(5) I wait for the ETERNAL, my soul does wait, and in God's word do I hope.
(14) Hope to the ETERNAL; be strong, and let your heart take courage, and hope to the ETERNAL.
(8) “You have been told, O mortal, what is good,
And what GOD requires of you:
Only to do justice
And to love goodness,
And to walk modestly with your God.
- Rabbi Rami Shapiro, commentary on Pirkei Avot & Micah
(טז) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר,
(16) He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say: It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it;
"For me what’s helpful about (these texts) is that they are a reminder that even when we may not see a way to solve the biggest problems in our world (in our lifetimes, alone, etc) there is usually a choice to be made, many times in our day to day lives, about doing the right thing — either on a smaller scale, or in the sense of contributing to a big systemic justice project that is beyond our individual power or beyond what we think will be achieved soon, but we know the work is worth doing. For me this is an antidote to despair given the enormity of some of the problems we face (like climate change). These texts remind me that every day there’s an opportunity to seek out ways to support people in need, and work for justice, and then do the work."
- Rabbi Alexandra Stein
"It reminds me that I am not too small to make a difference and helps me not to give up. I just focus on what is in my control."
- Rabbi Naj Ben Adam
"This is how I understand it: Lo aleicha ... It is a way of saying, don't aim to feel all the wrongs because it might be overwhelming, and could lead to despair and paralysis. You are not free to fall in despair because there is an important job to get done.... One step at a time."
- Rabbi Nico Soco
(א) הַיּוֹם אִם בְּקוֹלוֹ תִשְׁמָעוּ (תהילים צ״ה:ז׳).
(ב) זֶה כְּלָל גָּדוֹל בַּעֲבוֹדַת הַשֵּׁם, שֶׁלֹּא יָשִׂים לְנֶגֶד עֵינָיו כִּי־אִם אוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם, הֵן בְּעֵסֶק פַּרְנָסָה וְהִצְטָרְכוּתוֹ, צָרִיךְ שֶׁלֹּא יַחֲשֹׁב מִיּוֹם לַחֲבֵרוֹ, כַּמּוּבָא בַּסְּפָרִים, וְכֵן בַּעֲבוֹדָתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ לֹא יָשִׂים לְנֶגֶד עֵינָיו כִּי אִם אוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם וְאוֹתוֹ הַשָּׁעָה,
(ג) כִּי כְּשֶׁרוֹצִין לִכָּנֵס בַּעֲבוֹדַת הַשֵּׁם, נִדְמֶה לְהָאָדָם כְּאִלּוּ הוּא מַשָּׂא כָּבֵד, וְאִי אֶפְשָׁר לוֹ לִשָּׂא מַשָּׂא כָּבֵד כָּזוֹ. אֲבָל כְּשֶׁיַּחֲשׂב שֶׁאֵין לוֹ רַק אוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם, לֹא יִהְיֶה לוֹ מַשָּׂא כְּלָל,
(ד) וְגַם שֶׁלֹּא יִדְחֶה אֶת עַצְמוֹ מִיּוֹם לְיוֹם, לֵאמֹר: מָחָר אַתְחִיל, מָחָר אֶתְפַּלֵּל בְּכַוָּנָה וּבְכֹחַ כָּרָאוּי, וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּזֶה בִּשְׁאָר הָעֲבוֹדוֹת, כִּי אֵין לְאָדָם בְּעוֹלָמוֹ כִּי אִם אוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם וְאוֹתוֹ הַשָּׁעָה שֶׁעוֹמֵד בּוֹ, כִּי יוֹם הַמָּחֳרָת הוּא עוֹלָם אַחֵר לְגַמְרֵי.
(ה) הַיּוֹם אִם בְּקוֹלוֹ תִשְׁמָעוּ – הַיּוֹם דַּיְקָא, וְהָבֵן:
(1) “Today! if you heed His voice.” (Psalms 95:7)
(2) This is an important rule in the service of God: One should focus only on today. Whether with regard to his livelihood and personal needs—he should not think about one day to the next, as is brought in the holy books—or with regard to his serving God, he should not consider anything beyond this day and this moment.
(3) For when a person wants to enter the service of God, it seems to him a heavy burden; he cannot possibly bear such a heavy load. However, when a person considers that he has only that day [to deal with], he will find it no burden at all.
(4) In addition, a person should not procrastinate from one day to the next, saying, “I’ll start tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll pray more attentively, and with the right enthusiasm”; and likewise for the other devotions. For a person’s world consists only of the present day and moment—tomorrow is a different world entirely.
(5) Today! if you heed His voice—Specifically, “Today!” Understand this.
- Author: Reb Nachman of Breslov
The first part (teachings 1–286) was printed in 1808 in Ostrog, during the life of the author. The second part was printed in 1811 in Mogilev, after the death of the author. A combined edition was printed in 1821.
"The Kotzker Rebbe says The distance from West to East is one step. The world is repaired one step at a time."
- Rabbi Danny Gottlieb
