* Our Avodah on Tisha B'av is not to be sad, but rather to mourn. To mourn is to express to Hashem how much we miss Him. Cover
* It can be hard to connect to tefillah in a deep and passionate way, but with the right perspectives on what davening is really all about, we can all climb the ladder of closeness to Hashem. Page 2
* Still water freezes, running water doesn't. The Baal Shem Tov taught us that the way to keep our neshama warm is to constantly run from one mitzvah to the next. Page 3
*Chicken soup is the only liquid we drink with our head tilted down. It teaches us that we can find closeness and connection down here in this world and elevate the mundane - one spoon at a time! Back page

• We climb the ladder of closeness to Hashem by thinking and internalizing the following thoughts in the following order:

Absolute commitment > Love, awe, and attachment > Deep yearning and passion > self nullification  

• To ride on the Back of the Wagon of the Baal Shem Tov is to internalize that throughout the ups and downs and twists and turns on the road of life - everything is an opportunity to get closer to Hashem.

• As a young boy, Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin refused to play a game that gave over the message that you cannot undo a mistake. A Yid always has another chance!

• Shabbos isn't just special in contrast to the other days of the week; it is inherently holy. It guides us to recognize the unique sanctity and strengths within our own souls, rather than measuring ourselves by comparing ourselves to others.

• Wait a second… Hashem… you came to visit me just to show how much you love me?! You're not here to punish me?? Cover

• When we don't feel a warm connection during davening, the formula is simple: push yourself to “grab what you can,” then celebrate every little success! Page 2

• One way of building your private and personal relationship with Hashem is by doing a Mitzvah and not telling anyone about it. Page 3

• Shabbos reminds us that no matter the upheaval and the distance traveled during the six days of the week, a Yid can never disconnect; we are always and forever stamped with our identity. Back page

• Wait a second… Hashem… you came to visit me just to show how much you love me?! You're not here to punish me?? Cover

• When we don't feel a warm connection during davening, the formula is simple: push yourself to “grab what you can,” then celebrate every little success! Page 2

• One way of building your private and personal relationship with Hashem is by doing a Mitzvah and not telling anyone about it. Page 3

• Shabbos reminds us that no matter the upheaval and the distance traveled during the six days of the week, a Yid can never disconnect; we are always and forever stamped with our identity. Back page

• • • Pause for a moment before you daven to determine the best way for you to daven today, with today's thoughts, distractions, and feelings. Don't be thrown off if yesterday’s way, which perhaps you really enjoyed, is not the best for today.

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    • Rav Tzadok Hakohen of Lublin avoided honor, minimized his speech and maximized Torah study. He didn't leave over children, but his seforim are his legacy, having authored 26 seforim on a huge range of topics.

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    • Every Yid has the neshama of a Torah scholar. If the neshama is concealed because of a lack of a Torah education, all you need to do is peel off those layers to reveal the Torah scholar within!

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    • Every Shabbos we return to the same time and place: we return to stand before the presence of Hashem, and we return to the time of the moment before the world was created.

• • • • Your Emunah Response Time (ERT) is the time it takes from when a challenge arises until you bring Hashem into the picture. Being mindful of your ERT is the first step towards improving it!  

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      • Modeh Ani is an encounter with our core identity as a Yid, when we remind ourselves that the prince and princess will always retain their place as children of the King, even if they act out of line.

      • When we feel regret over the spiritual mistakes that we make, we should be proud of that regret and understand that because we feel bad about it, we've already done a large part of our teshuva.

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      • Shabbos is when life “comes to life”. Shabbos is life when it vibrates with vitality, excitement, and energy. Such moments, even when they take place during the week, are Shabbos moments.

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    • Rav Tzadok Hakohen of Lublin avoided honor, minimized his speech and maximized Torah study. He didn't leave over children, but his seforim are his legacy, having authored 26 seforim on a huge range of topics.

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    • Every Yid has the neshama of a Torah scholar. If the neshama is concealed because of a lack of a Torah education, all you need to do is peel off those layers to reveal the Torah scholar within!

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    • Every Shabbos we return to the same time and place: we return to stand before the presence of Hashem, and we return to the time of the moment before the world was created.

• • Try using Corrective Imagery Therapy as part of your teshuva, by envisioning yourself at the moment before you made a bad decision. Play out the scene in your head, but this time imagine yourself making the right decision.

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  • When you wash Netilas Yadayim you wash off the darkness of forgetting Hashem from your actions, represented by your hands, and fill your mind with the consciousness that Hashem runs the world and your life.
    
