Thurs Night 5761

One who is healthily ambitious in his Avodas Hashem is suspicious of anything that seems to drag him away from the exclusive preoccupation with Torah, so how can it be that we have a mitzvah to earn a living? However,

What should the attitude of a ben Torah be towards earning a livelihood? The two-fold obligation to make hishtadlus for parnasa. The spiritual challenges one faces when making hishtadlus to earn a living.

Chessed: how to move past self-centeredness via a proper understanding of our dependence on HKB”H. Kibud Av V’eim: seeing HKB”H’s chessed reflected in all that our parents do for us. The value of the gift of life.

Why ga’ava is heretical and why it must be given priority among traits to correct. How accurately calibrated trust in Hashem eliminates sadness.

1) Applying the 3 step process to anger and laziness. 2) middos can be compartmentalized to only affect one part of our lives 3) using religion to escape problems

To act, think, and feel as a ben Torah at all times, the basic emunos v’dei’os of Torah have to be internalized. This schmooze illustrates this point using lo sachmod, and outlines a 3 step methodology for internalization.