holiday that commemorates G-d giving the Torah to the Jewish people.
The Torah consists of 613 Mitzvos and has an endless amount of knowledge and material to study. It sounds like a daunting task to undertake and achieve and one might easily dismiss it because of anxiety or phobias.
Shavuos, when Torah was given to us, is in the most beautiful season of the year. Yes, the location was in the Sinai desert – but in honor of the Torah, the entire area became lush with grass and was adorned with beautiful flowers. The area where Torah was given was provided with a stunning and pleasing backdrop to convey a perpetual message – Torah and its ways are pleasing.
The Torah relates that the entire nation was on the same page – like one person with one heart –there was absolute unity at that time.
The entire nation gave a resounding and unequivocal acceptance of all G-d had to offer.
To get to this level, they utilized the fifty days since they left Egypt preparing for this one-time, earth shattering event where G-d appeared and communicated with His nation.
One of the major traits that they had to acquire was humility. Our Sages tell us that G-d chose to reveal Himself on Mount Sinai of all the mountains because it was low and humble. Additionally, G-d chose Moshe to lead and teach the nation because G-d attested that Moshe was the most humble of all people.
The more one recognizes G-d and His awesome power, the more humble he becomes. Moshe, our teacher, who went to the Heavens and stayed there for 40 days to learn the Torah from G-d – realized how infinitesimal he was.
Shavuos represents the opportunity for each Jew to ask himself, “Have I taken full advantage of personally seeking out the truth of Torah, Mitzvos and tradition? An objective search through our traditional sources is bound to produce results and clarity.
However, preconceived notions, lack of information, misinformation, laziness and circumstances, present a veneer that stands in the way and obscures one’s view and clarity of our timeless Torah.
Just as my friend built up the courage and snuck around his anxiety and was able to accomplish what he thought was impossible, so can we do the same. We can sneak around our norms and spend Shavuos immersed in the pure light of Torah while basking in the energy of the Holiday and its delights, and get a taste of King David’s words which we recite each Shabbos and Holiday, “The Torah of G-d is complete and everlasting – it revives the soul.”
We are guaranteed that when we make the slightest move towards G-d we will be granted Divine assistance and energy to aspire, yearn and reach for more!