    

  • Hashem has complete trust in us that we will have complete trust in Him.

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  • The entire world partners to connect to Shabbos. The Jewish people reveal the Source of vitality, and the nations of the world connect to the flow of energy and productivity that comes from that.

• • • Slichos isn’t about confessing our sins; it’s about awakening Hashem’s love and compassion for us. We praise His
      attributes of mercy and compassion to help us remember that no matter what we’ve done, Hashem waits for us with outstretched arms.

      Asher Yatzar draws down a divine energy of healing (shefa shel refuah) to all the limbs of our body, which is why so many people have seen “supernatural” healing and recovery from illness or injury by saying Asher Yatzar with mindful intent. 

      When a tzaddik asks us to do something unusual, it’s because he is pushing us to strengthen our emunas chachamim, so we’ll merit the salvation we need. 

      The entire world partners to complete what needs to be done on Shabbos. The Jewish people unearth the root of blessing, and the other nations of the world connect to the flow of productivity that flows forth.

• • • An Open Letter to Klal Yisroel  Harav Yussie Zakutinsky Shlita 

      Rebbe Levi Yitzchok of Bardichev  Rabbi Yaakov Klein 

      The Mystery of the Yid  Harav Yussie Zakutinsky Shlita 

      Yidden!  Poem by Chaim Ghoori 

      Practical Strategies   TYH Chevra & Friends 

      Defend Your People!  Harav Yussie Zakutinsky Shlita 

      How To Love Your Fellow Jew  Beyam Darkecha 

      Kids Corner  Rabbi Moshe Auslander 

      Still Fleishigz  @for_the_yidden

• • True Ahavas Yisroel is to love the neshama of single Jew, even if they sin, cause you pain, or serve Hashem in a different way than you do. 

    When you go to the mikva with mindful intention, you immerse yourself into the World of Teshuvah, the loving embrace of Hashem, and emerge as a “briah chadasha” – a new being, recommitted to being close to Hashem. 

    When Rav Moshe Leib Sossover passed away, he ran he ran straight to Gehinnom to redeem and rescue Jewish souls that were incarcerated there. 

    Shabbos is the day when we reorient our view of ourselves, and we re-identify with who we are as souls covered with bodies, not as bodies that have souls inside of them. 

• • Everywhere I go, I am going to serve Hashem.

    There is no easier way to strengthen oneself in service of Hashem than to do mitzvos with joy, and to daven to Hashem with heartfelt simplicity.

    As long as you have the spark of life from Hashem within you, you can aspire to be even greater than the Tzadikim of previous generations.

    When you dig deep enough, below the surface of any day of the week you will find Shabbos.

• • Use the incredible power of your mind to teleport yourself to a mindset where you feel a strong connection to Hashem.

    We inherited our ability to sacrifice our personal desires for the Will of Hashem from our grandfather Avraham, who was ready to give up his beloved son Yitzchok.

    It's better to be Eliyahu Hanavi than to see Eliyahu Hanavi!

    Shabbos teaches that whether we experience the clarity of Hashem's presence in a tangible way is inconsequential. The only thing that really matters is: What is my avodah right now?

• • You have Nachum-Ish-Gam-Zu-Level Emunah, Shar-Habitachon-Level Bitachon, and Bardichever-Rebbe-Level Ahavas Yisroel.

    While reading about the kior, our job is to sanctify and cleanse our hands and feet, representing our physical actions, from any impurities they were involved with that took us away from our connection to Hashem. 

    The Baal Shem Tov was ready to give up his entire Olam Haba in order to give encouragement and peace of mind to another Yid. 

    Kavod Shabbos helps us internalize that Shabbos is amazing and exalted. Oneg Shabbos helps us internalize that Shabbos - despite the fact that it is exceedingly holy - is relatable to us, since we too are amazing and exalted. 

• • It's not about me, it's all Hashem, and all I want to do is serve Him. Come, my dear brother, let us serve Hashem together.

    Just as one should relieve himself in the morning of the waste that is within his body before standing before Hashem in prayer, one must also relieve himself of his spiritual waste! 

    Every person should write the words בס"ד in their own handwriting, because you cannot have a preprinted, one-size-fits-all declaration of bisiyatta diShmaya. 

    Oneg Shabbos is a soul-pleasure. It is the pure delight of a neshamah basking in the light of its Source. It is an otherworldly experience, a taste of the World to Come.